Shadowed by Stephanie Black — Combined Review

Shadowed

Author: Stephanie Black

Publisher: Covenant Communications

Published: September 2012

Paperback: 273 pages

Genre: Mystery-Suspense

ISBN13: 9781621081968

FTC FYI: Received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Reviewed by: Mindy and Shanda

Goodreads Summary

Gifted musician Catherine Clayton was born into a life of wealth and privilege. Following the death of her father, she makes a bold decision she hopes would make him proud: she’s using the family money to establish a music school and offer free lessons to the underprivileged. A providential suggestion from an old college friend leads Catherine to select Riley, New York, as the perfect location for her new school. Hit hard by the economic downturn, Riley personifies economic hardship: peeling paint, overgrown landscapes, and damaged buildings. But the damage runs much deeper than Catherine first realizes.

Two years ago, Riley was rocked by weeks of vandalism, followed by the brutal murder of beautiful elementary school secretary Olivia Perry. Everyone in town loved Olivia—but especially the two men with whom she was caught in a love triangle. Though the murder remains unsolved, Catherine receives ominous warnings that one of these men, Adam Becket, is responsible for her death. Unimpressed by the lack of evidence against him, Catherine is drawn to the shy but endearing Adam. Could he really have been involved in Olivia’s murder?

Just as Catherine is settling in and getting to know Adam, a vandal strikes again, and it’s eerily reminiscent of the events surrounding Olivia’s murder. The death threats splashed on the walls prove that the killer is back—and this time, it’s Catherine who wonders if she’s come to the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mindy’s Review

I was so excited to read this book from Stephanie Black.  Stephanie has won 4 Whitney Awards for her work, so I knew this book would be a good one.  I was not disappointed.  Shadowed had me on edge, just waiting for something to happen, anticipating each page eagerly. My heart went out to Catherine. Talk about bad timing, with lots of bad luck. Moving into a town that is not welcoming and down right spooked by past and current events. Catherine is a great character with lots of great qualities. I really enjoyed what took place in the story, and the outcome of who did it. I was not expecting that!

This is a great book to read on Halloween, full of suspense and heart pounding action.

4 out 5 stars.

Shanda’s Review

Shadowed is a great book to read on Halloween. Set in Riley, New York during autumn, the setting descriptions and suspenseful plot were just right for a good, scary read.

I enjoyed the characters and feel like I got to know them pretty well considering we never leave Catherine’s point of view. Each one took their turn as my suspected bad guy. I thought I had the villain pegged a couple of times, but never with much confidence until the end. Stephanie did a great job keeping me guessing.

The pace of the story was effective and kept me reading until my eyes just wouldn’t stay open anymore. Just as I would get feeling comfortable in Riley again, something would happen or hint at happening to shake things up. There are several action-packed scenes near the end that got my heart rate up and kept me turning pages.

I really enjoyed Shadowed and happily recommend it to readers who love mystery-suspense.

Read more about Stephanie Black on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Find Shadowed:

GOODREADS | AMAZON | KINDLE | DESERET BOOK | SEAGULL BOOK