Joe Goldberg is continually seeking true love, even if his
methods are skewed. Dealing with the demise of his
girlfriend Beck
(in the previous novel YOU) has him in a funk, until Amy
Adam is
hired to work with him at Mooney Books. She is nothing like
Beck,
and Joe is immediately attracted to this unusual girl.
However, it
does not take long for their passionate love affair to
implode when
Amy suddenly disappears. Using his finely honed Internet
skills, Joe
tracks Amy from New York City to Los Angeles.
Living among and dealing with the weird people in LA has
Joe homesick for NYC, but he cannot leave until he locates
the elusive Amy, which leads him deeper into the decadent
world of movers and shakers. Then he meets the rich and
bold Love Quinn, and Joe feels like he just might have
found a place where he fits in. Ah, but things can never be
that uncomplicated for Joe. And no matter how good things
are, he just cannot change his murderous ways of handling
problems.
Caroline Kepnes's HIDDEN BODIES is a continuation of
YOU, featuring antihero Joe Goldberg. I did not read the
first book, but sufficient background is included so I
could easily ascertain he is a murderous sociopath. Joe's
first-person narrative convinced me early on that he is
narcissistic to the extreme. It is apparent he is also a
very clever killer who is quite insightful of other
people. With straightforward dialog and simplistic
narrative, Joe relates his actions as he stalks Amy and
then makes a new life in LA with Love. His descriptions of
the people he encounters and interacts with are provocative
and honest, but freaky Joe quickly loses his appeal. I kept
hoping he would finally receive fitting punishment for his
crimes but was disappointed in that respect. I could not
discern if the ending left the possibility of a
continuation of Joe's life in another book or not, since
for me, the conclusion did not bring closure. I realize
there are plenty of readers who enjoy this quirky stalker
and his bizarre exploits. I regret I was not one of them.
After the heartbreak of losing his girlfriend, Beck, Joe
Goldberg thought he’d never love again. But when mysterious
Amy Adam begins working for Joe at Mooney Books, he finds
himself obsessed with his new employee. Amy is Beck’s
opposite—she hates Twitter, she doesn’t even have an email
address, she’s completely unsearchable online—and she
quickly captures Joe’s heart. But just before Joe can ask
Amy to marry him, she disappears, leaving a trail of clues
in her wake.
Joe is then forced to do something so vile, so awful that
he
nearly loses his mind: he moves to Los Angeles to find Amy.
He is tortured by a series of aspiring Angelenos—an
insufferable stand-up comedian, philistine booksellers, a
money-hungry nanny, and a slutty ghostwriter—before meeting
his ticket to a more luxurious world: a surgically
enhanced,
social media–savvy heiress named Love Quinn. But Joe can’t
stop stalking Amy, despite the world opening up to him with
Love on his arm. Will Joe finally escape his sordid past?
Or
is Love just the latest casualty in Joe’s unrelenting
search
for the perfect match?