Unseen

By Mark Graham

Martin and Jenny Johnson chose to do something different with their
vacation and went with a team to an orphanage in Southern Ukraine.
Once there, the childless couple fell in love with a little girl,
Oksana, and made steps to adopt her. But they soon met with mysterious
resistance to the adoption and the child went missing for the rest of
their time working at the orphanage. Martin made plans to stay behind
a few days longer to learn more about Oksana’s situation. Then days
turned to weeks, and then months. With the help of his taxi driver,
Dima, and Dima’s friend Sasha (mafia) he learned more than he
expected. Jenny worked from America to expedite paperwork in the hopes
that Martin would be able to bring Oksana home. Neither could have
imagined the strange people and twists and turns that would soon
arise. Martin would come to find the depths of a father’s love he had
never known himself hidden within him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Graham
• Release date: May 11, 2013
• ISBN: 9780989324830

Mark Graham

Mark Graham is a professor in the Art Department at Brigham Young University. Graham is an internationally known illustrator. His research interests include teacher education, place-based education, graphic novels, ecological/holistic education, secondary art education, design thinking, STEAM education, and Himalayan art and culture. Contact: 3116-B JKB, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA.

Book preview

MapGlyph

Chapter One

___

Mariupol, Ukraine

The grounds-keeper caught the director watching him from behind the tall white linen curtains of her office window. He had seen her do this for many years and drive by him on his daily long walk to the bus-stop. He sensed her still observing him as he ambled to the newly installed nine foot high steel front gate at the entrance to the orphanage. He let himself out first, double-wrapped the chains, and relocked it. He stood there for a while looking at what had been his place of work for the past thirty-two years, the old large three-story building of imperfectly placed sandy bricks. Located central to one of the many Soviet era apartment sections of town, the orphanage was surrounded and blocked from all sides. The whole of the property, his kingdom, surrounded by a low endless and expansive wall of the same brick. He had given his best to it, inside and out, to make it appear less like an industrial warehouse. But at each day’s end, the view of it and his efforts disappointed.

His last day. He was still trying to believe it. It would be months before he started receiving his pension and he had made no other plans for the gap. He never even considered his pension, only assumed he would work until his body gave out completely.

Directors came and went over the years, one or two that were good and the rest bad. This latest one being the worst. Many children came to know him well and he always focused on the ones, the few, who could potentially find work when they left. But he was a learner. A man who read and thought. He learned to only invest himself in certain ones eventually and worked to build them up, making them assistants and getting them duty with him in the gardens or strapping on them a tool-belt to follow him around with, cleaning and fixing. Hoping they would grasp something lasting from his ethic and take on some confidence. It had become to him his real job.

He turned from the building. He had eleven blocks to walk to the bus stop. His longevity was in part due to this exercise blended with the breeze coming from the nearby Sea of Azov. At the corner of the fourth block he would normally stop into the store, buy a paper and meet his friends. His friends used to include the customers but that had changed over the years.

He passed the storefront by this evening.

As he walked, he thought of the empty flat that awaited him at the other side of town. His wife had died long ago and too young. He was without children; they had wanted children so badly. When no one was around he would still speak to her about all their children that he tended to. About his love and dreams for them. Each year he looked to celebrate a day when he helped one of his children get a job. Or when he found one had gone off to University on a government scholarship. He bought the little store out on those days. There were six such celebrations in his years at the orphanage. The past five years had been hopeless because of the new director. He managed his work around the other bad ones, but this one was different, maniacal and unpredictable. Also she was in total control while pretending to be at odds politically with some workers and administrators. It took him several years before he understood her act, her lies. And another couple of years to keep himself from the bottle when he returned home.

Part of him was relieved that he witnessed what he had on the second floor, while the part of him, concerned with paying his rent now, wished he had not stayed to listen and been found out. The work was so hopeless anyhow. And the director’s future would probably outlast the remainder of his life. But he had seen them and heard them. He had some skills and sober many years so he did imagine he might still find work, even at his age.

The grounds-keeper reached his stop and was surprised to see her alone there sitting under the canopy. He had been so much in his thoughts that he had not noticed her shiny new car parked in front of the bus-stop. He was certain she had not passed him on the walk, he always noticed that. And her new car was the latest talk of her around the orphanage. He approached her cautiously and sat down at the opposite end of the bench without acknowledging her.

