The Intruders

by: Michael Marshall

Published by: William Morrow

Reviewed by Bob Pike CSP, CPAE-Speakers Hall of Fame

A scientist in Seattle is missing after his family is murdered. A young girl goes missing from an Oregon resort town. A boyhood acquaintance, now an attorney, contacts Jack Whalen for help with a estate case that should have been open and shut – but isn’t. Random incidents? Yes, unless you can connect the dots.

Jack Whalen is a patrol cop who could have become a detective, but didn’t. Instead he took cell phone photos of crime scenes where the perpetrator was an intruder. His simple descriptions of what it must have felt like to be invaded turns the pictures into a best-selling book.

Now he and his wife have left Los Angeles for a remote town in Washington state. Jack’s been working on another book, but is somehow blocked. His wife, Amy, goes to Seattle for a business meeting but never checks into the hotel. Jack goes to Seattle to find her and instead finds her cell phone abandoned in a cab and lots of questions—but no answers. And people are getting upset that he’s even asking.

Meanwhile Amy shows up at home and wonders why Jack is so upset. She has a simple explanation for everything, but Jack’s cop instincts tell him all is not what it seems. The more threads he pulls, the more tangled things seem to get. And he’s not sure anyone is really telling him the truth. And the truth is scarier than fiction.

Marshall takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Is Jack sane or losing his mind. Is he the only one seeing clearly – or is he delusional. What’s behind these disappearances? One thing you know – Jack will get to the bottom of it all – or die trying.

NOTE: Michael Marshall’s alter ego is sci-fi and horror author Michael Marshall Smith.

Armchair Interviews says: The Intruder is nominated for CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award.

Author’s Web site: http://www.michaelmarshallsmith.com