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Hidden Things: A Novel
by
Doyce Testerman (Goodreads Author)
Watch out for the hidden things . . . That's the last thing Calliope Jenkins's best friend says to her before ending a two a.m. phone call from Iowa, where he's working a case she knows little about. Seven hours later, she gets a visit from the police. Josh has been found dead, and foul play is suspected. Calliope is stunned. Especially since Josh left a message on her pho...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
August 1st 2012
by Harper Voyager
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Sometimes one reads a book, and the author seems to be talking only to that reader, describing the reader's thoughts and life in the metaphor of driving down the road and taking a wrong turn around a twisty corner where everything is so familiar, yet so awesomely, horribly not right. Hidden Things is one of those books. It sat so innocently on the library shelf with its deceptive cover and simple title, hiding a tale of loss, and love, and guilt, and acceptance.... and magic, such believable, wo...more
Hidden Things by Doyce Testerman
Calliope Jenkins has a serious chip on her shoulder. She takes no crap, no how, no way from nobody. When her best friend and former lover “disappears” she is forced to ally herself with unlikely allies some of whom may not exist.
This is either a psycho thriller or a fantasy horror or maybe both. Testerman does an excellent job in crafting the unlikeable character of Calliope Jenkins. Calliope makes a porcupine seem warm a cuddly. She does her best to keep anyone...more
Calliope Jenkins has a serious chip on her shoulder. She takes no crap, no how, no way from nobody. When her best friend and former lover “disappears” she is forced to ally herself with unlikely allies some of whom may not exist.
This is either a psycho thriller or a fantasy horror or maybe both. Testerman does an excellent job in crafting the unlikeable character of Calliope Jenkins. Calliope makes a porcupine seem warm a cuddly. She does her best to keep anyone...more
Hidden Things shows us that highway rest stops and roadside diners are every bit as rich in magic and mystery as the lands described by Tolkien or the alleys of Sam Spade's San Francisco.
This is a noir fantasy, a story about letting go, and a complex adventure that veers wildly between the deeply personal and the grandly universal. I'll recommend this book to my friends because they'll love it, and I'll recommend it to my enemies because it'll make them into better people.
I could go on and on ab...more
This is a noir fantasy, a story about letting go, and a complex adventure that veers wildly between the deeply personal and the grandly universal. I'll recommend this book to my friends because they'll love it, and I'll recommend it to my enemies because it'll make them into better people.
I could go on and on ab...more
Jan 11, 2013
Suspense Magazine
added it
In Doyce Testerman’s first novel, he takes the reader on a journey to the shadowy edges of our reality, where the beings of myth and legend still reside. A middle of the night phone call awakens Calliope Jenkins. It’s Josh White on the line, her boss and partner in their two-person detective agency, telling her that he’s in Iowa following up on a new case. Early the next morning, the police inform Calli that Josh’s body was discovered outside a small Iowa town four hours after he talked to her....more
Nov 24, 2012
Alan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Readers unsatisfied with surfaces
Recommended to Alan by:
Charles de Lint
"What's in there?"
"Answers." Vikous watched the front door. "Monsters."
—p.314
Charles de Lint led me to Hidden Things through his strongly positive review in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (a print magazine, in this electronic era? Yep—worth paying for, too). And de Lint was right; it really is that good.
From its title forward, this book has that whiff of the occult that I like, the notion that things are going on beneath the surface that most people don't know and wouldn't want to k...more
This debut contemporary fantasy by Testerman is a slice of mythmaking and myth-breaking with a dash of urban fantasy and horror. Calliope Jenkins runs a tiny private investigations firm with her best friend and ex-lover Josh White. When Josh is killed in the middle of a bizarre case, he leaves her a message from beyond the grave, "beware the hidden places." Those hidden places include pockets of weird creatures in the midst of the city, strange borderlands back in the midwest they both left behi...more
I don't write book reviews, so I don't know what you should expect in reading this.
