- ASIN: B0G6F3LMM4
- Publisher: Independently published
- Publication date: 10 Dec. 2025
- Language: English
- Print length: 562 pages
- ISBN-13: 979-8278275756
- Genre: Horror Occult & Supernatural
The BookViral Review:
In Hidden in Plain Sight: The Rising of the Lights, Peter Edward White brings his supernatural conspiracy series to a tense and satisfying conclusion, widening the mythology established in 1952: Part Two while pushing the modern storyline towards a reckoning that feels both personal and dangerous. The novel moves confidently between hidden histories, secret organisations, political manipulation, and the unseen forces shaping events beneath modern London, but what keeps it grounded is its cast of characters and the relationships binding them together.
At the centre of the story is William, still trying to come to terms with the violence and trauma surrounding the events at St Paul’s. His growing understanding of his family’s past gives the novel much of its emotional weight, particularly through his scenes with Andrew Fairchild — Grampy — whose knowledge of the events of 1952 continues to shape the present. White handles these quieter moments well. Conversations over tea, old journals spread across kitchen tables, and fragmented memories of past battles give the novel room to breathe between its larger confrontations.
Andrew remains one of the strongest characters in the series. He brings warmth and humour to the story, but there is also a sense of exhaustion beneath the surface, as though decades of secrets and survival are finally catching up with him. His recollections of the past never feel forced into the narrative simply to explain the mythology. Instead, they help connect the different eras of the series naturally, reinforcing how unfinished battles continue to echo across generations.
The novel quickly establishes a darker tone through Jacob Wordsworth and his growing obsession with orchestrating the prophesied return of Lucifer. Jacob works particularly well as an antagonist because White avoids turning him into a cartoon villain. He is calculating, patient, intelligent, and disturbingly methodical in the way he approaches “The Rising of the Lights.” The Blackstones themselves also feel more threatening here than in previous instalments. Their reach into public life, wealth, influence, and organised ritual gives the story an unsettling sense of plausibility beneath its supernatural framework.
White also expands the political side of the narrative through Tom Sharpe’s mayoral campaign and the manipulation surrounding public institutions and media influence. These sections help widen the scale of the story beyond hidden chambers and secret rituals, making the threat feel connected to ordinary modern life rather than isolated from it.
Cherri plays an important role in the later stages of the novel, particularly in scenes dealing with loss, ageing, sacrifice, and survival. Some of the book’s strongest emotional moments arrive quietly rather than explosively, especially as the surviving characters begin to reckon with the personal cost of everything that has happened around them. White allows these moments enough space to land properly without drowning them in melodrama.
The pacing becomes increasingly relentless as the novel progresses. Underground tunnels, hidden chambers, political manoeuvring, old rivalries, and large-scale confrontations all begin to close in on one another as the story builds towards its climax. Despite the size of the cast and the scale of the mythology, the narrative rarely feels confusing. White keeps the various threads moving clearly while ensuring that even supporting characters retain distinct personalities and motivations.
What gives The Rising of the Lights its strongest edge is the way it explores inheritance — not simply wealth or power, but responsibility, guilt, loyalty, and the burden of carrying old battles into a new generation. Beneath the conspiracies and occult rituals is a story about people trying to live with the consequences of decisions made decades earlier.
For readers who have followed the Hidden in Plain Sight series from the beginning, this final instalment delivers genuine payoff while still leaving parts of its mythology lingering in the background. The story reaches a satisfying emotional resolution without pretending that darkness disappears forever.
Readers who enjoy conspiracy-driven supernatural thrillers with strong British settings, hidden histories, and secret societies will find a lot to enjoy here. Comparable authors include James Rollins, Simon Toyne, and early Dan Brown, though White’s voice remains distinctly his own throughout.
It is highly recommended!
