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Of Things Unseen
Black girls are disappearing in suburban Atlanta and no one is paying attention…
Sick and troubled Atlanta housewife Tamara Johnston has spent years trying to forget her past, but when she learns four black girls have disappeared near her hometown, the memories haunt her once again. As a favor (and to exorcise her own demons), she agrees to help a journalist friend publicize the cases of the missing girls. Thanks to their efforts, the story goes viral and the police are forced to get involved. When bodies are discovered, the department sends local detective Barrington Dunn to calm the angry and grieving community.
But something is off. Barrington is a robbery detective who’s never worked a homicide and the department doesn’t seem serious about solving the murders. What’s worse, they’ve left him with only one good lead…a police sketch. And when it’s released to the media, Tamara’s world is turned upside down.
The sketch looks like someone she knows.
Now Tamara is convinced the murders are connected to horrific events from her childhood, and she’s certain she knows who did it. There’s only one problem: no one believes her. As she returns to her hometown to unravel the secrets and lies from her past, including her own, Detective Dunn must navigate racial politics, departmental sabotage, and his growing attraction to Tamara in order to catch a crafty serial killer before he kills again. And for Tamara, the shocking truth is worse than she could have imagined.
Sick and troubled Atlanta housewife Tamara Johnston has spent years trying to forget her past, but when she learns four black girls have disappeared near her hometown, the memories haunt her once again. As a favor (and to exorcise her own demons), she agrees to help a journalist friend publicize the cases of the missing girls. Thanks to their efforts, the story goes viral and the police are forced to get involved. When bodies are discovered, the department sends local detective Barrington Dunn to calm the angry and grieving community.
But something is off. Barrington is a robbery detective who’s never worked a homicide and the department doesn’t seem serious about solving the murders. What’s worse, they’ve left him with only one good lead…a police sketch. And when it’s released to the media, Tamara’s world is turned upside down.
The sketch looks like someone she knows.
Now Tamara is convinced the murders are connected to horrific events from her childhood, and she’s certain she knows who did it. There’s only one problem: no one believes her. As she returns to her hometown to unravel the secrets and lies from her past, including her own, Detective Dunn must navigate racial politics, departmental sabotage, and his growing attraction to Tamara in order to catch a crafty serial killer before he kills again. And for Tamara, the shocking truth is worse than she could have imagined.
- GenresMystery
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2018
74 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
L. Jaye Morgan
5 books26 followersL. Jaye Morgan has been a horror/mystery/thriller fan since she was a small child and she sometimes wonders what that says about her state of mind. Nevertheless, she now writes mysteries and psychological thrillers that feature African American characters—the books she’s always wanted to read.
She has a master’s degree in African American Studies and 3/4ths of a PhD in Sociology. When she’s not writing her dissertation, she’s procrastinating by thinking up more stories to tell. And binge-watching shows on Netflix. Her debut novel, Of Things Unseen, will be released in November of 2018.
She currently lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her wonderful husband, two brilliant children, and a spoiled dog.
She has a master’s degree in African American Studies and 3/4ths of a PhD in Sociology. When she’s not writing her dissertation, she’s procrastinating by thinking up more stories to tell. And binge-watching shows on Netflix. Her debut novel, Of Things Unseen, will be released in November of 2018.
She currently lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her wonderful husband, two brilliant children, and a spoiled dog.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 11, 2020
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
I find it hard to believe that this is this author's first book. It is really good. The story isn't perfect (my biggest complaint is that the pacing is a little slow at times and unfortunately there are some editing issues but not enough to be distracting) but it is right on par with some of the suspense novels being released by major publishing houses.
Black girls/women in the city of Atlanta are going missing. Unfortunately those with the power to help seem to be uninterested in doing any investigation until a local journalist decides to spotlight some of these stories. This brings some bad publicity to the local police and forces them to at least pretend that they care about finding out what happened to these girls. In comes Barrington, a young detective who primarily works on burglary cases but since he's black and a native of the area he is forced to be the face of what initially started off as a sham investigation. Eventually Barrington decides to really look into these disappearances and what he discovers just might surprise you. I wish the reveal had been fleshed out a bit more but all in all it was still a satisfying ending.
If you like suspense novels give this one a try. I think you will enjoy it.
I find it hard to believe that this is this author's first book. It is really good. The story isn't perfect (my biggest complaint is that the pacing is a little slow at times and unfortunately there are some editing issues but not enough to be distracting) but it is right on par with some of the suspense novels being released by major publishing houses.
Black girls/women in the city of Atlanta are going missing. Unfortunately those with the power to help seem to be uninterested in doing any investigation until a local journalist decides to spotlight some of these stories. This brings some bad publicity to the local police and forces them to at least pretend that they care about finding out what happened to these girls. In comes Barrington, a young detective who primarily works on burglary cases but since he's black and a native of the area he is forced to be the face of what initially started off as a sham investigation. Eventually Barrington decides to really look into these disappearances and what he discovers just might surprise you. I wish the reveal had been fleshed out a bit more but all in all it was still a satisfying ending.
If you like suspense novels give this one a try. I think you will enjoy it.
February 16, 2020
"𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.
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The Bookstagram community has been integral in broadening my interest in books and informing me of new authors and genres I didn’t know before.
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I didn’t know of any African American authors who wrote psychology thrillers - I never thought to even look- until someone shared this book last week and I had to have it!
