The Seventh Sense [Mass Market Paperback]

T.J. MacGregor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000

For FBI veteran Charlie Calloway, the search for the enraged man who killed her husband and unborn child in a hit-and-run assault becomes a race against time.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The wind and the rain that rage in the opening scenes of Shamus Award-winner MacGregor's (Mistress of the Bones; The Hanged Man) off-beat psychodrama soon become internal forces, as the lives of his yuppified characters are torn up and battered. Ambitious Miami attorney Frank Benedict, drinking heavily to dull the loss of a client whose business would have assured him a full partnership in his high-powered firm, is alone on the road in his black BMW. When a Ford Explorer carrying pregnant FBI agent Charlie Calloway and her husband crosses Benedict's path, the lawyer, still seething with unresolved anger, hits the accelerator instead of the brake. He smashes the Explorer again, killing Calloway's husband, then drives off in a panic, leaving Charlie bleeding in the street and her pet dog running into the neighborhood. Arriving home, Benedict frantically begs his wife to support him; charges of intoxication, leaving the scene and vehicular homicide would end his career, he argues. Together they sink the battered Beemer in an abandoned quarry. Though her baby dies, Charlie gradually recovers. Frustrated by the lack of clues in Charlie's husband's homicide, her boss seeks the help of former agent Doug Logan, who has ESP resulting from a near-death experience when he was wounded in the line of duty. It turns out that Charlie had a similar experience after the collision, and now she too has psychic powers. With a million-dollar reward on his head, Benedict's anxiety escalates and he kills again, but Charlie's injured dog provides the clue to Benedict's undoing, thanks to an elderly Alzheimer's patient who can see into the future. MacGregor keeps the suspense rising, and a rushed and melodramatic denouement is the only letdown in her creepy exploration of the powers of human perception. Author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

An FBI agent goes after the hit-and-run driver who has killed her husband and newborn sonand so does nearly everyone else in greater Miami. Frank Benedict, driving home from an unsuccessful dinner with the prospective client he's counting on to help him land a law partnership at 44, slams into the side of Charlie Calloway's van in a fit of rage, then backs up and hits it again before driving off into the stormy night. Charlie, awakening in a hospital to find that she's lost both husband and soneven her dog Paz has run awayvows revenge. Meanwhile, Frank's told his blue-blooded wife Anita just enough lies to enlist her help in ditching his ruined BMW in a nearby swamp and reporting it stolen. It's hardly the perfect crime, but he'd probably get away with it if it weren't for all the forces of justice arrayed against him. Item: FBI forensic specialist Leo Wells seeks out his misfit ex-colleague Doug Logan, who developed an uncanny sensitivity to psychic phenomena after surviving a near-death experience. Item: Charlie's old roommate, Dr. Lorraine Sneider, puts Charlie under hypnosis to see what details she can dredge up about the fatal night. Item: veterinarian Chrissy Lincoln, whose mother took in the fleeing Paz under the impression that he was a reincarnation of her late husband, recognizes him as the dog mentioned in accounts of the incident. Item: even Anita finds herself tempted by the $1 million reward Charlie's old friend Chico Ruiz, the gay talk-radio host, is offering. And now that Charlie herself, having been pronounced dead for two minutes at the hospital, has developed a seventh sense like Logan's, the biggest question is which of these avengers can get to hapless Frank Benedict first. Too many cooks spoil the suspense, leaving this story most memorable as another example of MacGregor's distinctive amalgams of melodrama, parapsychology, and wrenching emotional loss (The Hanged Man, 1998, etc.). (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786010835
• ISBN-13: 978-0786010837
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,002,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Psyhic fiction, April 23, 2000

By 

V. A Ortiz "Forties wahine" (Tybee Island, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Seventh Sense (Mass Market Paperback)

I began reading T.J. Macgregor when she was writing South Florida murder mysteries and have been intrigued as she ventured onto "the other side" of psychic fiction. Her characters are so real I find myself considering them as people I know and being an animal lover I am delighted with the personalities of the animals as well. Nobody matches her for reading peoples thoughts and writing them down..Obviously the Kirkus reviewer is completely right or no brained.....

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME READ - her best effort yet, May 23, 1999

By 

Carol in VA "Carol" (VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Seventh Sense (Hardcover)

The twists and turns in this book make it very hard to put down and I couldn't. The main characters intrigue you enough that you hope she will continue the series. Introduction of friends of Logan and Charlie make you want to know the story behind them. Reading the sory from the killer's side at the same time made the whole story flow in a way that made me want to get to the next page before I had finished the one I was on!

Can't wait to see if another one follows

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Can't Put Me DOWN" Kind of Read, March 26, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Seventh Sense (Hardcover)

WHEW! What a FABulous read. I started this book around 5 P.M. today; finished it around 10 P.M. (it's 262 pages). I had to find out how it ended. Just had to. In many ways--the characters probably could have been more fully developed; T.J. also did some segues that made me have to reread a couple sections; but for the most part, this was a story that grabbed me by the seat of my pants and WOULD NOT, COULD NOT let me go. Two of the main characters have suffered Near Death Experiences; this allows them to experience what another character calls The Seventh Sense (in addition to our five senses, she defined the sixth sense as intuition). The main character, Charlie Calloway's husband & unborn baby are killed in a hit & run accident that caused Charlie's NDE. Charlie is an FBI agent, so along with her background and the help of a buddy, she is determined to find the driver who so horribly altered her life. Not only did I want to see how this story ended (and it's a hell of an ending ;-), but I grew more horrified as the story went on--seeing the "bad guy" literally disintegrate in front of my eyes. Other than the NDE "seventh sense" (which may or may not be believable to you), everything else in the story rings true--which makes it that much more horrifying. If you want a story that'll put you on the edge of your seat--check out T.J. MacGregor's, The Seventh Sense.