ISBN: 0-312-34042-7

The following review was contributed by:   Jennifer Brown : Click Here To View Jennifer Brown's Reviews

Seems everyone has an opinion about Rachel Deese. Her next-door neighbor Kevin Lowry has stars in his eyes just for her. His girlfriend, Sally, thinks Rachel is a “suck-up,” among other things. Rachel’s mother finds her threatening. And just what her step-father thinks about her may never be known. But what police Lieutenant Jonathon Stride is thinking is what’s important right now.

Rachel Deese is missing.

Brian Freeman’s novel, IMMORAL, is an attempt to unravel the crime behind Rachel’s disappearance. And it’s not an easy crime to unravel. The victim was a wild child. Rude, self-centered, self-serving, vile, and sexually charged, she had so many enemies – so many whom she had wronged or whom had felt threatened by her – it proves to be a mystery not just anyone can solve. Lips are tight and tension is high. Can even a seasoned detective such as Stride break through to the truth?

It would seem that he would be unable to. After all, Rachel’s disappearance isn’t the first of her kind in recent months. Stride is still trying to answer to the unsolved mystery of Kerry McGrath, another sixteen-year-old who vanished under similar circumstances. He has to somehow manage to fend off the press and their public accusations about his ineptitude, and still keep his mind on a case that’s just not adding up.

Will he ever find Rachel? Will the mystery be solved?

IMMORAL is a fast-paced novel, filled with so many twists and turns there’s no way the reader can be bored. The ending is a true surprise, as the mystery is solved and the culprit is the most unlikely (yet still believable) suspect.

Jonathon Stride is a likeable character, and his partner Maggie a real fireball of loveable energy. The other characters, most of whom are dark, a bit sinister and roundly unlovable, are certainly believable, giving some real credibility to the story.

The story, too, is believable and entertaining. A rollercoaster of a story, IMMORAL is not necessarily a quick read, but it is a good one, one that I’d recommend.