Seen by Lori Nelson – Review by Ayla Phipps

Seen by Lori Nelson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh wow. This is the first book that I have read by Lori Nelson, so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but the interesting cover and one word title was enough to draw my attention. The synopsis was very original and left me curious about how the story would play out. Told from the perspective of Mouse and Meph, SEEN takes you on a story with twist you never expected, even if the synopsis told you it was coming.
Mouse is three months away from turning sixteen, the legal age of being an adult in this world. Meph, her older brother is in his early twenties and has just returned home from a work assignment. Determined to stay local this time not only for his sister but his girlfriend Almira. Wendy Waters is the top news reporter in Hattiesburg, and her sister is the Mayor Samantha Waters. More importantly, Wendy is Mouse’s mentor, and what she aspires to be. Determined to get hired full time by the paper she writes for when she graduates Mouse is out looking for a non-fluff story to give her a bigger name, make them want to hire her. As mentioned, the cover drew me in and quickly you discover that the crow is Mouse’s drone Gossip. On her first trip out, she witnesses a double murder and kidnap, determined to find the little girl Mouse continues to head out each day even getting grazed by a bullet on day two in the arm. Day three everything changes, witnesses’ things she never should have seen and visual scars that will linger with her forever. Her main goal, to prove she is not a kid, that she knows what she wants and how she feels, and she will prove it with this story no matter what it takes. Even when she becomes part of it and her father is behind it all.
Will Meph succeed in the impossible choice, and be able to protect all of those he loves? Can Mouse get the evidence to her mentor and survive her father’s vengeance? The world the author builds is one of extremes. While a great deal is a dramatization or more so a concentration of real-world problems, the way she gives so many details while keeping the characters developing over time with the world and each other keeps you engaged and on the edge of your seat. The twists and turns and the funny little moments between Mouse and Meph keep you feeling like you know these characters. While the synopsis tells you that her father arranges for her kidnap and ransom along with other crimes you hold your breath reading as it unfolds and the characters morph doing what they must to survive.

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