Books Butterfly Editorial Reviews

Can’t Hide What’s Inside- Editorial Review

This is an Editorial Review of Can’t Hide What’s Inside by C.J. Heigelmann.

This is a very well written Psychological Thriller, written by a talented and authentic author

Trigger Warning: The book may trigger negative emotions among readers who have experienced mental illness, discrimination, harassment, or physical, sexual, and emotional abuse

Books Butterfly Editorial Review of Can’t Hide What’s Inside by C. J. Heigelmann (Common Folk Press)

‘Can’t Hide What’s Inside’ is a heartbreaking psychological thriller with numerous twists and turns.

Story Introduction & Context

To break free from the shackles of her mother’s emotional abuse, Madison Sanders moves to Minneapolis for a fresh start. Her optimism is soon quelled by her encounters with misogynistic and abusive co-workers and a devastating tragedy, leaving her craving revenge. The author carefully navigates through sexism, sexual harassment, misogyny, mental illness, and other dark contemporary themes.

Strengths

Madison’s story will keep you yearning to know what happens next. The author masterfully incorporates thrill and suspense to keep you glued to the book, and the plot gets even more enjoyable with every new chapter. The book is action-packed, from accidental death to lust, love, and deception, to multiple murders and psychopathic tendencies- it is almost impossible to stop reading, especially in the final chapters.

The second half of the book outshines the first. The author tactfully answers critical questions from previous chapters while leaving room for suspense. The thrill intensifies chapter by chapter keeping the reader engaged, with nervous excitement to uncover the next twist of events. The final chapters stir a mix of emotions ranging from sadness, anger, and resentment to excitement and relief.

Many readers today can relate to the key themes: sexism, racism, mental health (anxiety and depression), workplace politics, grieve, loss, and abuse.

The author’s skill is demonstrated in how he crafts a diverse and intense main character (Madison) – a doting mother, a scared and scarred daughter, a loyal friend, a committed employee, a passionate lover, a killer.

The remaining characters are also well-thought out.

The book has a satisfying ending.

Weaknesses

Despite having a very strong 2nd half, and being suspenseful and engrossing overall, the book has a relatively slow start. It takes a few chapters to get to the more intriguing parts of the story; an inexperienced reader may struggle a bit at the beginning

In the first half of the book, the author drags some dialogues, resulting in monotony, which may put off even the most experienced readers. In other cases, the exchanges are insignificant and unnecessary as the events covered could easily be stated in a sentence or two. A competent editor can address these issues sufficiently.

Further analysis of the book’s content shows that most characters are portrayed in a manner that is not very easy to relate to. The male characters are extreme chauvinists, while some of the female characters appear vapid and naïve. Some of the characters are a bit hard to relate to, making it difficult for the reader to build an emotional connection. Still, these characters may be realistic representations given the context of the story. Most people with an innate tendency to become serial killers are unlikely to be likable or relatable

Trigger Warning – Please be aware that this book has Multiple Triggers

The book may trigger negative emotions among readers who have experienced mental illness, discrimination, harassment, or physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. However, the story is exciting and believable. The book would be an interesting read for people fascinated by contemporary psychological thrillers and crime fiction. Its unpredictability will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Overall Recommendation

Can’t Hide What’s Inside is an excellent Thriller and well worth your reading time. Strongly Recommended

Curator’s Thoughts (Editor & Curator of the Editorial Review, not the reviewer)

C. J. Heigelmann is an immensely talented writer we’ve worked with for 5 years (Jan 2018 onwards). His writing is exceptional and it has improved and matured over the years. You can visit his website and see his entire range of books

Can’t Hide What’s Inside continues his trend of producing compelling books. For example, it gets strong praise from Kirkus Reviews, which calls it – An engagingly emotional thriller with surprising plot turns

The book is an excellent thriller and we strongly recommend it

Writing about killers, especially those on the verge of becoming serial killers, is very challenging. These people have a very different nature and it is extremely difficult to portray that. That’s the one aspect we think the book can improve on. To somehow create a stronger connection with the protagonist

Our main takeaway was that the book is a very good read and very well written. As our reviewer notes, if you can stick through the somewhat slower first half, you will be richly rewarded –

1. The author masterfully incorporates thrill and suspense to keep you glued to the book
2. It is almost impossible to stop reading, especially in the final chapters

Where to get Can’t Hide What’s Inside by C. J. Heigelmann

1. Amazon Kindle Store – Can’t Hide What’s Inside by C.J. Heigelmann
2. Barnes & Noble Nook Store – *Can’t Hide What’s Inside (Psychological Thriller) by C.J. Heigelmann
3. Apple iBooks – Can’t Hide What’s Inside (Deal, Not Free) by C.J. Heigelmann.
4. Kobo – Can’t Hide What’s Inside (Deal, Not Free) by C.J. Heigelmann

You can get in touch with the author at his website -> C. J. Heigelmann Author Website.