Small-time private investigator Ray Lovell veers between paralysis and delirium in a hospital bed. But before the accident that landed him there, h...
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reviews
Feb 04, 2012
Virginia
rated it: 
"The Invisible Ones", by Stef Penney, was such a delightful surprise for me as a reader. It doesn't really fit into one particular category, and the book itself is much, much better than the promos that lead to my interest in obtaining a copy. An intriguing and involving "Gypsy Noir" PI tale, "The Invisible Ones" will hold your interest, and then some! Ray Lovell, half Gypsy or "Romany", is an about-to-be-divorced private investigator who has yet to sign t
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Jan 26, 2012
Luanne
rated it: 
The Invisible Ones is Stef Penney's second novel, but a first look at this author for me. It won't be my last - I'll be hunting down her first book- The Tenderness of Wolves.
The opening scene is one that will hook you into the story from the first page. Ray awakes in a hospital bed, paralyzed and with no memory of how he came to be there. Penney takes us back to the beginning and on the journey of how Ray ended up where he is.
Ray Lovell is a small time private investigator - More...
The opening scene is one that will hook you into the story from the first page. Ray awakes in a hospital bed, paralyzed and with no memory of how he came to be there. Penney takes us back to the beginning and on the journey of how Ray ended up where he is.
Ray Lovell is a small time private investigator - More...
Jan 10, 2012
Paul
rated it:
“The Invisible Ones” by Stef Penney, published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
Category – Fiction/Literature
I became a Stef Penney fan when reading her first novel, “The Tenderness of Wolves”. I am now a bigger fan since reading her second novel, “The Invisible Ones”. Her novels have an element of mystery and suspense with human drama seeped in life changing decisions.
Ray Lovell, a private investigator, is contacted by Leon Wood to find his daughter Rose who has been missi More...
Category – Fiction/Literature
I became a Stef Penney fan when reading her first novel, “The Tenderness of Wolves”. I am now a bigger fan since reading her second novel, “The Invisible Ones”. Her novels have an element of mystery and suspense with human drama seeped in life changing decisions.
Ray Lovell, a private investigator, is contacted by Leon Wood to find his daughter Rose who has been missi More...
Dec 29, 2011
Anne
rated it: 
A young woman goes missing but seven years pass before anyone goes looking for her. That is one mystery readers are given right from the beginning of the book.
A private investigator hired to find the missing woman is lying in a hospital bed due to some unknown ailment and that is the second mystery that isn't solved until nearly the end.
I have to believe the deliberately slow pacing of this story is the general style of the author because her first book had much the sa More...
A private investigator hired to find the missing woman is lying in a hospital bed due to some unknown ailment and that is the second mystery that isn't solved until nearly the end.
I have to believe the deliberately slow pacing of this story is the general style of the author because her first book had much the sa More...
Nov 02, 2011
Nichole
rated it:
A great mystery with very memorable characters and very good atmospheric writing, I would recommend this to anyone who likes a bit of the exotic mixed with just a bit of suspense. Having just read
Gypsy Boy by Mikey Walsh, I was really into the characters' background as Romany Gypsies and I thought the two books presented similar pictures of the lifestyle--which makes me think that they're being accurate.
The main detective--Ray--in Penney's novel is a wonderfully flawed character More...
Gypsy Boy by Mikey Walsh, I was really into the characters' background as Romany Gypsies and I thought the two books presented similar pictures of the lifestyle--which makes me think that they're being accurate.
The main detective--Ray--in Penney's novel is a wonderfully flawed character More...
Jan 16, 2012
Farin
rated it:
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This does not affect my review in any way.
The Invisible Ones is one of those twisted mysteries where you think you have a handle on where things are going and who the guilty parties are, only to be completely surprised when the truth finally hits you. The fact that Ray lost his memory at a crucial point in the case only heightens this, because you’re desperately trying to piece together his deductions as he remembers them More...
