Customer Reviews

The Shadow Hunter

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Abby Sinclair is a hunter...she enters the lives of stalkers and brings them to their knees.

Kris Barwood is the television newscaster, and also, the object of a stalker's obsession.

Raymond Hickle is a hardworking man on the edge of sanity.

Trying to cope with the personal demons from a previous case, Abby agrees to protect Kris from the twisted threats she is receiving from Hickle. As Abby enters Hickle's life, she realizes this is no ordinary stalker case...there are many loose ends, and when an attempt on Abby's life fails, she begins to see everyone as a suspect. The case becomes more complicated, pushing Abby closer to danger.

"The Shadow Stalker" is well written, fast-paced and exciting. From the first page the reader is pulled in, and hurled to the shocking climax.

Michael Prescott has written a great novel with enough plot twists to keep the reader riveted. This book deserves the attention all thriller readers.

A MUST read!

Nick Gonnella

This is my first Michael Prescott read and he has definitely caught my attention. I recommend this for good suspense and a believable and strong female protaganist. Abby Sinclair is a high-tech investigator who is working undercover to take down a stalker who's obsessed with a local TV anchor woman. The plot thickens nicely when she realizes that there is another mysterious party involved who seems to be aiding the stalker. At about two-thirds of the way through the book, the reader finds out who this other party is. The suspense is sustained but I had some difficulty in believing the character and motivations of this party. Overall, though, quite a nice thriller.

Well, I'm impressed! I am a pretty jaded mystery reader, but Prescott managed to fake me out with this book. I liked it a lot, and wholeheartedly recommend it to lovers of good mysteries.
The heroine is Abby Sinclair. She is a hunter of stalkers. She insinuates herself into their lives and collects information that will bring them down before they can claim a victim. Abby is bright, extremely competent and amazingly resourceful. Prescott's villian, Raymond Hickle, is believable and well written, as is Hickle's quarry, a beautiful TV news reporter. This book is suspenseful, carefully crafted, gracefully written, and is guaranteed to keep you reading non stop until the end. I hope Prescott sees fit to bring Abby back in a sequel. Meanwhile, I have ordered his other three novels.

Abby Sinclair has an interesting life...it's her job to get close to stalkers. She infiltrates their lives, learns their secrets, and evaluates their potential for danger. She stalks the stalkers.

The story moves along swiftly and smoothly, revealing more each chapter about Abby, the stalker Hickle, and the object of his obsession, TV anchorwoman Kris Barwood. All of the characters are believable and there are none of those "amazing" coincidences that sometimes show up in other suspense thrillers.

If you enjoy well written, believable thrillers, then this book is for you. I'm looking forward to reading Michael Prescott's other books, as I think he is a very talented writer.

Having discovered Michael Prescott about a year ago, I could hardly wait for his newest--and it was worth the wait! Throughout the book, I got closer and closer to gutsy Abby Sinclair as she attempted to "redeem herself" as a stalker-hunter and protector of victims. I am always amazed at Prescott's ability not only to tell a chilling and exciting tale, but to make his characters really and truly come alive for the reader. This book is no exception: Abby Sinclair is now a friend of mine. I wish I may, I wish I might have another opportunity to read about her. A sequel or another novel with Sinclair as its heroine would be so welcomed by this faithful Prescott reader. He ranks right up there with the best of the mystery genre--watch out Ridley Pearson and the rest of you guys!

Michael Prescott has demonstrated a very keen ability to create very convincing and resourceful damsels in distress; villains that are thoroughly disgusting and evil; heroes that pop out of nowhere; and in "The Shadow Hunter," a truly surprise villain that comes out of nowhere for a real stunner!

The novel focuses on a private security firm that specializes in aiding victims of stalkers. The book opens nicely with our heroine, Abby Sinclair, trying to keep a female stalker from killing an actor who jilted her. Unfortunately, things don't go well for Abby, and as she re-enters the story, she is assigned to track a particularly nasty stalker hounding a successful and beautiful newscaster.

From this point, the novel twists and turns into several surprising plot devices. Abby finds herself being stalked after she discovers that the stalker has an informant who knows her every move.

The identity of this informant is truly surprising, and the climax is taut and terrifying.

This is Prescott's best book to date, and should firmly entrench him in the forefront of today's suspense writers.

Abby Sinclair is perhaps one of the most well crafted characters I have encountered in quite some time. Mr. Prescott did a fantastic job of breathing life into Abby. Readers of "The Shadow Hunter" will encounter a very strong woman with a sharp mind and a conscience that won't let her ever forget the one evening she lost a client. A mistake she does not intend to make a second time.

Newscaster Kris Barwood is the "Six Million Dollar Woman" of the television airwaves. She delivers her news broadcasts at six and ten o'clock every evening to the residents of Los Angeles and Hollywood. However, much to her chagrin, there's Raymond Hickle out there who believes that she is speaking directly to him. Hickle is an obsessive fan. A stalker. He wants nothing more than to have Kris in his life. If he can't have that, he'd rather she be dead.

As the story moves along we are given a very close look into the life of a fan turned stalker. Hickle tapes every newscast. He has written to all the stations in Mrs. Barwood's career requesting photographs. He even has copies of her high school year books and birth certificate.

Abby is assigned by her employer to infiltrate Hickle's life and keep tabs on the under-achieving loony. She moves into the apartment right next door and begins to converse with Raymond. Something he is not used to. His affections are now in a quandary. Who is he more likely to pursue? Unreachable Kris or his new neighbor Abby?

Mr. Prescott proceeds to take us on a twisted journey. Revealing to us the thought processes and planned actions of a stalker. The pacing is fantastic. A swift and energetic read.

To make Abby's life and assignment a little more difficult, there's someone that's helping Raymond Hickle along! He's got a supporter out there speaking to him via email. There are enough red herrings in this story that will have most readers suspecting various other key players. This was a fabulous touch.

I had not read any of Mr. Prescott's other novels. But I intend to check them out. I agree wholeheartedly that Abby Sinclair needs to be brought back in a future novel. She is a sharp and very believable character that deserves to come back and entertain readers yet again. This treatment of Abby makes for a nice change of pace from some of the more two dimensional so called heroines in books today.

A great book that reads easily. Give this one a try.

Excellent work, Mr. Prescott!

I only say that because he is the Master of Mis-Direction. He'll have you thinking that the story is going in one direction but suddenly, he takes you somewhere totally different. For example, he will develop a character and describe all of his or her great attributes but may mention one negative. However,that one negative might turn out to be the turning point of the novel.

This book is packed with excitement from beginning to end. If you are a fan of mystery and suspense, you won't be disappointed.

I have one major complaint regarding this book. It was so fantastic, so gripping I got 3 hours of sleep last night. I had to force myself to put the book down so I could sleep. At breakfast, I picked it up again only to realize when I surfaced that I now had only 1/2 hour to get a shower, get dressed and drive the 35 minute ride to work! This is the first book I have read by this author and it is not going to be the last. This was incredible! I am so glad I found this author! Thanks so much, Amazon, for the suggestions of authors or I would have missed this great book.

As usual Michael Prescott writes another powerful, suspenseful, and exhilirating thriller. Michal Prescott a.k.a Brian Harper always writes great mysteries and I was so happy to find The Shadow Hunter. The only problem is that I finished it one day! Keep up the great work Michael!