cover image Hidden Bodies

Hidden Bodies

Caroline Kepnes. Atria/Bestler, $26 (416p) ISBN 978-1-4767-8562-2

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. [em]Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, WME Entertainment. (Feb.) [/em]