SHADOW
Length: 7 hours 37 minutes
From USA Today best-selling author Maureen A. Miller comes this romantic thriller that spans the Atlantic.Sophie Diem's boss has skipped town, abandoning their counseling firm and taking her investment money with him. As she seeks to rebuild her professional career, she is distressed by the appearance of a stranger. The man keeps to the shadows, but he is definitely stalking her.In an attempt to flee him, she accepts a job offer...in London. Surely, crossing the Atlantic would be enough to deter her shadow.Glenn Barber is a desperate man. He sorely wants answers. The man who can supply them has gone missing, though. Now, all Glenn can do is go after the next best thing: the man's former employee, Sophie Diem.Sophie is shocked to spot her shadow in London. What she learns is that Glenn, the shadow, is not a stalker but rather her only protection.As her attraction to Glenn grows, together, they conspire to locate her former boss and stop him before he can harm others.
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HALL
WAYS REVIEW: Audio book review. In Shadow, by Maureen A. Miller, wonderful layers of mystery stack up
as the reader dives deeper into the story. As one mystery unfolds, another
comes to light; questions get answered, but new ones arise to keep reader curiosity
fully piqued.
But it’s not just the
mystery element that will keep readers reading (or reading with their ears, like me). Miller has all the right pieces
for an engaging story: suspense, danger, romance, and even international travel.
But for me, it is the characters that make the story work.
“Her
age was just an exclamation point on a wasted decade.”
It is a nice change of pace that
the protagonist, Sophie, is in her early thirties. Like many women in that age
range, she is grappling with the decisions she’s made, where she is now, and
what she’s done with her life. She knows it’s time for a change, and the
presence of a stalker is the final straw for her to get out of Dodge. Sophie is complex, and readers may be quick to
judge her actions regarding the stalker unless they put credence in the power
of women’s intuition and instinct. (I do.)
By providing dual points-of-view,
Miller gives readers the other side of the story – Glenn is not a stalker, he’s
a desperate and broken man searching for answers. Hearing Glenn’s thoughts and feelings completely
switched how I felt about him, and his motives became understandable. Glenn’s is an equally complex character, and
his struggle to find himself worthy of love or happiness is palpable.
What’s going on with Sophie
and Glenn gets heavy, as is the building sexual tension between them, so the scenes
including the characters of Amanda and Sam are excellent distractions. Amanda
is the elegant and enigmatic boss of Blue-Link, Sophie’s London-based employer.
I feel like there’s something more to her than we’re allowed to see in Shadow, and honestly, this piece is a
major driver for my wanting to read the next book in the series. On the opposite side of the spectrum is the
character of Sam, who provides what Sophie -- and readers -- need: a lovable,
quirky, comical, steadfast friend and protector. He’s really Sophie’s hero, too.
Odd as it may seem, bad guy
Nathan really isn’t much of a thing. He is a presence because he’s wrecked so
many lives, but there isn’t much build-up and it’s a bit anti-climactic when he
makes his inevitable appearance. Sam is the scene-stealer there, but I fear he won’t
be a recurring character based on the ending of the story.
The ending does bring about
a satisfying resolution, but I am not sure about the direction of the series
and whether the same characters will continue to be featured. I can’t see how
Sophie’s and Glenn’s stories would have anything left beyond romance and the
challenges of a new relationship, but there’s something about the Blue-Link
company…
There are some minor plot
holes, a few places that behaviors/reactions didn’t seem reasonable, and some
bits of peculiar dialogue (including some F-bombs that seemed unnecessary and
incongruous with the character). But overall, I recommend the audio book of Shadow as an entertaining escape into an
intriguing story line. Listening to it was time well spent.
ABOUT THE NARRATION: This is
the second book I’ve heard narrated by Brandy Skelly, and I am happy that her
delivery was much more consistent and cleaner than last time. I listened to the book at
regular speed, which is a rarity, but Skelly’s pacing was just right. Her voicing
of characters, male and female, was good and she made it easy to distinguish
them. And while Sam’s British accent worked, Amanda’s was less authentic. Even
so, by book’s end, I had adapted and accepted it as her voice. Technically speaking, this was a much better
recording than the last of Miller’s books I listened to; however, there was a
sizable glitch about an hour in that had a long stutter and then several
seconds of silence.
Thank you to the author and
Audiobookworm Promotions for providing me an audio download in exchange for my
honest opinion – the only kind I give.
I received this audio book as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Maureen A. Miller. The gifting of this audio book did not affect my opinion of it.
Maureen's first novel, WIDOW'S TALE, earned her a Golden Heart nomination in Romantic Suspense. After that she became hooked to the genre. In fact, she was so hooked she is the founder of the JUST ROMANTIC SUSPENSE website.
Recently, Maureen branched out into the Young Adult Science Fiction market with the popular BEYOND Series. To her it was still Romantic Suspense...just on another planet!
Recently, Maureen branched out into the Young Adult Science Fiction market with the popular BEYOND Series. To her it was still Romantic Suspense...just on another planet!
Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads⎮Instagram
About Brandy Skelly: I studied theatre in college and even participated in storytelling festivals when I was growing up. I'm a practicing attorney and love to participate in ACX projects to keep my creative side happy and fulfilled. I can perform fiction and non-fiction, in neutral-American or Southern-American accents.
I live in North Carolina with my husband, toddler, and pound puppy. I have a soft spot for romance, and I love a good laugh!
Giveaway: $25 Amazon Gift Card / Ends March 1, 2019
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