‘Rory Miller had one chance to fight back and she took it. Rory survived and the serial killer who attacked her escaped. Now that the infamous Steven Nell is on the loose, Rory must enter the witness protection program. Entering the program alongside her, is her father and sister Darcy. The trio starts a new life and a new beginning leaving their friends and family behind without a goodbye.
Starting over in a new town with only each other is unimaginable for Rory and Darcy. They were inseparable as children but now they can barely stand each other. As the sisters settle in to Juniper Landing, a picturesque vacation island, it seems like their new home may be just the fresh start they need. They fall in with a group of beautiful, carefree teens and spend their days surfing, partying on the beach, and hiking into endless sunsets. Just as they’re starting to feel safe again, one of their new friends goes missing. Is it a coincidence? Or is the nightmare beginning all over again?’
I can’t believe that it took me a better part of a year to get around to reading Shadowlands to only finish the book within 3 days.
Shadowlands overall is a furiously fast paced book with an incredibly intriguing storyline. You could definitely read Shadowlands as a standalone. Personally though, I’m glad that Shadowlands has two more books to it.
I haven’t read any other of Kate Brian’s work, I’ve only read Shadowlands. So I can’t compare Shadowlands to any of her other books. What I can say is this: I love Kate Brian’s writing. Not only was I pulled into the story incredibly quickly, but she (Kate Brian) has a way of writing her characters, her story settings, and writing the story plot in a way that quite a lot of Mystery/Thriller writers can’t achieve.
There are two points of view within this book. However, there’s really only one character, Rory, who has the majority of the book to herself. The second point of view that we sparsely read from is the ‘Bad Guy’. For me though, I found the points of view to be of equal parts since the Bad Guy’s view has quite a bit of presence.
I was put off by the new town that Rory and her family moved to. Throughout reading the book there were just moments where I felt that the story came to life. The town, the characters, the main plot of this book just feels incredibly realistic. Speaking of other characters, I’ve never been so creeped out by characters in a book in my life. Which is great.
Usually when I read I try to pin-point/predict/guess what could happen. However, my experience with reading Shadowlands, I couldn’t really predict anything. For one, the plot of the book moves blindingly fast. I mean, when I first started reading Shadowlands, I only intended to read a few pages. Before I knew it I was 30% into the book. Books don’t usually pull me into their stories that quickly!
When I got to the end of the book, everything clicked into place. That was only because the truth was revealed. I was in shock. Shadowlands ends on such a cliff hanger that when I finished reading the book and the shock died down, I was shocked again because there were details about the book that I thought about once I was down reading. Then my heartbreak set in because there is so much that the people of this town don’t know about the town or themselves. The fact that the don’t know and I do is so infuriating and that why it’s also heartbreaking.
That’s why I’m looking forward to reading the next book, Hereafter!
I ended up giving Shadowlands 5 of 5 stars on Goodreads.
Have you read Shadowlands, or any other book by Kate Brian before? If so, did you enjoy the book?
Happy Reading!
Adele
