Urban explorer Lucas Freund doesn't just visit hidden areas of public buildings---he lives there! So when the FBI wants to know about "watchers" who infiltrate people's homes, Lucas is recruited to join the Creep Club! Can he prove he's not the killer when members start to die . . . or will he be the next victim? 400 pages, hardcover from Nelson.

Average Customer Rating:

4.1

out of

(9 Reviews) 9

Rating Snapshot (9 reviews)

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

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Customer Reviews for The Unseen

Review 1 for The Unseen

Overall Rating:

5 out of 5

Date:February 24, 2009

Paul Brycki

This was my first book by T.L. Hines that I have read. It was a really enjoyable experience , once I got started I didnt want to put it down. This story is definitely Noir Bizarre with emphasis on Bizarre, the novel goes from creepy to strange at each page turn. The story is based in Washington D.C. which makes for interesting reading whether or not you are familiar with the area. Lucas the main character is a young man, that is the product of an orphanage. As a young boy he sneaks out of his room onto the roof of his orphanage, staring at the bright lights of Washington D.C. dreaming about one day living in that big city. Lucas grown up finds himself in the darkest recesses of our nations capital, but never in the same place for very long. He likes small hidden spaces, crawl spaces, dropped ceilings, and empty offices. Lucas is a watcher of sorts. He hides, watches, lives precariously through other people and the lives he creates for them.Lucas loves to discover new forbidden places in the Metro area, build hammocks in out of the way places, and collect peoples personal possessions or totems as he refers to them. Soon he meets someone else that creeps in the area as well. After this meeting things start to get interesting. From the beginning the author sets a stage of intrigue, mystery, and a high level of suspense. Surprisingly Lucas has high moral values when it comes to creeping, soon he finds that others that are like him dont always hold to such high standards. He is caught in a whirlwind of danger, and action. Throughout the book I was kept guessing at where the author would take this story next, at every turn I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the ethical standards that Lucas adopts pertaining to his hobby and the way he treats threats to himself. An excellent read for the weekend or a short vacation. I recommend this one and look forward to looking at others by T.L Hines.

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Review 2 for The Unseen

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Date:January 30, 2009

Cindy Horton

From the first page, I was drawn into the story. I found it almost impossible not to turn the pages and keep reading. I love that kind of book!Not only does Lucas watch strangers, but he creates nests to hide in public places. Lucas goes so far as to slip into the working area of people and steal a photo or scarf. His ultimate goal is to make a connection with those that he watches - the moment when they sense his presence. As strange as Lucas is, the characters in the story become stranger and stranger. Even when I couldnt believe another word of what he was saying, I still wanted to continue on and discover the ending to this strange tale.There is a bare, white room where a boy is kept - never knowing what lies on the other side of the door. All he knows is the man who arrives daily to give him injections of medicine that will make him better even though hes not sick. There are memories that have been completely wiped leaving no trace of who a person is or where he came from. There are people who are little more than drones for a higher commander. They do exactly what theyre told with no question or thought. Theres even a man who walks around with a swarm of wasps hovering about his head.If you like conspiracy theory and men in black stories, then this one will definitely be right up your alley.One thing I appreciated is that it contained not one single cuss word. The book doesnt contain any sexual situations either.It does contain violence - explosions, gunshots, plots to kill, spousal abuse. Several people are shot and killed during the last chapters, and one person begs another to kill him. The portions of the book that take place in the white room are not violent, but they are unpleasant especially because the person held captive in the room is a child.Depending on your reading preferences, youll either love this book, hate it or something in between. While parts of the storyline were unrealistic to me, I did enjoy it.

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Review 3 for The Unseen

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Date:January 11, 2009

Stormi

I have never read a book by T. L. Hines, but I selected it to review from the Thomas Nelson website because it sounded interesting. I don't think I have read a book in a long time that had so many twist and turns in it. At first it was sort of boring, but once Lucas says hello to another urban creeper his whole world is turned upside down. You don't know who is the good guy or who is the bad guy through out the entire book and that makes for a really good read.I will defiantly have to go back and take a look at some of his other works and see if they are as good as this one.Would not have thought of this book as a Christian novel, actually thought I was reading a secular book till I found it on here.

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Review 4 for The Unseen

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Date:January 9, 2009

CeeCee, booksplurge.blogspot.com

Lucas likes to people watch. Most people, who enjoy people watching, would go to a place like a mall or park and sit out in the open. Lucas prefers a more secret approach. He likes to watch his person of interest closely, like while you worked in your office. You wouldnt know Lucas is watching.But he is.Hed be hiding in the ceiling overlooking your desk or in spaces behind walls, places he calls observation decks. Lucas operates under his own honor codea persons home is off limits. That is until the tables are turned on him and someone begins to watch him.Then things really began to get creepy.T.L. Hiness gift for writing noir bizarre stories, mixing mysteries with oddities, is certainly evident in this book. Imagine the noises you dismiss as the house settling is really a person watching you. How about that eerie-warm-Im-being-watched feeling you think is the figment of your imagination is really someone watching you.Just last week, it was reported that a man secretly lived in a womans attic.How creepy is that?Despite The Unseen's high creep factor, I couldnt put the book down. I had to find out what motivated Lucas to spy on other people and why were other people now watching him. Then I started feeling sorry for Lucas. Creepy habit aside, hes a likeable character.Carve out some uninterrupted reading time because you wont want to stop reading once you get started. I will be on the look out for more novels by T.L. Hines.Posted by CeeCee@Book Splurge

