The Unseen Sacrifice
A woman who’s driven by her fierce devotion to her dogs and her family goes up against her neighbors in court in the legal thriller The Unseen Sacrifice.
In Dani I. Tobbek’s gripping novel The Unseen Sacrifice, loyalty, prejudice, and a search for justice collide when fear clouds the truth.
Mia’s peaceful life in Henderson, Nevada, is upended when her aloof neighbors accuse her dogs Kasey and Luca of attacking their sheep. The brutal nature of the attack leads the tight-knit community to shut Mia out. The dogs are detained while legal proceedings and medical investigations proceed.
Mia attempts to fight back, but her neighbors target, harass, and escalate the situation for hidden reasons, making defending the dogs difficult. Even after winning the civil case, Mia endures false reports to the authorities and private investigators. Then her neighbors drag her back into court with claims that the dogs attacked them too.
The book is moved along most by its dramatic, suspenseful courtroom scenes, through which Mia fights to free her dogs and confronts community prejudices. But even beyond these scenes, the narration remains consistent in form and tone: Each chapter begins with a hook and closes with building tension, and each scene—from high-stakes exchanges to fraught conversations between friends and quiet interludes with Mia and her dogs—serves a clear purpose within the larger story, revealing new facets of who people are and what’s behind their conflicts. Details such as the glare of courtroom lights and the hush of dawn flesh the story out further.
A few members of the community are aware of the truth behind the neighbor’s accusations. They keep the information to themselves out of fear of disrupting the relationships, though they see what happens to Mia and are aware of the potential punishment for her dogs. That the community members do not speak up over an issue that proves to be important only to to the neighbors is glaring—a loose end in an otherwise tight tale, forcing Mia and her family to work to reconnect with their community past the outcome of the legal cases.
Mia’s characterization is driven by her fierce devotion to her dogs and family. She experiences self-doubt and vulnerability, seen both in her thoughts and in her subtle physical reactions to tense moments, as with the tremor that appears in her voice while she’s under harsh courtroom lights and the way she pauses to steady her nerves before cross-examination. The secondary characters are also well rendered, including Kasey and Luca, whose gentle loyalty amplifies Mia’s courage. The sheriff is defined by his outward professional detachment and deeper, conflicted sympathy; a rabbi offers Mia warm yet cautious counsel; and the antagonistic neighbor and zealous prosecutor have personal backstories that explain, if not justify, their actions.
The mystery behind the dogs’ alleged attack hangs over the novel, though it is soon apparent that the animals are innocent. The blatant lying of Mia’s neighbors builds tension, as does the question of why Mia was targeted with such relentless energy. The resolution explains why the neighbors blamed the dogs, and the painful confrontation lingers after the courtroom.
The Unseen Sacrifice is a resonant novel in which a mother is driven to protect her family and her pets against her prejudiced neighbors.
Reviewed by
John M. Murray
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