Hands off!

Author: Lisa Olsen

The Touch Cover

The Touch Cover

Lexi is an artist living in California.  She has two platonic roommates (Paul and Maddie) and they share an old Victorian house that they’re slowly remodeling.  Lexi doesn’t have a lot of family, but her sister, brother-in-law and niece live close by.  When her sister calls looking for Lexi’s help in locating her missing husband, she doesn’t hesitate.  Lexi and Allison aren’t best friends, but she is family and Lexi adores her niece Chloe.

When Lexi arrives to help, she finds a detective already at the house.  It seems that though Neil (the husband) has been missing only a short time and there’s no real indication of foul play, detective Gabriel Ryan caught the call while in the neighborhood.  Being that he’s a former boyfriend of Allison (from their high school days) he decided to check it out.  He doesn’t know Lexi, but she remembers him.  Neither she nor Allison tells him the real reason Lexi has been summoned.  It isn’t for moral support, it’s for her hands.  Lexi has magical hands.

Fine, not magical.  She would argue that they are more of a curse than a blessing, but whatever the case, she can see things through them.  When she touches an object she knows where it’s been and what has happened around it.  She can tell what the last person to hold it was thinking, where they might be now, what they’ve done while holding, wearing, sitting in or using whatever it is that she touches.  If she digs a little she can see further and further back to all the things that have happened to and around said object.  Don’t worry – we find this out in the very beginning of the book – I’m not spoiling anything.

So this is why Allison wants Lexi – she thinks those hands can figure out where her wandering husband might be.  Lexi is pretty sure she can do just that and is surprised to find out that she can’t.  And there we have our mystery – what happened to Neil?  Why can’t Lexi find him?  Why is her niece suddenly scared to stay in her own home?  Why can’t Lexi stop staring at and thinking about and flirting with that handsome detective?

There are quite a few cozy elements here – the quirky roommates, the handsome detective, the sleuthing main character.  There’s even a cat in here.  Lexi’s talents and background are explored but not deeply, giving us hints at more depth while seeming to leave the door open for further installments with this interesting character.  But the story turns quite dark, veering further into the paranormal and taking the characters into places real cozy’s fear to tread.  All those cozy elements are really just a ploy to make you comfortable before author Lisa Olsen gets to the real meat of the story.  I like that in a book.  And in an author.

Sadly, this looks to be a standalone book, so as of now we aren’t getting to revisit Lexi and her handsome detective.  That makes the less than filled in background feel less like an appetizer and more like a tease.  The writing also isn’t phenomenal – there are some places where the characters flounder and can’t seem to decide if they are in a thriller or not.  But the pace is good and the book isn’t filled with horrible, glaring spelling and grammar errors (something that’s becoming quite novel these days).  I like both Lexi and the character of Gabriel – they’re interesting and can be witty.  Lexi, with her perpetually gloved hands, fear of human contact and deep wariness of her own gift, is someone I hope Olsen decides to revisit.  4 out of 5 stars for The Touch, with its very good main character, dark paranormal story and reasonably good writing.  Recommended for thriller junkies looking for a likable and interesting main character and a quick, engaging read.

– S. Millinocket

Sue Millinocket
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