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The Invisible World
Critically acclaimed author John Smolens conjures a world of hidden truths and intrigue in which the familiar is the most mysterious force of all.
For years Samuel Xavier Adams’s father has been a shadow figure in his family’s lives, vanishing and reappearing, keeping a slender connection from afar while his wife and children are haunted by loneliness, his daughter wasted by addictions, and his son, Sam, hounded by his father’s enemies. Sam has spent his life trying to discover what his father, who “worked for the government,” was doing that was worth the family’s ruin. Sam’s insistence on answers and his suspicions of his father’s involvement in the events of November 1963 drew the wrong kind of attention from powerful quarters, scuttling his journalistic career. But at least, Sam believed, he had put his dealings with his father to rest.
Now the older man has resurfaced, has been seen slipping in and out of his wife’s hospital room moments before her death. Her autopsy report is suspicious and her ashes are missing. And Sam is again on his father’s trail, in a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek played out in the dark underworld of Boston’s hushed and foggy roads and waterways. There are other players in the game—many of them figures from the past whose allegiances and motives are tangled and obscure. All are racing toward a deadly reckoning, and for Sam it may be the last chance to solve the puzzle of his life by seeing his father clearly for the first time, before he inevitably vanishes again.
For years Samuel Xavier Adams’s father has been a shadow figure in his family’s lives, vanishing and reappearing, keeping a slender connection from afar while his wife and children are haunted by loneliness, his daughter wasted by addictions, and his son, Sam, hounded by his father’s enemies. Sam has spent his life trying to discover what his father, who “worked for the government,” was doing that was worth the family’s ruin. Sam’s insistence on answers and his suspicions of his father’s involvement in the events of November 1963 drew the wrong kind of attention from powerful quarters, scuttling his journalistic career. But at least, Sam believed, he had put his dealings with his father to rest.
Now the older man has resurfaced, has been seen slipping in and out of his wife’s hospital room moments before her death. Her autopsy report is suspicious and her ashes are missing. And Sam is again on his father’s trail, in a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek played out in the dark underworld of Boston’s hushed and foggy roads and waterways. There are other players in the game—many of them figures from the past whose allegiances and motives are tangled and obscure. All are racing toward a deadly reckoning, and for Sam it may be the last chance to solve the puzzle of his life by seeing his father clearly for the first time, before he inevitably vanishes again.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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46 people want to read
About the author
John Smolens
21 books42 followersAccording to Northern Michigan University's website, John Smolens "...has published five novels Cold, The Invisible World, Fire Point, Angel’s Head, and Winter by Degrees, and one collection of short stories (My One and Only Bomb Shelter.) Cold was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and the Detroit Free Press selected Fire Point as the best book by a Michigan author in 2004... His short stories and essays have appeared in various magazines and newspapers, including: the Virginia Quarterly, the William and Mary Review, the Massachusetts Review, Yankee, Redbook, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe. His work has been translated into Dutch, Greek, Italian, and Turkish, and has been published the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton, London."
His most recent publication is The Anarchist and has been well received.
His most recent publication is The Anarchist and has been well received.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 2, 2012
I've been reading John Smolens books for several years now and haven't found a bad one yet. Whether his stories are set in northern Michigan (COLD and FIRE POINT) or Boston, his sense of place and setting is always dead-on, and makes you feel like you're right there. In THE INVISIBLE WORLD you get to know the seedy bars in Boston, as well as the upscale places, places like Sevens and the Cask'n'Flagon, which sits in the shadow of Fenway and the Green Monster. The seamier side of Boston is glimpsed too, as protagonist Sam Adams tries vainly, at various times, to rescue his sister Abigail from a life of drugs and prostitution. The Adams family ... Hey, I just realized that this so very dysfunctional family is "The Adams Family"! Did you do that on purpose, John? Wasn't it enought that our hero - or anti-hero - was named Samuel Adams (with nods to both the writer and the designer beer) and his near-invisible father with his shadowy ties to government and espionage since WWII is named John (well, "Jack") Adams? Then, there's the daughter, Abigail Adams. Couldn't an English major have fun with this book just analyzing the possible significance of the names chosen for this family and probably other characters too?
