Hidden Bodies

November 2, 2015
Joe Goldberg, the narrator of Kepnes’s dark, quirky sequel to 2014’s You, is a serial killer who otherwise leads a normal life as a New York City bookstore manager. Joe’s relationship with M.F.A. student Guinevere Beck, whom he pursued in You, ended badly, and he’s devastated when his current girlfriend, Amy Kendell Adam, mysteriously disappears. By tracing Amy’s computer search history, Joe discovers that she has registered for an acting class in Hollywood. He vows to go there, find Amy, and make her pay for deserting him. Once in Hollywood, he continues his murder spree, all the while hoping to find Amy. In his search, he meets many well-drawn characters, including an L.A. policeman and a rich, drug-addicted playboy. Meanwhile, Joe undergoes a surprising personal transformation, and remarkably, the author convinces the reader to empathize with her killer protagonist. Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, WME Entertainment.

October 1, 2015

In this sequel to You, bookstore worker (and murderous stalker) Joe is in love. For real this time. With a woman who returns his affections, or so he thinks. He's convinced that he and Amy have the real thing. Until she disappears one day, taking a bunch of collectible books with her. Incensed, Joe is determined to find her. His quest takes him to Los Angeles where he breaks his own self-imposed ban on social media. He joins Facebook and Tinder and anything else his new friends and acquaintances suggest. But in his quest to find Amy, Joe finds Love. This heiress seems ready to accept Joe exactly as he is and isn't playing games. The question is, can Joe give up his own killer games and seething anger, now that he may have found his perfect woman at last? VERDICT The tone and pace of Kepnes's sophomore novel is quite different from You, in which the suspense stemmed from the claustrophobic world Joe inhabited. Here he's striking out both geographically and emotionally and the reader is taken along for his angry ride. His running commentary on life in L.A. brings to mind the American Psycho narrator's cynical views, and Joe's twisted attempts at relationships will appeal to fans of Dexter. [See Prepub Alert, 8/10/15.]--Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI

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