You know I had to fire you, the director said.

He did not answer.

Those girls have a roof and some money. That’s more than they would have on the street and you know it. And they don’t pay for anything.

The grounds-keeper leaned his body slightly more away from her.

I know you heard us talking. I don’t need to know how much you heard, you understand. That is enough to know.

Why are you talking to me? he asked.

I want you to know how serious this is. You know the cook – she was here only six weeks.

He did remember. The woman had simply disappeared one day. But she had made friends in her short time and they tracked her down to her home town in time to attend the funeral. Because she had accidentally drowned three days before. Drowned in a river she had grown up swimming in every summer of her youth.

The bus pulled up to the curb and the man stood with no intention of a response. Something in him, some primal survival message, told him to speak before boarding the bus. I understand, he said.

Good. Very important.

Da, he replied.

The man stepped onto the bus, found his window seat and dropped into it. He knew she was looking at him but he could not look back. The bus moved and after some time he found the interest to look out the window as they passed the city port and then flowed through downtown Mariupol. The bus slowed and he peered down at two policemen talking it up with each other. He recognized the short one from a day in the director’s waiting room. The grounds-keeper had been there replacing a telephone the director had ripped from the wall and thrown against another wall. The short policeman had been there to get paid for turning a blind eye. When he was young, he believed the uniformed men were really something. They were the people’s refuge and ambassadors of the law. He knew now that the Soviet dream was just a prelude to a nightmare. His people were stronger than that and their heritage deeper. He had always imagined his last days to be of respect and honor. But the image was only four hours old and remained with him. He had been on that wing of the second floor a hundred thousand times before. This day was just unfortunate.

* * *

Three blocks from his Kiev hotel, he stood in front of the doors. The doors to the shop were obviously locked but Martin Johnson shook them anyhow. His need for caffeine hoped in any possibility. Even that which was seen with his eyes was not necessarily true, not absolutely. Dawn was breaking but the shopkeepers were not yet active. He turned around to see only old men slouching on park benches, chatting, feeding pigeons breakfast, and one set playing chess. Martin remembered Benjamin Franklin’s saying of early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. From the looks of the men, Martin learned that health and wealth had very subjective and circumstantial definitions. He had left a note for his wife, Jenny, early in the morning that he would be venturing out alone and scribbled down the number to his new cell phone. He started to approach the old men but changed his mind. Six months of hard study prior to this trip and he was still not confident in his Russian enough for random conversations.

This first cool morning in-country, an overwhelming pang settled in his gut as he left the storefront to walk the city sidewalks. It was mostly because of his need of coffee but he could not ignore the fact of his new anxiety. The last time he felt something like this was prior to his wedding day. Not a foreboding, instead a kind of concentrated gravity, deep in meaning and personal.

Martin didn’t like radical change or discomfort of any kind. Joining up with the little group on their mission to help an orphanage was something he had committed to for a lack of something better to do. He was diligent in this and in life to always count the cost, to never blindly leap into anything new. With all of his preparation, and being just a day into Ukraine, it did not feel like a honeymoon. He couldn’t even get coffee the instant he wanted it and feared that there might be more inconveniences that lay ahead.

As he walked the endless broken and cracked asphalt sidewalks of Kiev, the mix of grand Stalin period buildings with their tall columns, carved stone window frames and inlaid with first floor cheaply built modern store-fronts enthralled Martin. He worked his mind away from his normal inclinations and passions, thinking of prayer but without praying. This thing prayer only came to him in times of extreme distress or boredom. He crossed a river; the bridge’s entry way was marked by tall stone posts, topped with golden hammer and sickle ornaments. Martin passed over to the island and then meandered down towards the left embankment of the Dnieper River. A whole community of Soviet period apartment high-rises nestled in place on what his map said was an historic artificial island called Rusanivsky. Nothing was open there either. He continued on carefully down cement steps to the canal level and rested on what was left of a green painted wooden park bench at the water’s edge. He would wait the shopkeepers out. Looking out to the new light expanding across the algae infested water, he ran through the questions burdening him, questions he had not been used to asking. Why was he so tense? What lay ahead for him in the next 10 days? No matter, he was happy just to not be working wherever he might be. If nothing else, he planned to make a vacation out of it all.

