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Hidden Bodies is the sequel to the Netflix drama You. I am not a big fan of stalker / serial killer movies or TV shows. But, somehow I got hooked to You. The show was produced well by Netflix and the screenplay was quite interesting. When I found out Caroline Kepnes the author of the first book - You - has now written a sequel, I was curious to read where Joe Goldberg - the stalker / the killer - is headed next. So, I picked a copy from Waterstones to dive in only to be a bit disappointed with the writing.
Joe was in New York for You. Joe is in Los Angeles, the city of second chances, for Hidden Bodies. I enjoyed Joe's criticism of Los Angeles as a New Yorker. I found the narration of Los Angeles and its flaws quite witty. But, when it came to the storyline and character arcs in Hidden Bodies, I felt Joe went a bit out of the way to find unnecessary different ways to murder a character when things did not go his way. I found this more homicidal than the Joe in You where he was more a stalker and only turned a killer if a situation went completely out of control. So, overall, I found the Joe in You more compelling, yet very flawed, than the Joe in Hidden Bodies who is just a stupid compulsive killer.
The plot was quite watered down as well. It bordered on boring. Even the moments that should have evoked suspense and intensity, felt very muted mainly due to poor chemistry between the characters. In some instances, I also felt the characters sounded pretty dumb. Maybe this is just an LA thing. The main twist in the plot is also a reuse of the twist in You. I was disappointed with the lack of originality in the sequel.
Overall, I found Joe's crazy rationalizations witty in parts. But, I did not find the plot of this novel and the characters very interesting. I will probably read Caroline Kepnes' next novel because I think she has a lot potential to be a very good writer. However, you are not missing much if you give this particular novel a skip.
Oh and FYI - the second season of You is on Netflix! So, clearly they thought this book was worth giving life to with a second season!
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