Worlds Inside Books

The CSU series follow the work of a special FBI unit, the Crime Support Unit, that works to help the Canadian authorities.

In this novel, the first in the series, we are introduced to this team. They have to solve the disappearance of Rachel Ross, a student who is the daughter of a rich US senator. She was last seen in a forest near Vancouver, where her car was found. Did she run away? Was she kidnapped? Or perhaps murdered? These are the questions the CSU team has to answer.

The plot was very good and I enjoyed reading this novel. It is easy to follow and although the ending is a bit surprising, everything makes sense. The book is aimed at teenagers and it is not very long (a bit less than 200 pages), but that doesn’t mean the plot is rushed.

We don’t get to know the whole team as well as we know the leader, Kate Kovacs. But that’s normal, considering the story is told in first person by Kate.

She is a very interesting character. We know she studied Medicine, but doesn’t work as a doctor. We also see everything through her eyes. The questions she has, her fears, her disappointment when she trusts somebody and then later finds out that person hasn’t been completely honest, her frustration when they don't find any clues... But a mysterious and probably dangerous past is hinted. Her medical records are sealed by the FBI, she seems to understand difficult situations as if she had lived them herself and some parts of the investigation trigger memories she tries to forget.

We don’t learn much of her past or her family and we don't even see all those memories, but I hope more will be revealed in the next books.

As far as I know this series has only been published in French (the original) and Spanish (only the first three books).