The Book Diva's Reads

4.5 stars

Unseen provides a fascinating glimpse of the interaction between characters from both the Will Trent and the Grant County series by Ms. Slaughter. Sara Linton is still in a romantic relationship with Will Trent and living in Atlanta. Lena Adams is now a detective in Macon and has married Sara's stepson, Jared Long. After a home invasion and attempts on both Lena and Jared's lives, Jared is critically injured and in the ICU at Macon General Hospital. Both Darnell, Jared's mother, and Sara presume Lena must be to blame. Darnell is relying on Sara for emotional support during this trying time, and Sara is wishing she can rely on Will but he's on an undercover assignment and unavailable. Sara's past, present and possible future collide as Jared recuperates, Lena suffers in silence, and Will attempts to uncover a growing menace from a new drug dealer, Big Whitey.

Ms. Slaughter incorporates major and menacing drug dealers, child abduction/prostitution/pornography, corrupt police officers, and much more in a taut story that pulled me in from the first page to the very last. Unseen provides bad guys that are willing to kill anyone, including police officers, to send a message of fear and intimidation. Lena suffers silently presuming her investigation and recent drug bust may have resulted in a retaliatory strike against her and her husband. She's also depressed and somewhat guilty that her recent miscarriage may have been punishment for her past. Will is tormented over the idea that he can't be readily available to support Sara in this crisis situation but he's a little closer to the situation than anyone can know as he plays a corrupt ex-con trying to catch the bad guys. Unseen reveals that life isn't black and white and the law isn't static, sometimes both stray into the gray areas in order for true justice to be done and for the innocents to be protected and the corrupt to be punished. If you enjoy thrillers, then you'll definitely want to read Unseen.