When he was only nine Ian Kennedy’s dad disappeared, later his beloved vanished, too. Now nearly forty he lives in London where he helps other people who are searching for their loved ones. It’s not much of a living but is his destiny. When an American woman comes in with the tale of her daughter’s disappearance and both the mother and the girl’s boyfriend have amazing stories Ian knows he must help. An eerie entry in the girl’s diary reminds him of an ancient Celtic folk tale and… the game’s afoot!

Ian had fled to Europe when his lover left him and broke off all contact. Reeling from this second “betrayal” he vowed to help other people. Most cases ended in reunions but there were still those which ended with a corpse or absolutely no clues. Laura Lensky’s daughter, Peri, vanished two years earlier from their flat. Months later a woman in Scotland encountered a pregnant and disheveled Peri who begged a coin to call her mother. They had a brief conversation and she was gone once more. So Ian must return to Scotland the scene of his first search for a missing woman.

Years ago and recovering from an encounter with his long lost father a neighbor asked Ian to find her daughter who disappeared while on an archeological dig. As he examined the area the girl appeared before him pleading that he save her - only to vanish once more. Later that day he encountered a woman named Fred who waits each dusk for a phantom lover, one of the legendary members of that “other “ realm long known from fairy tales. As a result of this experience Ian began his study of Celtic legends and lore and gradually came to see that not everything can be explained by our senses. There are many mysteries even today.

Every other chapter chronicles a mysterious disappearance and occasionally re-appearance of people throughout the centuries and from around the world. Not simply the famous as the Mary Celeste’s crew but also the corporal in the Chilean army who vanished before his comrades only to appear fifteen minutes later sporting five days’ growth of beard. There are echoes of a sinister Darby O’Gill and the Little People in some of the stories only this time there’s no pot of gold. Can such beings cross over from one existence to another? What happens to those who seek them? What of those who are abducted?

This is a book full of such mysteries. Some questions are answered while others remain. I found it hard to put down this book, perhaps I, too, succumbed, in part to the lure of the “others” who dwell in another realm. In this world so full of technology and facts there is still a longing for mystery, thank goodness.

--Jane Davis