Martin looked at his watch and thought of the meetings and ledgers he would normally be entertaining at work at that time. For the 15 years since leaving college, he had been an accountant with the small company. A job he also did simply for lack of interest in something else to do. Most of his promotions were generated by attrition and had been fittingly anticlimactic. It was rumoured that he was on a short list for the future position of comptroller. He knew he didn’t get along as well as others, so this had surprised him. Then he remembered the time difference. He’d actually be fast asleep if back home. Martin looked to his map and bits of history knowledge drifted to the forward of his thoughts but the power of their certainty fizzled. The Evil Empire, the name he’d been taught from his youth, clearly did not fit this place, or the people. They struggled, maybe, under an overtly oppressive government, but were not partakers of that power. Not folks like him anyhow. In fact, so far it seemed much like his Oklahoma but in an alternate universe. A universe without an EPA, building codes, or fast food and large grocery chains every hundred feet. Martin tightly clamped his eyes and pressed his thoughts out into a single desire and plea to have the wretched question of his anxiety answered. He waited as if for a miracle cure to cancer. But nothing. An hour later, nothing, the pressure of an unspoken purpose was still enveloping him.

He trudged himself back the way he had come and slowly passed one lone old man sitting on another bench. The man, in his 80s, leaned forward with his arms folded over his crossed legs. Martin estimated that his wide-lapelled plaid suit coat must have survived for at least forty years. He was compelled to stop before the man and felt strangely at home near him. The man looked at him as someone pleased, a kind of lonely old uncle expectant of company.

Hello, Martin said in his uncertain Russian.

Hello, friend.

They remained in silence for a time, what seemed like a very long time to Martin. The man never dropped his aged but alert piercing blue eyes from him.

You are American, the man said in English.

You know? Martin asked.

Yes. You are bold.

Your English is good, Martin replied. Bold?

Thank you. You see that ship there? By the crane.

Yes, Martin answered.

It’s named after an older riverboat. I worked on that one.

Providence. Martin said.

Very good. You read Russian.

Well, I know the alphabet. You know where I can get coffee? Martin again gestured as he struggled with words, forgetting the stranger knew perfect English.

A good ship can take you safely somewhere. But sometimes it is the ship that is the destination. You understand?

No. I’m sorry. I need to get going. It was nice talking with you.

Okay. You have hryvnia? the man asked.

The man held his shaking hand out. Martin handed him 10 hryvnia and smiled a goodbye. The old man had seemed extraordinary in the way he had opened up so directly. From Martin’s short experience from the airport to there the man seemed un-Ukrainian.

He called Jenny, telling her that he would meet the group at the Alliance Children’s Foundation compound. From his map, he could tell it was doable without a taxi. Martin, determined to find coffee, wanted more time to shake off the pressure he felt from the inside out.

Along the way back he witnessed shops opening for business. People filled the streets and sidewalks finding their way to their jobs. Many other people appeared to wander about without real direction. Probably unemployed. Martin passed a group of teens that likely should have been in school or at work. Books did not exaggerate the amount of street kids in Kiev. The numbers of homeless youth astounded him as he walked, walked in a way to avoid them. He caught the eye of a couple gang members as he went. Each time their eyes and expressions were identical – he offended them by having some place to go, some place to be. He ducked into the first open café and stood in line for his coffee. The Babushka in front of him turned her head back to look at him. Martin then realized that he had naturally made, with an American sense of space, the only gap in the line.

* * *

The Alliance Children’s Foundation compound was immense and was centered in one of the most expensive real estate quarters of Kiev. Inflation was in place and the rental property was a relative match to Manhattan. Martin walked through the stately gates of the A.C.F. feeling uneasy. His ideas of second-world ministries were nothing like he had observed. He knew there were people in the field, missionaries who suffered along with those they ministered to. This was not it. This was where they organized and networked all those missionaries. They also networked with hundreds of other non-profits in the country through what they called partnerships.

