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Hidden Bodies

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Hidden Bodies
AuthorCaroline Kepnes
LanguageEnglish
SeriesYou
GenreThriller
PublishedFebruary 23, 2016
PublisherAtria/Emily Bestler Books
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Audiobook
E-book
Pages439 (hardcover)
ISBN978-1-4767-8563-9

Hidden Bodies is a thriller novel by Caroline Kepnes, published in February 2016.[1] It is the sequel to her 2014 novel, You. It was loosely adapted in the second season and third season of the Netflix thriller series You.[2][3]

Kepnes published the sequel, You Love Me in 2021.[1][4]

Synopsis

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After murdering Guinevere Beck in You, Joe Goldberg is back in New York, trying to keep a low profile while running Mooney’s bookstore. He starts dating Amy Adam, a quirky book lover who seems perfect — until she robs the store of valuable books and vanishes to Los Angeles. Furious and betrayed, Joe follows her to L.A., intent on revenge.

In L.A., Joe is quickly disgusted by the shallow, fame-obsessed lifestyle but stays focused on finding Amy. Along the way, he gets hired at a bookstore, blends into the Hollywood scene, and sets his sights on a new obsession: Love Quinn, a beautiful, rich, and emotionally intense woman who works at a fancy store and comes from a powerful family.

Joe quickly falls for Love and begins dating her, while still secretly looking for Amy. When he does find Amy, he’s shocked by how different she seems — and how uninterested she is in him. Instead of killing her, he decides she’s not worth it and lets her go. His obsession with Love fully takes over.

Meanwhile, Joe starts sleeping with his landlord, Delilah Alves, a sharp local reporter. She begins to get suspicious of Joe’s past and intentions. Eventually, Delilah discovers evidence of Joe’s crimes, and Joe kills her — brutally stabbing her in the bathtub. He covers it up and acts like nothing happened.

Joe also becomes entangled with Henderson, a famous comedian and predator. Joe goes to one of Henderson’s shows where Henderson mentions Amy in a crude joke, which makes Joe spiral. Paranoid and angry, Joe investigates Henderson and discovers his pattern of drugging and abusing underage girls. Believing he’s delivering justice, Joe murders Henderson by pushing him down the stairs in his own house.

Love’s twin brother, Forty Quinn, is a manic, drug-addicted aspiring screenwriter. Joe finds him annoying and unstable, but tolerates him to stay close to Love. At one point, Joe and Forty go on a wild drug-fueled trip to the desert. Joe poisons Forty with LSD, intending to kill him and make it look like an overdose. He believes he let Forty drown, but Forty survives.

Forty realizes what Joe did. Instead of turning him in, he uses it to blackmail Joe into ghostwriting his screenplay. Joe, trapped and frustrated, plays along while keeping his rage buried.

Eventually, Forty is hit by a car and dies — a tragic but convenient turn for Joe. However, Joe’s past finally catches up with him. After several missteps and increased scrutiny, Joe is arrested and put in prison by the end of the novel.

The book closes with Joe still obsessing over Love, convinced she’ll save him. He narrates from his prison cell, clinging to the hope that Love is pregnant with his child and will come back for him — showing that, even behind bars, his delusions and narcissism are fully intact.

Reception

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Anthony Breznican from Entertainment Weekly gave praise to the novel, stating that "as satire of a self-absorbed society, Kepnes hits the mark, cuts deep, and twists the knife".[5]

TV adaptation

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Main articles: You (TV series) and You season 2

In February 2015, it was announced that Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble would develop a television series based on the novel at Showtime.[6] Two years later, it was announced that the series was purchased by Lifetime and put on fast-track development.[7] You premiered on September 9, 2018.[8] On July 26, 2018, ahead of the series premiere, Lifetime announced that the series had been renewed for a second season.[9][10] On December 3, 2018, it was confirmed that Lifetime had passed on a second season of the series, and that Netflix had picked it up.[11] The second season, which premiered on December 26, 2019, adapted elements from Hidden Bodies.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b Caroline Kepnes (2016). Hidden Bodies: A Novel. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4767-8563-9. Archived from the original on January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  2. ^ Mackelden, Amy (January 13, 2019). "Everything You Need to Know About You Season 2". Bazaar. Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  3. ^ Hein, Michael (August 18, 2019). "Netflix's 'You' Showrunner Reveals Season 2 Will Be 'Darker'". Popculture. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  4. ^ "Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes review – the killer who plays it by the book". The Guardian. January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2019. Goldberg was last seen in Kepnes's original and excellent debut, You, in which he fell for a customer, leaving a clutch of bodies along the way as he relentlessly stalked her into going out with him. Hidden Bodies opens with Joe having seemingly put the past, and his "tragically ill girlfriend Guinevere Beck", behind him.
  5. ^ Breznican, Anthony (February 23, 2016). "'Hidden Bodies' by Caroline Kepnes: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 11, 2015). "Greg Berlanti & Sera Gamble Developing Psychological Thriller You At Showtime". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  7. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 13, 2017). "Lifetime Buys Drama From Greg Berlanti & Sera Gamble, Sets Premiere Date For Euthanasia Series Mary Kills People: TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  8. ^ Highfill, Samantha (March 15, 2018). "Lifetime announces fall premiere date for You starring Penn Badgley". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  9. ^ Hipes, Patrick (July 26, 2018). "Lifetime's You Officially Renewed For Season 2 Ahead Of Series Premiere – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 18, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  10. ^ Highfill, Samantha (September 5, 2018). "Penn Badgley and Sera Gamble's You puts a twist on the modern-day love story". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  11. ^ Maas, Jennifer (December 3, 2018). "'You' Moves From Lifetime to Netflix for Season 2". The Wrap. Archived from the original on December 29, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  12. ^ Mackelden, Amy (January 13, 2019). "Everything You Need to Know About You Season 2". Bazaar. Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
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