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Black girls are disappearing in suburban Atlanta and no one is paying attention…
♟
Of Things Unseen was a very quick, suspenseful read, but I wouldn’t exactly call it a psychological thriller. It was a good plot and raised some very interesting and real issues of how cases of missing black girls usually go cold and are brushed to the side, without much media coverage or effort from law enforcement.
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I really liked how the author developed perfectly the characters, giving insight to family life and learning more about them. Even the missing girls. The main character suffering with the pain of the unseen, painful disease fibromyalgia was also interesting to read more about.
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Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more African American suspense and thrillers!
♟
The Bookstagram community has been integral in broadening my interest in books and informing me of new authors and genres I didn’t know before.
♟
I didn’t know of any African American authors who wrote psychology thrillers - I never thought to even look- until someone shared this book last week and I had to have it!
♟
Black girls are disappearing in suburban Atlanta and no one is paying attention…
♟
Of Things Unseen was a very quick, suspenseful read, but I wouldn’t exactly call it a psychological thriller. It was a good plot and raised some very interesting and real issues of how cases of missing black girls usually go cold and are brushed to the side, without much media coverage or effort from law enforcement.
♟
I really liked how the author developed perfectly the characters, giving insight to family life and learning more about them. Even the missing girls. The main character suffering with the pain of the unseen, painful disease fibromyalgia was also interesting to read more about.
♟
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more African American suspense and thrillers!
February 9, 2020
Of Things Unseen is the story is a pychological thriller focused on Tamara who is disabled by fibromyalgia and has too much time on her hands. She focuses her obsessive energy on the case of multiple young black women who have gone missing and don’t seem to be getting any attention from the police department or the media. Is there a potential serial killer who is getting away with multiple murders because of the targets he is choosing?
Tamara becomes more embroiled in the case as the department places a handsome robbery detective on the case simply because he’s black. Her need to advocate for these girls and his need to solve the case that his colleagues are ignoring makes for a compelling team. I will say I guessed the killer early on, but there were some really good red herrings along the way that made me second guess myself.
I’ve had a string of mediocre thrillers lately but this one was great! It was also interesting to see how race impacted the case, even in a predominantly black city.
Tamara becomes more embroiled in the case as the department places a handsome robbery detective on the case simply because he’s black. Her need to advocate for these girls and his need to solve the case that his colleagues are ignoring makes for a compelling team. I will say I guessed the killer early on, but there were some really good red herrings along the way that made me second guess myself.
I’ve had a string of mediocre thrillers lately but this one was great! It was also interesting to see how race impacted the case, even in a predominantly black city.
July 4, 2019
Good reading.
I got this as a free book and was very pleasantly surprised. In spite of the circumstances ( a serial killer) , I felt there was a support system in the black community. Very similar to the neighborhood I grew up in. All the characters were very relatable. I found a new author.
I got this as a free book and was very pleasantly surprised. In spite of the circumstances ( a serial killer) , I felt there was a support system in the black community. Very similar to the neighborhood I grew up in. All the characters were very relatable. I found a new author.
January 12, 2020
Excellent read
Excellent read, I loved the storyline. Tamara was annoying to me. It was clear see had multiple issues stemming from her past. Barrington was a solid character a good police officer, trying to do his job without going against his superiors directives. It was a suspenseful novel about missing Black women. I recommend this book.
Excellent read, I loved the storyline. Tamara was annoying to me. It was clear see had multiple issues stemming from her past. Barrington was a solid character a good police officer, trying to do his job without going against his superiors directives. It was a suspenseful novel about missing Black women. I recommend this book.
April 25, 2020
I struggled through the first portion of the book to become invested, I pushed through. Sometimes i got confused on which character was actually talking, so I found myself reading pages over. Overall it was a decent read, not the page turner I had hoped for. The investigative portions were very good and that's what kept me reading.
March 21, 2019
Great read
After getting halfway through the book, I was able to guess the killer. However, I do agree with the lead female character. At some point, we have all been Leah. Everyone just wants to feel love and be accepted!
After getting halfway through the book, I was able to guess the killer. However, I do agree with the lead female character. At some point, we have all been Leah. Everyone just wants to feel love and be accepted!
June 19, 2019
Surprised
It’s was a great story some parts of the story were hold true it’s not a crime if it’s committed to black people but the heroine was a class a witch she wasn’t like able to say the least nor did she get any better a narcissist true and blue
It’s was a great story some parts of the story were hold true it’s not a crime if it’s committed to black people but the heroine was a class a witch she wasn’t like able to say the least nor did she get any better a narcissist true and blue
April 27, 2019
I’m a fan
This book was a different pace for me but I enjoyed it. I would recommend this to anyone looking for something different
This book was a different pace for me but I enjoyed it. I would recommend this to anyone looking for something different
August 7, 2019
Good Book
I enjoy reading this book. It kept my attention. I
would recommend this book, it is a good thriller novel.
I enjoy reading this book. It kept my attention. I
would recommend this book, it is a good thriller novel.
December 30, 2018
I've been meaning to write a review of this book. I enjoyed it a lot. You get a lot of different characters with a lot of different viewpoints. I especially appreciate the fact that the author crafted black characters that felt real and human instead of the caricatures and 1 dimensional tropes that are usually presented. The mystery aspect was handled well, too- the author provides the set-up for who the killer is, but you still don't see it coming until its finally revealed. It's a little slow at times, but definitely worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews