December 13, 2008

Review: The Unseen by T.L. Hines



 
Courtesy of Thomas Nelson
Author's Website



For many years Lucas Freund has lived his life by mostly being unseen. He has a fascination with hiding small nooks and crannies in buildings all over the city watching strangers through hidden peep holes. He makes up elaborate stories about their lives that give him comfort in between the times when he makes a connection with them. The connection happens when someone either feels his presence without seeing him or when someone seemingly makes eye contact with him again without seeing him.

Lucas is a loner with no permanent address. He sleeps in vacant buildings or underground tunnels. One night, his home for the time being is almost found by another “infiltrator”, Donovan. Surprisingly Lucas is drawn to Donovan and meets with him the next day. Donovan introduces him to a group called Creep Club whose members watch and record people in their homes... the one place Lucas never dared to watch.

Soon Lucas is approached by a federal agent who wants his assistance in gaining access to the group. Lucas is torn by this request but when people start disappearing and turning up dead, things start spiraling into chaos and Lucas is forced to figure out a way out of the trouble.

The Unseen pulls you in from the first chapter. Although Lucas has a strange way of life I was rooting for him right from the start. He’s such a likable character who is a “do-gooder” at heart. The book is full of surprises coming in the form of plot twists and other characters.

The only thing I felt let down about was a strange character at the end (when you read it, you’ll know who I’m talking about). Maybe I just didn’t understand the author’s intentions with this character but I felt he really didn’t belong in story and thought the book could have had the same type of ending without him.

To me the best part of the book was that it brought up a great point. Many of us see without really seeing. I know I’m guilty of being oblivious to my surroundings which drives my husband nuts. Reading this book has made me a little more conscious of the happenings around me and I’ve been constantly thinking, “Someone could be watching me right now”. I recommend this book for all suspense and thriller lovers.

3 comments :

Ladytink_534 said...

Ooh! Creepy!

Kaye said...

Well that certainly raised the hair on the back of my neck. yow, what a thought. Although, I am constantly nagging my daughters to be aware of their surroundings and pay more attention. A mom's life just isn't easy! :)

TL Hines said...

Hi, Monie - Thanks for reading, and thanks for the very kind review. I've had another reader who was confused by the "strange character at the end." The character in question was actually Swarm; maybe I didn't make that clear enough. In any case, thanks, again, for taking the time to read and review.