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Review 5 for The Unseen

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Date:January 5, 2009

Thia

For the most part, I feel pretty safe when I am out in public. I also feel fairly secure in my own home. It is an advantage to living in America. The Unseen by T.L. Hines stands our sense of security on it's head. Then, just at the time you begin to feel comfortable again, he increases the intensity of the book. It is sure to keep you unsettled right until the end.Our main character is Lucas. Uncertain about his past, insecure about his present, and not even thinking about his future, he spends his days watching people and imagining fantasies about them. What he learns is that things are often not what they appear to be. While this may be common knowledge to many, he learns that this is true, not just in the public eye, but also behind closed doors. What he learns requires him to take action. These actions cause him to run for his life, but in the end, he has run into a life that he never thought was possible; a life just as real as those he watched for so long.I do not often read thrillers, but this book was a great read. If you think thrillers are predictable, I highly recommend this to you as it is anything but. I would definitely consider reading another book by Hines.

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Review 6 for The Unseen

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Date:December 30, 2008

Robin McCormack

The Unseen is about a man who likes to watch others invisibly from hidden caches in offices, elevators and closets. He like to watch people and make up imaginary stories about what he thinks their lives are like. He lives where ever he likes in abandoned steam tunnels, or vacant offices in office buildings. He eats left over or abandoned lunches from break room refrigerators and wears clothes from goodwill. He doesn't pay rent, buy food or clothing. He has managed to save several thousand dollars working under the table jobs for cash. He lives under the radar, unnoticed and unseen.Until one day he runs into a creeper. Someone who likes to explore tunnels and authorized employee only areas, take pictures and leave their mark proving they were there. Douglas is part of the Creep Club, a group who like Lucas, like to watch. However, Lucas only watches people in public places. These people enter into private homes, film the activities of their lives and share the films with the club. Douglas invites Lucas to a meeting and he is turned off by their voyeuristic attitudes especially when they do nothing to help the people they watch. Two of the videos reveal a man whom his wife and partner want to kill off, another a woman who is being abused by her husband.Lucas decides to be a good Samaritan and try the help the people in the videos, but once he does his life is no longer his own. Now someone is watching him and hes drawn into a world of murder, dark plots and secrets. I cant say more without giving away spoilers, but suffice it to say, with all the twists and turns, the story and characters will keep you fascinated to the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed this noir bizarre story by T.L. Hines.

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Review 7 for The Unseen

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Date:December 13, 2008

Lee D

When I started reading the book, I decided it wasnt the kind of story I would normally read, but I plowed into it. I have to admit, it caught my attention in the first chapter. Then, because of the suspense and intrigue of it, I had to keep reading it. It seems that Lucas, a loner, likes to hide in weird and tight places to watch people. Then, he make up life histories about those people-where they live, how many kids, whether they are happy or sad and why. He does this while peeping through holes in elevator ceilings, utility closets, suspended above suspended ceilings, etc.When he gets involve with a group of creepers in a Creep Club, he feels he has met kindred spirits. What happen from there becomes so involved and intriguing, you never know what twist or turn will happen next. About the time I thought I was starting to get the picture, a new twist was introduced. The plots and counter plots continue until the end of the book where you finally find out who Lucas, Humpty, really is and where he came from. I wont reveal the ending, because that would spoil it for the readers.Would I read another of Mr. Hines books? I most likely would read another of his books. My only other thought about the book is that I thought Thomas Nelson Fiction mainly produced Christian Fiction. This book did not have a Christian emphasis per se.

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Review 8 for The Unseen

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Date:December 6, 2008

Scott

First, the good news. T. L. Hines The Unseen is a good read. Hines self-described noire bizarre has already found success in two previous novels, and I think I enjoyed this one better than those first two (especially once you get past the bizarre part). In spite of his obvious flaws, I found myself sympathetic to the main character, Lucas. Many of his inner struggles are common to us all, and there is some good insight into the nature of temptation and the Dark Vibrations that pulsate within us.At some points, the many twists and turns of the story get a little hard to follow; and one or two twists seem a bit too random. But for the most part things are tied up well in the end. My interest was definitely held and it kept me turning the pages at a pretty quick pace. Now for the bad. What is it that makes this a Christian book? There is the aforementioned delving into the depraved temptations we face, but there is no solution offered. There is nothing distinctly Christian about this book. There is a brief mention of Lucas being in danger of losing his soul, but again, there is no solution given. He seems to come back from that precipice, but there is no Christ, no God, no biblical means for him to do so. Maybe its just a little too subtle for me. Maybe its just about God fixing our brokenness. But it would have been nice to see that made more plain. So if youre just looking for a good suspense novel, with a few very odd twists, grab up The Unseen and waste a few enjoyable hours. But if youre hoping to find some real biblical hope in the midst of the noire, then you will be disappointed.

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Review 9 for The Unseen

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Date:September 27, 2008

Rick Combs

In my opinion, this is Hines' best to date! It even inspired this little poem:"Humpty(Lucas)(Everyman)Dumpty"Humpty Dumpty peeped through a wall,Humpty Dumpty had some great falls,Action,adventure,And truth in the end,GOD can put pieces together again!

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