• 5 Star Reads
  • Audiobooks
  • Books on Screen
  • Children’s Books
  • Christian
  • Fiction
  • Giveaways

5 Minutes For Books

  • Home
  • About
    • Who Are We? Reviewer Bios
    • 5 Star Reads
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
  • Join In
    • 5 Minutes for Books Bookclub
    • Children’s Classics
    • Kids’ Picks
    • What’s on Your Nightstand
  • Link To Us
  • Contact
    • Advertise

The Unseen

June 13, 2012 by Nancy

Leah Hickson is a writer who is contacted by her ex, Ryan, to help identify a body found in Belgium. Ryan thinks there’s a story to be told about this man who appears to be a WWI soldier and is in possession of 2 strange letters from an H. Canning. Leah’s interest is piqued and she quickly begins investigating the Canning family.

In between snippets of Leah’s investigations — and dealing with her love life — lies the bulk of the novel, which takes place in 1911 in Cold Ash Holt, a fictional town outside of London. Hester is newly married to the Reverend Albert Canning, and they have welcomed a new servant to their household. Cat Morley has just been released from prison and Hester convinces Albert that it is the charitable thing to hire Cat. Through letters to Hester’s sister, we learn of some difficulties in Hester and Albert’s marriage which are increased by the arrival of Robin Durrant, who is a theosophist (from Wikipedia: one who seeks to understand the mysteries of the universe and the bonds that unite the universe, humanity and the divine). Neither Hester nor Cat trust Robin from the start but Hester is unable to convince Albert that his motives may be anything other than honest.

The Unseen is told alternately from Hester’s and Cat’s points of view. Hester wants to be happy in her marriage and to be accepted by the society ladies. Cat is suffering ill effects from her treatment while in prison, as well as guilt surrounding the events that landed her there. While both are wary of Robin, they are both pulled in to his schemes, unable to find a way out. Hester and Cat are very different women, Hester is somewhat meek and Cat knows exactly what she wants, though Hester shows some growth and strength as the story progresses.

The Unseen is a good mix of historical fiction and mystery with some romance thrown in, and features interesting female characters. It’s a fast-paced read and I recommend it.

We have one copy of The Unseen for one winner, U.S. only please. Leave a comment below and the winner will be announced in our regular giveaway column on Jun 27. This giveaway is closed.

  • The winner of The Serpent’s Shadow is #9 Van.
  • The winners of The Host are #22 Samantha W; #27 Jeff; #38 Nannypanpan; #23 Barb@1SentenceDiary.
  • The Winner of The Cottage at Glass Beach is #33 Garrett.

Don’t miss a thing: Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed or video reviews on YouTube. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter or on Facebook.

Nancy is fascinated by class issues in early 20th century England. She writes about her 2 boys, books and life in Colorado at Life With My Boys and Books.

Filed Under: Fiction, Historical, Nancy

« Glamorous Illusions
A Bitter Truth »

Comments

  1. Jessica says

    June 13, 2012 at 12:13 am

    This sounds like a lot of fun! I really enjoy WWI era fiction.

  2. Kristin D says

    June 13, 2012 at 9:37 am

    I am definitely intrigued by this one!

  3. Lori D. says

    June 13, 2012 at 10:18 am

    I will enjoy reading this one if I win it.

  4. Jen says

    June 13, 2012 at 12:08 pm

    Interesting. I’d love to read it.

  5. Theresa says

    June 13, 2012 at 12:28 pm

    Sounds interesting, I’d give it a read. 🙂

    • Nancy says

      June 26, 2012 at 10:59 pm

      Hey, you win! Congrats! Reply to this email with your address to pass on to the publisher. 🙂

  6. Sandra K321 says

    June 13, 2012 at 12:29 pm

    This sounds like a great book, a combination of historical fiction and mystery. Would love to read it.

  7. Van says

    June 13, 2012 at 1:33 pm

    The story sounds so good about this book.

  8. Barb says

    June 13, 2012 at 1:55 pm

    Sounds fun! I’ve been into WWI books lately.

  9. Barb: 1SentenceDiary says

    June 13, 2012 at 3:35 pm

    A story within the story. Sounds good!

  10. karenk says

    June 13, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    thanks for the chance to read this wonderful story 🙂

  11. Cariol Wong says

    June 13, 2012 at 7:37 pm

    I love mysteries that are told alternaely and that are historical fiction too. Fast paced really attracts me to this one too.

  12. June says

    June 13, 2012 at 8:19 pm

    Cant wait to read this one.

  13. Linda Kish says

    June 14, 2012 at 12:04 am

    This sounds like a very interesting story. One that I would love to read.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  14. Don says

    June 14, 2012 at 8:02 am

    A good book during WWII, sounds interesting.

  15. Staci A says

    June 14, 2012 at 10:01 am

    It sounds like a really interesting book!

  16. Garrett says

    June 15, 2012 at 9:39 am

    This one sounds really good.

  17. Anne says

    June 15, 2012 at 10:58 am

    This novel sounds fascinating and unique. Many thanks.

  18. samantha w says

    June 17, 2012 at 10:59 am

    yep wanna read this one

  19. Carol M says

    June 17, 2012 at 12:55 pm

    I enjoy mysteries and would love to read this!

  20. Chuck says

    June 17, 2012 at 7:34 pm

    A good mystery for this summer.

  21. Hailey L. says

    June 17, 2012 at 9:56 pm

    So interesting! I would love it!

  22. Angela E. says

    June 18, 2012 at 11:13 am

    This sounds so good.

  23. Beth C says

    June 18, 2012 at 4:00 pm

    I’d really like to read this.

  24. Anita Yancey says

    June 18, 2012 at 7:24 pm

    I am very interested in reading this book. I really like the time period it covers. Please enter me. Thanks!

  25. Alison S. says

    June 19, 2012 at 5:46 pm

    Looks like a fun book to read!

  26. Jeff says

    June 20, 2012 at 10:19 am

    A good historical reading taking place during WWII.

  27. melissa n says

    June 21, 2012 at 3:15 pm

    I love historical reaDS!! 🙂

  28. april yedinak says

    June 24, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    I love historical fiction and mysteries, so this books sounds like one I would enjoy. I also love the cover art!

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Welcome to 5 Minutes for Books. We are a team blog dedicated to sharing reviews and information about children's lit, fiction, memoir, and more. Read More…

Reviews

5 Minutes for Books

Jennifer Donovan
Managing Editor

MEET OUR TEAM



Connect With Us


Pinterest

Community

Cybils Logo Draft 3

Disclosure:

Find out about our relationships with publishers and affiliate networks in our full disclosure statement.

Recent Posts

  • Sunday
  • Rules for Ruin
  • After Pearl
  • Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)
  • I Can’t Get No Satisfaction

Categories

Privacy Policy    |     Disclosure Policy
Terms & Conditions
© 5 Minutes for Mom

Let’s Socialize

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Pinterest is Our FAVORITE!

Find and Follow Us at
pinterest.com/5min4books

Copyright © 2025 · Tasteful theme by Restored 316