It isn’t out of the ordinary for writers with multiple series to have a couple of their protagonists cross over. Andrew Mayne has done this before with Theo Cray and Jessica Blackwood. However, I cannot recall such a combination of recurring characters as he pulls off in his latest novel, MR. WHISPER, which features individuals from four different series.

Before we spend time with them, let me introduce you to the title character. Mr. Whisper is the imaginary voice that a young man named Mitch Lindel is troubled by --- and has driven him to commit criminal acts.

"This is Mayne at the top of his game, producing high-concept adventure fiction packed with thrills and pitfalls at every turn."

Sloan McPherson is the scuba-diving investigator from the swamps of Florida. Recently her department has heard stories about alleged sightings of the Moss Man, and she goes in search of the truth. It will lead her to a bearded figure who very much resembles the mythical being but is significantly more earthbound in reality. The indigent man has little to no memory, and he can’t even recall his last name. He just goes by Mike R.

Sloan’s boss suggests that they bring in FBI agent Jessica Blackwood, along with scientist Theo Cray, with whom they have consulted in the past. As this reunion is about to take place, the action moves to the west coast. Brad Trasker, head of security for Wind Aerospace in California, is dealing with a case of potential corporate espionage involving Stewart Sena. When Trasker eventually finds him, Sena does not turn out to be the threat he had expected and seems almost to be in some sort of hypnotic trance under the control of someone unknown and sinister.

Mike R. and Sena are related in an ingenious way that I will not reveal here. Jessica gets to the bottom of the former's identity. Michael Roberts was reported missing at the age of 15 in Waterstone, Oregon, in 1993 and was considered to be just another runaway never to be seen again. When further detection shows that there is a string of potentially related disappearances of young people since that time, the story takes a remarkably interesting and dark turn.

The violent fantasies and futuristic ideas conceived of here are simply brilliant. Their connection to a little-known science fiction novel by Jack London, THE STAR ROVER, really piqued my interest and made for one of the most fascinating stories I have ever read from Andrew Mayne. That is really saying something!

MR. WHISPER makes fine use of all four characters, pitting them against a villain who is an uncompromising master manipulator and is incredibly entertaining. This is Mayne at the top of his game, producing high-concept adventure fiction packed with thrills and pitfalls at every turn.