The A.C.F. resembled to Martin a little of the American government in the way that they were the dispenser of major funds, allowing them a far-reaching oversight of likely too many things. His little rag-tag group had gathered outside one of the doors on the third floor. He reached them and heard that he missed the tour of the state-of-the-art television studio. Apparently it was breath-taking.

He couldn’t have been less interested if he had desired to be. Why he came all this way in the first place, Martin wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t to meet-and-greet TV personalities or ogle electronic equipment in a studio. He took a place next to Jenny and they followed the team down the many stairs and out into the parking lot. The chief of the A.C.F., recognizable to Martin from his previous fretful Internet searches, walked out of the building with a couple of his aides following close behind. The man seemed bothered, a bitterness masked by a smile that Martin had seen before from so many salesmen.

The leader of the mission led the group closer to the chief and by the van that was to take them to the train station.

Hello, everyone. Welcome to Ukraine. Translated, it means Borderland and you guys are headed to our southernmost border region today. I tell you, I envy you your work in Mariupol. Word has gone ahead and the children are very excited. The director is as well. I have known her for many years and I think they will be as much a blessing to you as you are to them. Thank you again for your heart for the Ukrainian children.

The chief gave more energy to his final smile, waving before disappearing back into the building.

What’s his name, again? Martin asked.

Chip Stiles. He’s really nice, Jenny replied.

So just his little speech sucks?

Stop it, she whispered.

Fine.

* * *

On their way to the train station Martin had made it his goal to try to understand the Ukrainian traffic signs and rules. Was driving and parking on sidewalks okay all the time or just at certain hours? They encountered a traffic light at several intersections where the rule seemed to be that all cars met in the middle and fought their way across.

It was early evening by the time they arrived at the Kiev city train station. Their group was guided into the station, a place as bustling inside as outside. The airport had nothing like the volume of people in this place which showed to Martin that this country relied heavily on the train. Looking around the entryway he saw that the ceiling reached at least 100 feet high, held together with giant and ornate stone columns. Hanging from this incredible height was the largest chandelier he had ever seen with large baroque style fresco paintings bordering the highest rim full around the room. Did they have Soviet symbolism in the same way Masonic temple buildings back home had mystical meanings?

Jenny tugged him along with the rest of the herd to the window where they could exchange their money. These little currency exchange stations seemed to be everywhere. Martin had little interest in the people on his team before today, but now they made themselves pronounced, annoying, and embarrassing. An older couple bickered with the exchange agent and between themselves. Another man still complained about his having missed lunch. And one woman spoke loudly of how she was so humbled by the poverty she had seen on the way to the station.

Martin finally found the words to pray, but the answer was apparently ‘no’ because they were all still talking.

These people, Jenny.

Stop it. It’s fine, Jenny said.

Yeah, okay. But come on.

You don’t like groups or crowds. You don’t like anyone taking care of you. It makes you crazy.

Da, he said and laughed.

Oh, the language. You have to have an interpreter. That must be killing you. I’m sorry, it’s not funny.

It’s like I’m a baby, you know.

You’re my baby.

The A.C.F. people walked them all to their track where

Reviews for Unseen

[mishker-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mackenzie Day finally feels like she has her life in order when she graduates with a degree in music therapy. Music has saved Mac's life. Mackenzie's parents both died when she was young and her aunt, who saw Mackenzie as a burden, raised her. On top of that, Mac has always been different, she is able to read other's thoughts. This talent became too overwhelming for her when she started kindergarten and Mac was given an Integrated Listening Systems to help her tune out everyone else's thoughts, the iLs has been Mac's lifeline throughout her life. Just as Mac is ready to enter the career world, she stumbles upon a man whose mind she is unable to read. With this mysterious man, comes an invitation to join an even more mysterious group called the Unseen, a group of people who can read minds, just like her. I loved the premise of this story and enjoyed Mackenzie's character. It was a quick-paced read. I loved Mac's character for her perseverance. Even though the constant bombardment of other people's thoughts has made Mackenzie's life difficult, she has found comfort with her iLs and was able to graduate with a degree in music therapy with hopes of helping other kids the same way she was helped with her listening system. Everything changes when the Unseen comes along. They offer Mac everything that her childhood did not. Mac is very skeptical at first, but Owen, a very handsome mind reader, helps to convince Mac that the Unseen is where she belongs. I was a little dismayed that Mac gave up her dreams with music therapy to join the Unseen, especially since a hot guy was involved in her decision. However, once Mac starts her training, it is obvious that the Unseen is where she belongs. Part of the reveal at the end was obvious to me, but I'd still like to see where the story goes. This book was received for free in return for an honest review

