Oregon History Mystery No. 9
S.L. Stoner, Unseen: A Sage Adair Historical Mystery.
Review by Lane Poncy
Unseen is the ninth book in S.L. Stoner’s Sage Adair Historical Mystery Series of the Northwest. It’s set on an Indian reservation where a murder occurs. The East Oregonian in Pendleton, Oregon, praised the series saying, “S.L. Stoner does an admirable job of weaving . . . historical information into the storyline while keeping up a fast, action-filled pace worthy of the genre.”
The newspaper adds that “history buffs will be impressed with the level of historical detail and others will simply enjoy the story.” As an added bonus, Stoner’s books have pages of historical research notes that are used in the plot development.
The main character, Sage Adair, made a fortune in a Klondike gold strike. With his riches, he established a first-class restaurant in Portland in the early 1900s. He uses the restaurant, Mozart’s Table, as a way of keeping track of the abuses of the “movers and shakers” of the town. He frequently goes undercover as an operative for the labor movement.
Unseen takes a different direction as a favor for a local ally. Sage gathers his crew and heads to a reservation to uncover the shaky finances and the embezzlement of tribal property and allotments. A murder takes place and Sage is determined to seek justice for tribal members.
Unseen is deserving of the East Oregonian’s praise! (Lane Poncy is a former PNLHA executive board member and host of a labor show on KBOO radio.) Published in the Pacific Northwest Labor Quarterly.

Positive