It is only fair to say that I read an early, early draft of this, and in some ways, because of the "draft" nature, the story-as-published has lost a bit of its magic. In a draft you can evoke things that a final needs explained, answer questions that should not have been asked, and time and memory fades to make what came before perhaps a little more poignant, more mysterious. The magician has gained in skill and y...more
It is only fair to say that I read an early, early draft of this, and in some ways, because of the "draft" nature, the story-as-published has lost a bit of its magic. In a draft you can evoke things that a final needs explained, answer questions that should not have been asked, and time and memory fades to make what came before perhaps a little more poignant, more mysterious. The magician has gained in skill and y...more
Debut novel from a (now) Denver author... This is how it was pitched to me.
Here are my thoughts:
If an epic poem could be broken down and reassembled into a novel, Hidden Things would be moving in that direction. But it isn't quite there.
Calliope Jenkins receives a fresh voicemail from her best friend & work partner hours after his body was found. Soon a bad smelling harlequin appears and the shenanigans start... Thing is while there are good lines and the story of who killed the friend is ev...more
Here are my thoughts:
If an epic poem could be broken down and reassembled into a novel, Hidden Things would be moving in that direction. But it isn't quite there.
Calliope Jenkins receives a fresh voicemail from her best friend & work partner hours after his body was found. Soon a bad smelling harlequin appears and the shenanigans start... Thing is while there are good lines and the story of who killed the friend is ev...more
This is a difficult book to review. In some regard it was a 5-star books that kept me fully engaged for the two days I ripped through it. In other respects it was a 2-star book that left me with more questions than answers. I liked the main character, she complicated, thoughtful and witty. I did not care much for any of the monsters in the book, although their unique natures did make for fantastic reading. The dialogue was amusing and the plot kept moving along. My complaints are with too many l...more
You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/08/...
When Calliope Jenkins gets a call very early in the morning from her ex and work partner, Josh, she’s not sure what to think. He’s obviously following a lead, but what? And why did he tell her to watch out for the hidden things right before hanging up the phone? These are certainly the questions that are on Calliope’s mind when she gets the news the next day that Josh has been found dead, and she’s the last known person to...more
When Calliope Jenkins gets a call very early in the morning from her ex and work partner, Josh, she’s not sure what to think. He’s obviously following a lead, but what? And why did he tell her to watch out for the hidden things right before hanging up the phone? These are certainly the questions that are on Calliope’s mind when she gets the news the next day that Josh has been found dead, and she’s the last known person to...more
Calliope Jenkins is the sort of private detective who prefers to kick you in the chest first and ask why you've stopped by her office later. Her partner/ex-boyfriend has just been reported murdered while thousands of miles away on a case he told her nothing about, and a mysterious guy called Vikous appears who promises to lead her to answers. After assaulting and pepper spraying the poor funny-looking fellow, our marvelously short-fused protagonist agrees to be lead on a dangerous and magical jo...more
I really wanted to like this book, especially given the enthusiastic cover blurbs by some of my favorite authors. The premise is interesting and I like urban fantasy in many of its iterations. Unfortunately, for me this book didn't gel until literally the last 20 pages or so. For most of the book, I felt as if I couldn't sink into the story. The main character was a bit too strident and angry, to the point where conversational exchanges were simply blurts of partially finished sentences, with th...more
The dialogue and flow were great. The story was interesting and had me the entire time I read it. I could pick out all the "whats wrong with it"s but I feel like this is a good start for an author. Reminds me of another author, I think she wrote "Discord's Apple" or somesuch with the same theme; this author is much better and that one was a best seller. Some serious potential here. One thing that annoyed me was some of the dialogue, though, that went no where and implied stuff but I have no idea...more
I read this in a single sitting, staying up until 4am to do so. I was utterly absorbed in the book. The characters are rare, if not unique, and fit perfectly with the story. HIDDEN THINGS is a refreshing kick to urban fantasy. It is in a new setting, and doesn't have vampires, or even vampyres, which was a pleasant surprise considering they seem to be everywhere.