[justjan3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Unseen by Stephanie Erickson I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I always try to give a book a one word response when I finish reading. For Unseen that word is “Wow!”Have you ever wanted to read someone’s mind? What if you could read all the minds of all the people around you? Would the chatter get to be too much? Would you want this power to go away? What if you could learn to control it? What would you do with this ability? Would you use it for evil? Would you use it for good? SPOILER ALERT: Would you want to be part of a movement that worked for the government where everyone used their controlled mind reading ability for the greater cause?This is the problem Mackenzie Day faces. She used to think she was a freak, a one of a kind. When out in public she would use an Ils, a modified IPod that would keep the voices out. Then she is approached by the Unseen and all the world she once knew has now changed. Mackenzie has an uncanny ability to learn quickly. She progresses through the training faster than anyone in the history of the Unseen. Why? What is her fate? This first book in the trilogy ends with the reader wanting more. At least, this is the way it was for me. Will Mackenzie leave things as is? Will she seek revenge? How will she face the future now that she can do what she can do and knows what she knows. I’m going to have to read Unforgiven, Book 2, just to find out. You will want to do the same thing.11.03.15

[cissa_5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mind reading is tricky to handle in fiction- either the the mind-reader Knows All, or is a basket case because of too much input.Erickson handled this really well. She dealt with what it would actually mean to read minds, and how difficult that would be until and unless one develops ways to control it.And if there were mind readers, there would definitely be various schools of them, mostly at odds.I think this was more novella length than novel length, but it was a fast, suspenseful and engaging read, as Mac finds others who share her gifts, and learns the advantages and perils of having such a power.I received this for free from the author's website, and do recommend it to those who find this intriguing- it's well done.

[absolutartist1-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

**I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*------------------------------------------Mackenzie Day constantly struggles to silence the voices in her head. The inner thoughts of those around her intrude upon every aspect of her life, threatening to turn it into chaos.All her life, she thought she was alone as a mind reader—a freak. And, then...------------------------------------------This was my first read by Stephanie, and I can't wait to get started on Unforgiven tonight! The story grabs the reader and pulls them in. The characters are well-developed and easy to sympathize with. The struggles Mac is facing are ones we all face - albeit with a supernatural twist. Decisions regarding our lives and what to do with them; decisions about whether or not to toss everything we've trained and studied for to the wind and take a radically different path; loss of loved (or not so loved) ones; and dating.The writing is detailed enough that it would be easy to see this made into a mini-series or movie. And, I loved the fact that the story is relevant enough to keep me interested AND clean enough that I can allow both of my kids to read it. BOTH read the synopsis on the back of the book, and wanted to know if they could borrow it! :)

[completely_melanie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I would give this a 4.25. I listened to the audio book of this with my husband. He doesn't have much time for him to actually read a physical book, so we listen to audio books together on his few days off. We both thoroughly enjoyed this book. An added plus is that my 12 year old son has listened to bits and pieces of this story while he is in the car with us and has now gotten into the story as well and wants to read it too! It's about this girl who is a mind reader and has just gotten her masters in music therapy. She uses an ILS to help her block out the "noise" of everyone's thoughts. Then she is approached by this secret organization called The Unseen and they want to teach her how to hone her skills. That's all well and good, but they are keeping secrets from her and she doesn't know exactly what they want from her or if she can trust them.

[beamis12 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Loved the beginning of the book, taking place in Texas, just before the start of the war at the Alamo, the beginning starts off with a bang. Than the book bogs down quite a bit, Crow putting together a new team of people with special abilities to investigate some present day murders as well as random appearances by a ghost, slows the novel down. This was an okay read but think it would have been better with more attention paid to the pacing of the book, maybe less time spent on back stories and more time spent on the concept. ARC by NetGalley.

[chymekeeper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a fantastic book ! It is a a page turner! Always kept me on toes! Lets just say "EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!!!

