Customer Reviews

A Season of Shadows

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After young Julie Harris's husband dies in an automobile accident, she learns that he died with another woman in the seat next to him: Clare Lindsay, whom Julie's well-connected friend Robert Holloway says was a secret agent. Now Julie is determined to find out if her husband was truly unfaithful--or if there is another explanation. Julie's search leads her to travel to World War II London as a spy herself, planning to use her status as Stewart Harris's widow to learn whether a group of anti-war conspiracy theorists, of which he and Clare had once been members, is feeding information to the Nazis. At the same time, Julie hopes that the group members may be able to answer some of the nagging questions about her deceased husband. But if Julie doubted Stewart in America, in London she finds herself doubting everybody. Could government agent M be working for the other side? Will suspicious group member Rachel prove Julie's downfall--or rescuer? Is the charming Anthony anything more than rich, bored, and unreliable? Has Episcopal priest John Peters simply tried to be a good pastor to imprisoned conspirator Denis, or is he part of the conspiracy? Julie finds herself searching for the answers to these questions--and to her personal struggle.

Paul McCusker's detailed research about WWII-era spying and his carefully crafted plot are this book's best points. He doles out his clues one by one, but so subtly that most readers will be as surprised as Julie at the book's ending. Unfortunately, his drawing of Julie's character is not half so good. McCusker has created in Julie a socialite who is oddly innocent about people but (officially) quite worldly when it comes to cigarettes, liquor, and money. McCusker, however, has to work hard proving Julie's "worldliness" in the early part of the book, and his studious efforts coupled with her lack of personality make for a character with no power to draw--or even repel. We are given no particular reason to care whether she exists; it seems she happened because of the story's plot, not the other way around. The male characters in the story, such as Robert Holloway and Father John, though less important, have more personality than Julie does, so perhaps McCusker simply has trouble connecting with female lead characters. Or maybe he struggled with transitioning from the mode he uses when writing for children. (And as interesting as some of his children's writing is, that his adult characters could be so bland seems very strange.)

Whether you should buy "A Season of Shadows" depends on how much you enjoy spy stories. If you simply want to be kept guessing, you may enjoy McCusker's book. But if you prefer novels with vivid characters, you should probably skip this one.

Shadows has a geat mix of history, mystery, and interesting characters. The story really draws you into the lives of the English people during the Blitz of World War II. The mix or fictional characters with real historical events made for a very entertaing read.