The story is engaging, seriously engaging. I read it for 8 straight hours, and then some more. Its dark, creepy and absolutely wonderfu...more
The story is engaging, seriously engaging. I read it for 8 straight hours, and then some more. Its dark, creepy and absolutely wonderfu...more
I find this book difficult to assess, in truth, as it's not exactly a consistently three-star book. About half the book is a four-star book, while the other half is a two-star book; thus the three stars. It drew me in because from the beginning it reminded me of my favorite book, American Gods. Not in the mythology sense, but in the "strange people coming to find you when something has happened to an important person in your life" sense. While the book is fairly well-written, and the plot is qui...more
Sometimes I read a book by jumping in and out of it as I feel the urge. For other special books I become absorbed by the characters and world that they reside in and I am compelled to see what is around the next bend. This is one of those stories. It weaves normality and oddity into a unique blend that requires your imagination to pry loose an understanding rather than laying it out on a plate. I so love it when this is done well and this book is an excellent example of this.
If your feet are fi...more
If your feet are fi...more
This is a remarkable book. And, beyond remarkable, it's a good book.
I had a big review all written up full of glowing praise for marvelous world-building, and of admiration of the twisty-turny plotting and intricate scene-setting, and of deep satisfaction with the sheer, frustrating humanity of the protagonist -- but as I know the author, it seemed more than a bit over the top, even if all of it was sincerely felt.
So all I can say is that this is a deeply-crafted urban (or perhaps rural) fantas...more
I had a big review all written up full of glowing praise for marvelous world-building, and of admiration of the twisty-turny plotting and intricate scene-setting, and of deep satisfaction with the sheer, frustrating humanity of the protagonist -- but as I know the author, it seemed more than a bit over the top, even if all of it was sincerely felt.
So all I can say is that this is a deeply-crafted urban (or perhaps rural) fantas...more
I'm still not sure what to say about this book. It felt like American Gods swirled together with early Anita Blake. Spunky female detective gets tangled up in supernatural weirdness. I liked our protagonist though. While she fit the urban fantasy heroine roll, she felt human. A strong woman, who makes mistakes but isn't stupid. I particularly enjoyed it when she would do those things we wish characters would do more often (ie. mace the creepy guy following you around rather than talk to him). Wh...more
It's as if Doyce Testerman took the spirit of Neil Gaiman's style and combined it with this Evanescence video.
Reading this story was like sitting at the beach on a grey and drizzly day: it's the beach, so it's beautiful, but the sand is cold and gritty, and even though all you want to do is bask in the glory of nature and the waves, the wind and the steel wool dampness of it all forces you to pack up your blanket and book and head back to the car.
It's one of those rare middle-of-the-road reads;...more
Reading this story was like sitting at the beach on a grey and drizzly day: it's the beach, so it's beautiful, but the sand is cold and gritty, and even though all you want to do is bask in the glory of nature and the waves, the wind and the steel wool dampness of it all forces you to pack up your blanket and book and head back to the car.
It's one of those rare middle-of-the-road reads;...more
This novella was all over the place, which may be accounted for by the fact that I read an ARC version, or because this the author's first offering. I don't know, but it just didn't work for me.
It started out so bad that I considered abandoning it, but picked up in quality and momentum as it progressed, maybe as Testerman found his voice. There was some well-written dialogue, some interestingly-drawn (if inconsistent) characters, and clever plotting as well, but overall it was disjointed, spotty...more
It started out so bad that I considered abandoning it, but picked up in quality and momentum as it progressed, maybe as Testerman found his voice. There was some well-written dialogue, some interestingly-drawn (if inconsistent) characters, and clever plotting as well, but overall it was disjointed, spotty...more
Rainy day reading pick, read the whole thing in one day...not too shabby. My impression of Testerman's universe is an extension of the movie "Labrinth" minus David Bowie. It took me a little bit to settle into the story but once in it, I definitely enjoyed it. I did find myself wishing that a couple of the characters were explored/explained better. The ending has real integrity and isn't the simple "easy out" you think it will be. Nice twist.
