Every Hidden Thing

Garr Reed Mystery #2

by Athol Dickson

Garr Reed, whom mystery fans first met in Whom Shall I Fear?, returns in another fast-paced, white-knuckles adventure--this time into the secret past of the person closest to him. Would Garr's gentle, devoutly Christian wife actually try to kill someone? That's the charge leveled against Mary Jo when a peaceful sit-in at a local abortion clinic leads to her arrest for the attempted murder of the abortion doctor. Everything Garr knows about his wife tells him she's not capable of taking a life. But evidence to the contrary is growing, and it looks alarmingly convincing. If things are already bad enough, they're about to get much worse. Mary Jo, who is out on bond, disappears, leaving a note that sounds disturbingly like a confession. Where is she? Could she really be guilty? What doesn't Garr know about this woman he thought he knew so well? His search for answers and for his beloved wife takes Garr to New Orleans, and into a sinister world whose extremes he could scarce have believed. It's a world of ultra-conservative Christian militants, of backwater voodoo practitioners—and of dark secrets from Mary Jo's past that have haunted their marriage, and that now, brought into the open, are about to sweep them into a nightmare from which they may never emerge. Book two in the Garr Reed Mystery series, Every Hidden Thing combines a thoughtful look at the church's response to the abortion industry with taut, fast-paced reading. Here are intrigue, action, and surprises enough to satisfy the most discriminating mystery fans.

416 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Athol Dickson's parents were living on the road when he was born. His first bed was a drawer lined with towels in a travel trailer. He has loved road trips ever since. Boating is a passion, too. Athol owns three boats, and once lived aboard a yacht full-time while cruising the Gulf of Mexico and the USA's Atlantic coast. But Athol's nine novels are proof he can sit still and write if he's with his wife of nearly 30 years, The Lovely Sue. They live in Southern California, where Athol is at work on novel number ten, the second in a series call "The Malcolm Cutter Memoirs" about a multi-millionaire chauffeur who would rather solve mysteries for his clients than hang out on his yacht. What bliss: a novel that combines boats and road trips!

Reviews

[Rick Bavera · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt "over-written" to me. Not sure what I mean by that, other than there was often too much description. Too many words.
And I constantly had a hard time caring about the characters and the story.

[Megan Dombrovski · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst story ever!!! Do NOT waste your time. I could read about 10 pages at a time before I was bored to tears.

[T.E. George · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this sequel to Whom Shall I Fear, Garrison Reed and his wife Mary Joe are in trouble once again. This time it is Mary Joe who harbors secrets and Garr who is trying to understand. Most of the action in this novel is actually set in New Orleans rather than Mr. Sinai, Texas. The plot revolves around abortion, those who are for and against it, and the voodoo culture of the Crescent City.

There are many positives to Every Hidden Thing. As always, Dickson paints vivid portraits of his characters. Garr is an average Christian. He sincerely wants to obey God but is at times confused about how to discern in the gray areas of life. He is fiercely loyal to his wife yet cannot understand her unwillingness to tell him about her past. If you don't know much about the hidden influence of the voodoo culture on parts of New Orleans, this will be a startling introduction.

With all that said, this is the weakest of all of Dickson's works as far as this reviewer is concerned. It is very possible that is simply because I am judging by the standard of Dickson's newer works (River Rising and The Cure). Compared to many other mystery and suspense novels this is an excellent work. For me, it just doesn't rise to the level I have grown accustomed to with Athol Dickson.

[Bettycindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book. I finished it because I like to read books set in the south and I was fascinated with the pathetic attempt to weave religion into a mystery novel. It was pretty poorly done. Not a bad story, but without the unnecessary agonizing of the protagonist about his Christianity, faith, etc. the book would have been half as long. Don't bother.