[debbieaheaton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In Graham’s paranormal novel, room 207 at the Longhorn Saloon has been the scene of many crimes over the past century. In that very same room today, another woman vanishes never to be heard from again. San Antonio has become a dumping ground for mutilated bodies and Texas Ranger Logan Raintree and U.S. Marshal Kelsey O’Brien are approached to join a team of elite paranormal investigators currently working on the unsolved case. Together, Kelsey and Logan will follow their instincts to the Alamo and with their “special skills” they will discover the why of it all.Once again, Graham shines as an incredible storyteller in yet another great addition to the Krewe of Hunters series.

[fidget78 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My rating 3.75 Stars

[exlibris_kate · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think the first thing I loved about this book was its setting in San Antonio. I can't think of a place more suited to having spirits walking around than the area around The Alamo. Both of the protagonists in this book have special abilities and have tried to hide those talents from all but a very few individuals. As the case unfolds and more women start to disappear, you really get a sense of the frustration that Kelsey and Logan both feel. Even with their abilities, they can' t seem to get a read on these disappearances. I tried to figure it out as I always do when I read mysteries, but I found that I was wrong about who was behind the murders which was fun. It was nice to read a mystery that didn't involve an obvious plot.The Unseen was an exciting and smart mystery with a very spooky element that made it a page turner. The romance between Logan and Kelsey is sweet, but it is not the main focus of the story which was nice. Often I find that with the romance/mysteries the structure of the story suffers when the romance becomes the focus instead of the case that is being solved. This book struck a good balance and I was pleasantly surprised by how involved I got in the story. If you like hard to solve cases with a little romance and a few ghosts, I think you will find this book very enjoyable!

[chuewyc_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well i think i was a little disappointed in this book. I felt like 2/3 of the book not much happened. It kept inching along, very slow. Overall not a bad supernatural who done it, but i have definitly read better

[thehistorychic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read from July 09 to 31, 2012Read for Fun!Overall Rating 3.75Story Rating 3.50Character Rating 4.00Audio Rating: 4.00 (Not part of the overall rating)First thought: I really like the new team :)What I Thought of the Case: The Unseen is set in San Antonio, TX and as a Native Texan I had to love it! As a history buff, I loved the setting even more. It was centered around The Alamo and the history of a missing diamond. The killings were very much committed by humans but the ghosts were such a HUGE help in figuring it out. I didn't quite figure out who did the grisly murders until about half way through. It was just a guess at that point but it ended up being right. Mysteries are best when they keep you guessing :)What I Thought of the Characters: The Unseen is the first book with a new Paranormal Investigation team. We do get to see a few characters from the original series but you could start here without missing a beat. I do like the new team almost as much as the old one. I am sure by the end of Book 4 they will be instilled in my heart. The main characters of The Unseen are Logan and Kelsey. They are both law enforcement but of different branches. Their different unique abilities work well together and I love their chemistry. Another great pairing by Heather Graham.What I Thought of the Audio: Not to sound like a broken record but Luke Daniels did a wonderful job. I recommend this series on audio! Though if you listen to a lot of audios that he does (which I do) then you will notice some re-use of accents. Sometimes that can make you laugh because that will make cross-series characters. Let's just say having Oberon act as some of these characters is hysterical. You quickly though get back into your story with just a little grin!Final Thought: I like this series and think most romantic mystery readers would too!

[krystalsbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good book read in less than a day. Could not put it down.

[bookaholiccat · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3 ½ Stars

The Unseen is the latest book by Heather Graham. I can say this book belongs in some part to the Krewe of Hunters series or at least it runs parallel to that series.

Jackson Crow, the leader of the original Krewe of Hunters is in Texas organizing a second crew, since his original group is already too busy working many cases and they are not enough for all the demand of work they have. They need more people and here is where Texas Rager Logan Raintree and U.S. Marshall Kelsey O’Brien come. Raintree will be the director of this new group and will work with Kelsey and other members that will come along the way.

After that blurb I think adding more than this will be telling the whole book.