I found the story compelling, but everything was so choppy and abrupt I think I may have missed a thing or two. I'm also not sure about how I feel about the characters - I think a little more time spent on Calliope's past would have helped.
This is one of those novels where the ideas and much of the content is great, but some of the execution is lacking. I feel that it was mostly due to a style choice which did not work for me and actually got in the way of enjoying this book.
This is one of those novels where the ideas and much of the content is great, but some of the execution is lacking. I feel that it was mostly due to a style choice which did not work for me and actually got in the way of enjoying this book.
I had a really hard time with this book. Ultimately, I just didn't get it. I was frustrated with the lack of explanation about things, especially from the supposed "guide." I couldn't figure out any of the character's motivations and I didn't think that the mystery melded well with the supernatural aspects--I couldn't figure out why there were supernatural aspects at all. By the end, I was asking myself "what just happened and why?"
This is basically a Neil Gaiman rip-off - but without Gaiman's sense of style and certainly without his sophisticated understanding of Character. It even uses character names from sandman. It's really not worth my time to review - but I really hate people who steal good ideas and then dumb them down.
Gets the award for the most unlikable characters I've read this year - and i am sure that was not the intention.
Gets the award for the most unlikable characters I've read this year - and i am sure that was not the intention.
Jan 06, 2013
Stina
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Stacey Procopio
Recommended to Stina by:
Doyce Testerman
Book #39 for 2012
Let me just first say that I'm thoroughly chuffed to see a fellow Colorado WriMo get his NaNo novel professionally published. It gives me hope. But first I will have to produce a manuscript this good. It's not perfect, by any means, but there is so much of the freshly quirky in Testerman's tale of dragons in Iowa that I can forgive a lot. For instance, the pacing seemed a bit off in spots, and some of the flashbacks were more confusing to me than anything. It will be interesting...more
Let me just first say that I'm thoroughly chuffed to see a fellow Colorado WriMo get his NaNo novel professionally published. It gives me hope. But first I will have to produce a manuscript this good. It's not perfect, by any means, but there is so much of the freshly quirky in Testerman's tale of dragons in Iowa that I can forgive a lot. For instance, the pacing seemed a bit off in spots, and some of the flashbacks were more confusing to me than anything. It will be interesting...more
I grabbed this on impulse at my local library. Overall it was ok. It had some really neat ideas and some good action. However, I would have liked a little more explanation and/or detail. The dialogue felt abrupt. I think the author was trying to set the tone and be mysterious but I just got a little put off and annoyed.
My favorite quote:
"You know the weirdest thing about this whole trip?" Calliope asked. "I've got no idea." "You just told me that the highway disappearances I read about aren't always criminals and abductions - that sometimes it's dragons hunting for food - and that actually cheers me up."
"You know the weirdest thing about this whole trip?" Calliope asked. "I've got no idea." "You just told me that the highway disappearances I read about aren't always criminals and abductions - that sometimes it's dragons hunting for food - and that actually cheers me up."
Amazing dialogue. Modern middle America highway fantasy. And Calliope is a character that I could understand, even while she acted in ways I would not. A fully realized character in many ways, although sometimes the landscape of setting blurred and became anywhere as opposed to a specific place.
Very strange mystery with supernatural elements. Calliope Jenkins and Joshua run a skip trace agency, and one day Joshua disappears, presumed dead. Calliope head out to find him and gets help from a "clown" who guides her to the Hidden Lands, where she finds Joshua.
I honestly think this would have been a better novella. There are some neat characters in this book, but the story just didn't come together for me. I felt like I was missing something, and, despite being technically a mystery, it just wasn't suspenseful enough.
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Doyce Testerman was born and raised in the wilds of South Dakota, where he developed an early and lifelong love affair with the written word, especially stories that included a bit more magic, mayhem, or mystery than one typically finds around a large Midwestern farm. He moved to Denver in 1995, where he has steadily ceded control of his weekends to two dogs, his brilliant wife, and two astounding...more
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