Neil Abramson

If you are an animal lover, UNSAID is a great book for you. No, it's not great literature. But it's a great novel about animals and their people. The best word I can think of to describe it is "sweet."

The narrator of the story is a dead veterinarian, Helena. The main character is her devastated husband, David. She also left behind a household full of animals, both inside and outside.

David is a lawyer. A little more than halfway through the book David takes on a case unlike any other he has defended before. Helena's dear friend Jaycee, another veterinarian, may go to jail because she tried to kidnap a chimpanzee, Cindy, that belonged to the government.

Jaycee had been in charge of an attempt to teach Cindy to communicate by sign language. Jaycee raised Cindy for four years, from the time she was an infant. But now the government wants to put her back in the general population, where she may be subjected to experiments and torture. According to the government, this communication experiment with Cindy has failed; according to Jaycee, it hasn't.

According to the author, Neil Abramson, there's a difference between unspoken and unsaid. And that is one of David's defenses.

My only criticism of this book is that Abramson doesn't make clear whether Cindy's communication abilities are ever publicized. It would be nice to think so.… (mere)

From Neil Abramson, the acclaimed author of Unsaid, comes a riveting novel that explores the complex connection between humans and animals.Veterinarian Samantha Lewis and her team are dedicated to providing a sanctuary for unwanted, abused, and abandoned dogs in New York City. But every day it gets harder to operate her no-kill shelter. Sam is already at her breaking point when she learns of an unidentified, dangerous virus spreading through their neighborhood. The medical community can only determine that animals are the carriers. Amid growing panic and a demand for immediate answers, suspicion abruptly falls on dogs as the source. Soon the governor is calling in the National Guard to enforce a quarantine -- no dog may leave the area.Samantha knows from her own painful history that, despite the lack of real evidence against the dogs, a quarantine may only be the beginning. As questions about the source of the virus mount and clash with the pressure for a politically expedient resolution, Sam is forced to make life-altering choices. She finds allies in a motley crew of New Yorkers -- a local priest, a troubled teen, a smart-mouthed former psychologist, and a cop desperate to do the right thing -- all looking for sanctuary from their own personal demons. But the person Sam needs the most to unravel the mystery of the virus and save the dogs is the last one she'd ever want to call on -- because contacting him will mean confronting the traumatic past she has fought so hard to escape.… (mere)