The Invisible Woman

A former FBI agent harboring career regrets accepts a special undercover assignment-to live in the home of a suspected money launderer as the family nanny.



My name is Elinor Gilbert. And I am the Invisible Woman.

No, not the kind who can walk through walls, or make a deck of cards look like it's shuffling itself. The other kind, facing uncertainty in midlife.

Elinor, a former FBI agent, gets a cold call from her old boss: "We have an undercover surveillance assignment. And you're the perfect person to help us out."

Suddenly, she's disguised as a grandmotherly, live-in nanny while monitoring her new employer-a wealthy New York art dealer suspected of money laundering in the service of a drug cartel.

Detective work is easy for her. Babysitting (kiddie and canines) is not. But as Elinor comes under fire, she also develops an unexpected love for the young charges she'd give her own life to protect.

The Invisible Woman is part crime thriller, part uproarious social satire-and always the story of an investigator in search of herself.

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women's Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton. He has told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Susan DiLallo is a lyricist, librettist, and humor columnist. A former advertising creative director, she lives in New York City.