There were things I liked about this book and others I wasn’t so sure. Let’s start with what I liked.
I really liked the historical facts and the description of the locations. I have never been in Texas let alone in The Alamo, but after reading this book I feel somehow as if I’ve been there and seen it. I did know about the Alamo, but not with much detail, what I didn’t know about it I learned with this book; I loved history so that was good, maybe if you already know the history of The Alamo all the historical mentions can be too much for you, but for me it was just perfect. Another thing I also liked was the Native American references, especially when the difference between Comanche and Apache beliefs were explained. I’m an admirer of Native American culture, so for me this was a special treat.
Another thing I liked was that the whodunit wasn’t predictable. I had my suspicions but I wasn’t a hundred percent on it. I liked that very much, I liked when an author surprise me a leaves me with an “I didn’t see that one coming”.

Now to what I didn’t like, first, the case in itself felt put together by force. I didn’t feel there was any connection between the murders to think that they were all related. Ok, I don’t know anything about police procedure but that was just my impression. In my opinion the case in general felt a bit farfetched.
Another thing I had a problem with was Logan and Kelsey’s relationship, for sure there was an attraction between them, but I really didn’t feel a deep connection. It felt more as if they were having a fling than really getting into a serious and long lasting relationship.

Despite the things I didn’t liked I can honestly say I enjoyed reading The Unseen. As I said before I loved the historical aspects of the story and I loved the ghost’s factor and the mystery behind the murders. I really want to know more about the other members of this new Krewe of Hunters and I’m planning to read future books in this series.
I recommend you this book if you like mystery books with a paranormal touch and lots of history behind them.

[shaiha_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

THE UNSEEN caught my interest immediately and held it tight until the stunning conclusion. The characters are wonderful and very realistic. The pacing is spot on as the reader is taken on a roller coaster of a ride as the team attempts to catch the murderer before more bodies are found. Having a federal unit consisting of members with ‘special’ gifts is not a new theme though most fit into the thriller/suspense genre. Ms. Graham has definitely added her own deft touch with the sparks that Logan Raintree and one of his team members Kelsey O’Brien throw off. Also the legend of the Galveston Diamond is so possible that I had to do a web search to discover whether it really does exist. I am happy to say that it doesn’t and is only a part of Ms. Graham’s wonderful imagination that she shares with her readers.I highly recommend it to any readers who enjoy their romantic suspense with a touch of the paranormal. Also readers who enjoy Kay Hooper’s Bishop series will want to check out this series.I rate this book a 3.8.***I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No monies have or will change hands.

[dd196406 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another entry in the Krewe of Hunters series. This story takes place in San Antonio in an old historic inn near the Alamo.

[cldunn-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book. Book 5 starts a new team of Krewe Hunters. This story takes place at the Alamo. Women are disappearing so Jackson Crowe comes to town to start another team. He contacts a Texas Ranger, Logan Raintree, and a US Marshal, Kelsey O'Brien. Neither are sure they want to join this team and leave jobs they love.As they learn about the women that are disappearing and try to figure out how the Alamo ties into the women, they become more and more interested in what this team can accomplish together and the talents each of them have.I did figure out who was doing the killings about 3/4 of the way through the book but it didn't change how interesting this story was. I didn't want to put the book down until it was finished. Very good read and one of my favorites in this series.

[rhonda1111 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Review: The Unseen by Heather Graham 4 STARSThis has a little of everything, ghosts of murder victims & murder,missing treasure, FBI Agent,Texas Ranger,US Marshal,Alamo, Davy Crocket, movie, mediums,romance,sex scenes and it all makes sense.Kelsey O'Brien is US Marshal out of Florida she was sent to texas to meet with FBI Agent Crow. She not sure why but is staying with old friend who bought an old hotel & bar by the Alamo.Logan Raintree is a Texas Ranger he also has been asked to meet and work with FBI Agent Crow. Logan sees the dread. He is a widower.Agent Crow is putting together a second team that has extra senses and wants Logan to head up the team. Tells him to take his time but work a serialmurder right in his town.In fact one murder victum never found but hotel room had blood all over it is the one Kelsey is staying in. The murder taken place at the time her friend was buying the hotel. Kelsey ended up in that room and saw ghosts in it.Logan and Kelsey got very close fast as they worked together. Trying to find out who the victims were and why they were killed.I would like to read more books about this team working together.I was given this ebook to read in exchange for honest review from Netgalley.03/27/2012 PUB Harlequin Mira Books