Hidden Salem

Nellie Cavendish, the heroine of bestseller Hooper%E2%80%99s disappointing 19th Bishop/Special Crimes Unit novel (after 2018%E2%80%99s Hold Back the Dark), has always felt she was different. Her mother disappeared when she was a toddler, and her father kept her at a distance. On her 29th birthday, Nellie receives a letter from her late father, who left the letter with a lawyer shortly before his death a decade earlier, urging her to go to the Appalachian town of Salem, where the Cavendish family has its roots, before she turns 30. Nellie, who knows nothing of her family history and has only an inkling of her potential powers, travels to Salem, where everyone has psychic abilities. Meanwhile, the ruthless Duncan Cavendish regards Nellie, the last of the Cavendish line, as a threat to his plot to take over the town and will do anything to stop her before she comes into full control of her psychic powers on her 30th birthday. Two Bishop/SCU agents assist Nellie in her battle with Duncan. The only surprise in this story of good versus evil is the anticlimactic ending. Even series fans will feel cheated. [em]Agent: Eileen Fallon, Fallon Literary. (Apr.) [/em]