The Invisible Ones is one of those twisted mysteries where you think you have a handle on where things are going and who the guilty parties are, only to be completely surprised when the truth finally hits you. The fact that Ray lost his memory at a crucial point in the case only heightens this, because you’re desperately trying to piece together his deductions as he remembers them More...
Feb 12, 2012
Stephanie
rated it: 
Admittedly, I am not a fan of the mystery, but I was intrigued that this book involved Britain's insular Romany Gypsy community. The novel opens unimaginatively, with a man waking in a hospital bed, struggling to recall certain facts. The man is Ray Lovell, a small-time private eye, who has been engaged to undertake a search for a young Gypsy girl, Rose Wood, who disappeared seven years ago. Ray's business is failing, his wife, with whom he is still besotted, is anxious for him to sign divorc
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Sep 11, 2011
Bernadette
rated it:
In 1980′s England private investigator Ray Lovell is hired by Leon Wood to find his daughter Rose, a young gypsy woman who he hasn’t seen for six years. Not since she married Ivo Janko, had a child and then, seemingly, disappeared. Leon Wood believes her dead at the hands of the Janko family and wants Ray, who he hires because he recognises that Ray Lovell also has gypsy heritage, to confirm this or locate Rose if she is still alive. At the same time as the story of Ray’s investigation unfolds t
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Feb 08, 2012
Barbm1020
rated it:
This is a wonderfully well-plotted, well-written book with unforgettable characters. The life of an English Traveler boy and his troubled family turns on the slender hope that on the one hand somebody will say something true to the detective who is trying to reunite two long-lost family members, and on the other hand, that the in-law family she had fled will live on. Nothing is what it seems here. Stef Penney's detective is not a product of the mystery genre where the hero must be larger than
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Feb 08, 2012
Sheli
rated it:
I was sent this book to review by The Book People and really enjoyed it. I never would have picked this out myself as the cover isn’t the most inspiring but it’s well worth a read.
The story is told from two different points of view, a 14 year old gypsy boy called JJ and a middle aged half gypsy private investigator called Ray. Although from two different families, the characters lives get entangled as they both find out more about their background and unravel the mysteries of the Jank More...
The story is told from two different points of view, a 14 year old gypsy boy called JJ and a middle aged half gypsy private investigator called Ray. Although from two different families, the characters lives get entangled as they both find out more about their background and unravel the mysteries of the Jank More...
Jan 29, 2012
Diane
rated it:
Here's an intro from Stef Penney's latest novel that really made me curious for more:
St. Luke's Hospital....
"When I woke up, I remembered nothing--apart from one thing. And little enough of that: I remember that I was lying on my back while the woman was straddling me, grinding her hips against mine, I have a feeling it was embarrassingly quick; but then, it had been a while. The thing is, I remember how it felt, but not what anything looked like. When I try to pict More...
St. Luke's Hospital....
"When I woke up, I remembered nothing--apart from one thing. And little enough of that: I remember that I was lying on my back while the woman was straddling me, grinding her hips against mine, I have a feeling it was embarrassingly quick; but then, it had been a while. The thing is, I remember how it felt, but not what anything looked like. When I try to pict More...
Feb 22, 2012
Laura Stone
rated it:
Another good, solid story with sympathetic characters in an interesting locale.
As with her fantastic debut novel, The Tenderness of Wolves, Penney’s second book, The Invisible Ones, can be categorized as a mystery, but it is really a story of human drama that just happens to have a dead body and a missing person in it.
When the story opens, Private Investigator Ray Lovell opens his eyes in a hospital bed to find that he’s temporarily paralyzed and has no memory of how he got the More...
As with her fantastic debut novel, The Tenderness of Wolves, Penney’s second book, The Invisible Ones, can be categorized as a mystery, but it is really a story of human drama that just happens to have a dead body and a missing person in it.
When the story opens, Private Investigator Ray Lovell opens his eyes in a hospital bed to find that he’s temporarily paralyzed and has no memory of how he got the More...
Jan 09, 2012
PopcornReads
rated it:
Book Giveaway & Review:
When I received The Invisible Ones by bestselling author Stef Penney from the publisher, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve always been intrigued by Romany (Gypsy) culture, so a mystery involving a Romany detective in 1980’s England sounded like it might be an interesting read. What I didn’t bargain for was a novel I couldn’t bear to put down during the Christmas holidays when I had an out of town guest and tons of activities on my schedule. I should have known it wou More...
When I received The Invisible Ones by bestselling author Stef Penney from the publisher, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve always been intrigued by Romany (Gypsy) culture, so a mystery involving a Romany detective in 1980’s England sounded like it might be an interesting read. What I didn’t bargain for was a novel I couldn’t bear to put down during the Christmas holidays when I had an out of town guest and tons of activities on my schedule. I should have known it wou More...
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Feb 06, 2012
Victoria
rated it:
I loved this book! From the first page, I was completely hooked! The way the story unfolds, it is a terrific literary mystery. The Gypsy angle is fascinating, and the characters are all well drawn out - especially considering the bulk of the P.O.V. is masculine, and quite convincingly done by the talented female writer.
There were a few points where the chronology did not quite seem to match up, but as far as flaws go, this is a fairly minor one and didn't slow me down much at all. It was o More...
There were a few points where the chronology did not quite seem to match up, but as far as flaws go, this is a fairly minor one and didn't slow me down much at all. It was o More...
Dec 29, 2011
Laura
rated it:
I'm giving this a 5 even though it was really a 4.5/4.75 - I really enjoyed this mystery!
Ray is a half-Gypsy (dad left that traveling life to become a postman) private detective and as such is considered acceptable to Leon Woods, who is searching for his long-lost daughter. Seven-ish years ago, Rose Woods married Ivo Janko - the Jankos being of the "old black blood" and from "somewhere in the Balkans". As is traditional, Rose became part of the Janko clan, and Le More...
Ray is a half-Gypsy (dad left that traveling life to become a postman) private detective and as such is considered acceptable to Leon Woods, who is searching for his long-lost daughter. Seven-ish years ago, Rose Woods married Ivo Janko - the Jankos being of the "old black blood" and from "somewhere in the Balkans". As is traditional, Rose became part of the Janko clan, and Le More...
Jan 24, 2012
Susan
rated it:
This book was terrific. It's been a long time since I read a book I enjoyed as much as this one.
The story starts out with a pretty routine PI plotline, but then the introduction of the character of JJ, the 14 year-old Gypsy who is the second of the duo narrators, lifts this above average to something wonderful. The characters, English Romany, and their setting, lend a unique and exotic flavor and freshness. The language is utterly beautiful. (Did I mention how much I loved this book More...
The story starts out with a pretty routine PI plotline, but then the introduction of the character of JJ, the 14 year-old Gypsy who is the second of the duo narrators, lifts this above average to something wonderful. The characters, English Romany, and their setting, lend a unique and exotic flavor and freshness. The language is utterly beautiful. (Did I mention how much I loved this book More...
Feb 07, 2012
Beth
rated it:
THE INVISIBLE ONES by Stef Penney is, no exaggeration, a fantastic read. This mystery/suspense book is a keeper; get it in hard cover. And if you’ve read Penney’s other book, THE TENDERNESS OF WOLVES, this book, THE INVISIBLE ONES, is better.
Ray Lovell is a private investigator in England. The book begins with him in the hospital, but he doesn’t remember why he’s there. He’s mostly paralyzed, and he’s delirious. No one knows why. This is the first mystery.
Chapters with th More...
Ray Lovell is a private investigator in England. The book begins with him in the hospital, but he doesn’t remember why he’s there. He’s mostly paralyzed, and he’s delirious. No one knows why. This is the first mystery.
Chapters with th More...
Dec 18, 2011
Like a cut-rate Kate Atkinson novel. I read this for book club but hadn't finished by the time we met, so I let the other members tell me the ending. There is a big twist that is completely ridiculous but still made the rest of my reading more interesting. I don't know how I would have felt if I hadn't known the twist--I probably would have enjoyed one of the narrators and not the other and left it at that. But the twist is so, so silly that it pretty much ruins the book. It's not even explained
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Jan 05, 2012
Tami
rated it:
Haven't received my copy yet, just received notice I had won. 12/05/11I received my copy last night. I have 4 wins in front of it. Hope to get a lot of reading done over the holiday breaks. 12/21/11
Started 1/1/12
Finished 1/4/12
PI Ray Lovell has had a bad experience with missing girls cases. He much rather stick with cheating spouses. When a father comes to him to help find his daughter, he reluctantly agrees to try. The reason he was picked out for this was because he was More...
Started 1/1/12
Finished 1/4/12
PI Ray Lovell has had a bad experience with missing girls cases. He much rather stick with cheating spouses. When a father comes to him to help find his daughter, he reluctantly agrees to try. The reason he was picked out for this was because he was More...
Feb 22, 2012
Lesa
rated it:
An interesting take on a mystery involving the "Gypsy" people who live in England and Ireland. Ever since seeing a program on tv (MY GYPSY WEDDING, or something like that) the culture has intrigued me.
This book made the Gypsy people seem more open to others than the show did, so I wonder which is the truth (or somehere in between)
Anyway, got way off track here. The characters where well drawn out, Ray, as a down on his luck PI was kind of cliche.
T More...
This book made the Gypsy people seem more open to others than the show did, so I wonder which is the truth (or somehere in between)
Anyway, got way off track here. The characters where well drawn out, Ray, as a down on his luck PI was kind of cliche.
T More...
Feb 07, 2012
Linda
rated it:
Maybe 4.5 stars --
I really loved this book, a good-sized novel but a speedy read. I had trouble putting it down. And when I was almost finished, I held off a little bit, saving the end and prolonging the enjoyment of the book.
This murder mystery/PI story reminded me a little of Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie series, especially When Will There Be Good News?. The added element of Gypsy culture, myths, and taboos contributed a lot to the story. The shared narration betwe More...
I really loved this book, a good-sized novel but a speedy read. I had trouble putting it down. And when I was almost finished, I held off a little bit, saving the end and prolonging the enjoyment of the book.
This murder mystery/PI story reminded me a little of Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie series, especially When Will There Be Good News?. The added element of Gypsy culture, myths, and taboos contributed a lot to the story. The shared narration betwe More...
Jan 14, 2012
Sandy
rated it:
I really had a hard time getting into this one. I thought it was a slow-paced, repetitive story at the beginning and I wanted to give up on it but I thought there had to be more since it was written by a bestselling author. I also was intrigued by the Gypsy culture so I kept reading and about halfway through Stef intermingles some mystery in the plot and I was hooked. The investigator Ray, helps puts the puzzle pieces together while at the same time he creates a new twist in the plot and just
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Feb 21, 2012
Tara
rated it:
This was a gripping read and Stef Penney writes dialogue brilliantly. My main criticism was that, in the end, the story was just too convoluted for me.
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Jan 29, 2012
Kerry
rated it:
I am quite disappointed by this book, since I had been so looking forward to reading it, after loving the author's debut, The Tenderness of Wolves.
This book drags. I never really got into it, forced myself to press on, and pretty much just skimmed through the whole thing. The first person narrative is jarring and clunky, and I found JJ's parts completely boring. I don't like or feel connected with any of the characters. The only saving grace is the ending; I didn't see the BIG twist coming.
Sop More...
This book drags. I never really got into it, forced myself to press on, and pretty much just skimmed through the whole thing. The first person narrative is jarring and clunky, and I found JJ's parts completely boring. I don't like or feel connected with any of the characters. The only saving grace is the ending; I didn't see the BIG twist coming.
Sop More...
Dec 08, 2011
Jacqie
rated it:
Didn't quite grab me in the way I was looking for. Nothing wrong with the premise, and I was interested in exploring the world of modern gypsies.
I have read several books recently that were written by women, but from a male perspective. This novel features the perspective of both a man and a boy. I couldn't really buy the characters, especially the teenager's voice. They felt... feminine. There's mention of "wanking", but other than that it felt like reading a female p More...
I have read several books recently that were written by women, but from a male perspective. This novel features the perspective of both a man and a boy. I couldn't really buy the characters, especially the teenager's voice. They felt... feminine. There's mention of "wanking", but other than that it felt like reading a female p More...
Jan 27, 2012
Michele
rated it:
This and other reviews can be found on my blog, Just a Lil Lost
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4.5/5 stars)
The narrative of The Invisible Ones switches back and forth between Ray, a private detective and JJ, a young boy who lives with his Gypsy family - the Jankos. Ray, being part Romany himself, is hired by the father of Rose, a missing woman who hasn't been seen since she married into said Gypsy's family years ago. The Jankos are an eclectic bunch, ones who move from site to site an More...
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4.5/5 stars)
The narrative of The Invisible Ones switches back and forth between Ray, a private detective and JJ, a young boy who lives with his Gypsy family - the Jankos. Ray, being part Romany himself, is hired by the father of Rose, a missing woman who hasn't been seen since she married into said Gypsy's family years ago. The Jankos are an eclectic bunch, ones who move from site to site an More...
Jan 11, 2012
Janet
rated it:
If Ray Lovell has learned anything as a private investigator, it’s that sometimes it’s better not to know. Or as he muses after informing yet another hapless husband that yes, his wife is cheating on him, “Ignorance is bliss. Knowledge is power. Which would you prefer?”
Knowledge can also be dangerous, as Ray finds out first hand in this quirky mystery. He’s been approached by Leon Wood, who wants to hire him to find out what happened to his daughter, Rose. She disappeared years More...
Knowledge can also be dangerous, as Ray finds out first hand in this quirky mystery. He’s been approached by Leon Wood, who wants to hire him to find out what happened to his daughter, Rose. She disappeared years More...
Jan 29, 2012
Lindsey
rated it:
I won this as part of a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Thought this was an interesting mystery set in England. I loved the two voices of the book (Ray and JJ) as I felt it give the novel completeness and showed both sides of the mystery from the 2 interested parties. I did not know much about the Gypsy culture before reading this book but thought that element of the story was very interesting.
Only disappointment was with the ending. I felt the book ended more with a theory th More...
Thought this was an interesting mystery set in England. I loved the two voices of the book (Ray and JJ) as I felt it give the novel completeness and showed both sides of the mystery from the 2 interested parties. I did not know much about the Gypsy culture before reading this book but thought that element of the story was very interesting.
Only disappointment was with the ending. I felt the book ended more with a theory th More...
Dec 11, 2011
Andrea
rated it:
I received and advanced reading copy through the Goodreads First Reads program, and was very happy that I did.
The story begins at the end, with Ray Lovell, a half-Gypsy private detective lying in a hospital bed, not remembering how he got there. We then jump back in time to discover he was hired to find Rose, a Gypsy girl who had gone missing 6 years earlier. The story alternates between Ray and JJ (a fourteen year old boy who is a close relative of Ivo, Rose's husband) giving the More...
The story begins at the end, with Ray Lovell, a half-Gypsy private detective lying in a hospital bed, not remembering how he got there. We then jump back in time to discover he was hired to find Rose, a Gypsy girl who had gone missing 6 years earlier. The story alternates between Ray and JJ (a fourteen year old boy who is a close relative of Ivo, Rose's husband) giving the More...
Nov 04, 2011
Bayshore
rated it:
While reading the first chapter, I had to pause to find a pencil and mark an especially poetic passage. This passage was the only one throughout the rest of the book. Not because the rest of the writing wasn’t as beautifully detailed, but because I was swept into the story and completely forgot about my unworthy pencil. The mystery surrounding a Gypsy family took a back seat to the character development, especially that of JJ Jankos. Or so the reader is led to believe – until the shocking sec
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