Private Investigator Ray Lovell wakes up in the hospital partially paralyzed and with no memory of how he got there. That's the chilling opener for THE INVISIBLE ONES and it only gets better from there. As Ray's memory slowly returns to him, he remembers that he was hired by Leon Wood, a Gypsy, to find his daughter, who's been missing for 6 years. The story is a strange one by normal standards but Gypsies are anything but normal. Ray understands this because he's half-Gypsy himself. However, even he doesn't completely comprehend why no one has looked for this young woman in all that time. That's why, even though he had previously sworn off of missing persons cases, that he reluctantly agrees to take on this one.

Thus, begins Ray's introduction into the Janko family. They're an odd group, much different from each other, yet they all work together to keep their dark secrets from spilling out. There's Jimmy and Kath, the grandparents. Uncle Tene is Jimmy's brother and is in a wheelchair due to a car accident several years ago. Ivo Janko is Tene's son and his son is 6 year old Christo. Sandra is JJ's mother. They all still live in the traveling trailers on a specific site. There are other relatives that no longer travel for various reasons, Luella, or Lulu, being one of them.

The story Leon tells Ray is that his daughter, Rose, married Ivo Janko about 6 years ago and hasn't been seen or heard from since. The Jankos swear that Rose and Ivo had a baby who turned out to be ill with the curse that follows boys in their family. She couldn't take it and ran away with another man. While there's no evidence that she did that, most people find it difficult to believe that any mother would run off and leave her sick child. Christo is that child. Ivo cares for him along with other family members.

The search leads Ray into a web of twisting and turning lies and half-truths. It seems to him that no one in the Janko family wants him to discover what happened to Rose. All of this, of course, only makes him more determined to get to the bottom of things, even if it means putting himself in danger in the process.

Told from the viewpoints both Ray and JJ, the teenage son of Sandra, readers are treated to an intriguing and strange story with Rose, Ivo, and Christo at the center of it. As you read, you'll be drawn into this very twisted tale of traditions, superstitions and mystery.

You may not want to start reading THE INVISIBLE ONES unless you've got the time to finish it in one sitting. I look forward to Stef Penney's next novel.

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