But I don't mean to make light of this book, or any of Smolens' books. BEcause make no mistake, this guy is a master at creating believable and very human characters, as well as at setting the scene and creating a very firm sense of place. His pacing is skillful and exact. He keeps you turning the pages, wondering what the hell is gonna happen next. In fact his books represent the very best of literary suspense/thriller/mystery genre. And the emphasis here is on "literary." His writing is on a par with, if not above, the work of great suspense writers like James Lee Burke, Lawrence Block or the late Tony Hillerman. And several cuts above the trash for the masses that John Grisham puts out (although I must confess that while I simply can't read Grisham, his books do make good films).
The story here, another twist on the JFK assassination theories, has obviously been painstakingly researched, and thus made chillingly believable. The skulduggery, political machinations, bloodshed and murder all seem equally and eminently real.
This guy's books are just plain good. They must be, because I don't generally read many mysteries or suspense-thrillers, but Smolens snags me every time. Someone needs to "wake the town and tell the people" about this writer. He deserves a much wider audience. Read John Smolens, please. You'll be glad you did.
But I don't mean to make light of this book, or any of Smolens' books. BEcause make no mistake, this guy is a master at creating believable and very human characters, as well as at setting the scene and creating a very firm sense of place. His pacing is skillful and exact. He keeps you turning the pages, wondering what the hell is gonna happen next. In fact his books represent the very best of literary suspense/thriller/mystery genre. And the emphasis here is on "literary." His writing is on a par with, if not above, the work of great suspense writers like James Lee Burke, Lawrence Block or the late Tony Hillerman. And several cuts above the trash for the masses that John Grisham puts out (although I must confess that while I simply can't read Grisham, his books do make good films).
The story here, another twist on the JFK assassination theories, has obviously been painstakingly researched, and thus made chillingly believable. The skulduggery, political machinations, bloodshed and murder all seem equally and eminently real.
This guy's books are just plain good. They must be, because I don't generally read many mysteries or suspense-thrillers, but Smolens snags me every time. Someone needs to "wake the town and tell the people" about this writer. He deserves a much wider audience. Read John Smolens, please. You'll be glad you did.
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February 8, 2020Thought this was gonna be an entirely different plot than what I got…
The blurb made it seem like there was gonna be some type of other dimension called "the invisible world" where people that were dead were still visible or something like that,
and the plot is more murder mystery and frankly quite boring.
I seriously fell asleep like 20 times before dnfing this.
The blurb made it seem like there was gonna be some type of other dimension called "the invisible world" where people that were dead were still visible or something like that,
and the plot is more murder mystery and frankly quite boring.
I seriously fell asleep like 20 times before dnfing this.
February 24, 2013
I am undecided about whether I liked the book or not. This is not an easy, quick read. I put it down several times to start reading something else,but kept returning to read just one more page. John Smolens managed to pace the book just so that you don't know if you want to read further, but you just have to keep going to see what would happen next.
The author avoided melodrama like the plague, but infused the story with true drama born from the character traits of every character used in the book. All the characters, even minor ones, are well rounded, believable and real. This I suspect, is what makes the plot work. Together with a well- researched plot it makes compelling reading.
The book is written well. It engages all your senses and grounds you in the scenes with ease. With the use of sensory information, this author draws you to the sights, sounds and smells his main character experiences.
Although it was not a comfortable read, I think I might just see what other books the author has to offer. In my opinion, this book deserves nothing less than four stars.
The author avoided melodrama like the plague, but infused the story with true drama born from the character traits of every character used in the book. All the characters, even minor ones, are well rounded, believable and real. This I suspect, is what makes the plot work. Together with a well- researched plot it makes compelling reading.
The book is written well. It engages all your senses and grounds you in the scenes with ease. With the use of sensory information, this author draws you to the sights, sounds and smells his main character experiences.
Although it was not a comfortable read, I think I might just see what other books the author has to offer. In my opinion, this book deserves nothing less than four stars.
December 5, 2015
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I like a good thriller now and then but often times I just don't like them and never end up finishing them. I really enjoyed the story in this book. It was unpredictable for me. I liked how the flashbacks fit in, I don't always like too many flashbacks but they worked perfect in this book. Good book and I don't even have any interest in Kennedy conspiracy theories, didn't matter here!
June 27, 2008
I really wanted to like this, and I did like parts, but mostly I want those 20 hours back.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews