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Available from Books In Motion at: http://www.booksinmotion.com/product_p/-1-58116-396-7.htm Retired scientist Seymour Cohen and his wife are found dead in their car, supposedly victims of a murder/suicide. Their deaths are followed by two 'perfect' crimes in which the assailant is unseen by either the victims or surveillance cameras. Cedar Point, Indiana, Sergeant Padre Martinez believes that ex-con Mitch Arnosky is behind the robberies. Jailed for income tax evasion, Mitch installed the surveillance systems involved in the thefts and was suspected of robbing customers prior to his incarceration, although the charges could never be proved. Now back in town, Mitch hires a high-powered lawyer to defend him when Padre pulls him in for questioning. Padre is suspended from the police force when emails link him to a frame-up job on Arnosky. Forced into hiding, Padre first takes refuge in a church, then is housed in the basement of Skizzy, a paranoid computer genius who insists that the federal government is tracking people through the bar codes on packaged food. Skizzy may be nuts, but he's a good friend of PI Dagger Chase and a whiz at ferreting out information via the Internet. Angered by the accusations against his buddy Padre, Dagger sets out to prove Arnosky guilty of both the robberies and of framing Sergeant Martinez. But how did Arnosky pull off the jobs without being seen? The answer lies in a little invention created by Seymour Cohen, an invention that draws the attention of the FBI, the CIA, and the DOD. While Dagger and the others search for Cohen's mysterious creation, Mitch goes about the business of wooing Sara Morningsky, a Native American girl and the ward of Dagger who lives and works with the secretive PI. A tip from Dagger's ex-fiancee and newspaper reporter Sheila alerts Mitch to the possibility that Sara is playing with him on behalf of Dagger. The cocky Mitch continues his charade with Sara while pumping Sheila for information on Dagger and Padre Martinez. The matter comes to a head as Christmas and Sara's birthday draw near. Driver begins THE UNSEEN where FULL MOON, BLOODY MOON left off -- with the disappearance of Sara Morningsky. After a two-month's absence and no explanation of where she's been, Sara returns to Dagger's side in the first chapter, a stronger, more self-reliant young woman than when she left. Readers of previous Chase Dagger mysteries will know that Native American Sara is a shape-shifter who can change herself into a wolf or a hawk at will. When shifted, she can communicate with Dagger telepathically, informing him of events only she can see. As for Dagger, the tough PI's past is still a mystery, although readers are given a hint of it when Sara stumbles across evidence of his previous life in his office. Sara and Dagger are a great pair, and although they're not a couple romantically, the sexual tension between the two is obvious as Sara grows into womanhood. There's a shift in their relationship in this tale with Sara becoming more protective of Dagger rather than it being the other way around. One senses that it will grow into one of mutual protectiveness and possibly love as the series continues. The other characters are lovably quirky, with Skizzy standing at the head of the pack. Simon the mailman reappears in this book, while Einstein the macaw has his fair share of page time and is as maddeningly funny as ever. Sheila is her old witchy self, and Padre remains as reliable a cop as ever. Driver's plotting is meticulous, and her story line is well researched. There's no doubt the author knows what she's talking about, be it Native American mysticism, stolen Nazi art, or the health habits of exotic birds. Driver scatters clues like a farmer scatters seeds -- precisely and in just the right amounts to satisfy the reader. Jerry Sciarrio's excellent narration adds tension to the story. His Dagger voice is creepy enough to warn listeners of the danger inherent in making Dagger your enemy. His Skizzy, Mitch, and Padre voices are equally good and different enough to distinguish each character from the others. This book was a delight to listen to, not only for the story itself, which was excellent, but also for the way the characters and plot came alive due to Sciarrio's able reading skills. I look forward to further books in the series, especially if they continue to be released in Books In Motion audio format.
Reviewed by Mary Welk, August 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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