The Unseen

The author of Waking Lazarus and The Dead Whisper On brings another quirky but mostly successful supernatural thriller. Set in Washington D.C., this bizarre noir digs a hole to the underworld through the sleuthing skills of Lucas Freund, a loner running for his life and seeking a new identity. Hines peeks into the weird and surprisingly sinister world of urban explorers who enjoy the surge of going behind locked doors, in city tunnels, and behind walls in public places. A dark obsession that wars against a strong drive for justice drives Lucas to dig deeper into a group called The Creep Club, which secretly videotapes people in their homes. But the maze is more complex and interconnected to international counterintelligence than he imagines, and when members of the club get killed and he is blamed, he doesn't know whom he can trust. Hines's dialogue is darkly funny as he explores the depths of the human desire for authenticity. Although too many underdeveloped and unsympathetic characters may leave readers wondering who to care about, fans of breathless suspense that's a little off-center will enjoy this.