Customer Reviews

Shadow Walk (A Garner Quinn Mystery)

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True crime writer Garner Quinn is tired of all the dirt and horror she digs up while on a case. She is seriously thinking that it is time to retire at 37. Some addictions go todeep to just give up like that. Sometimes friendships are too important to ignore even if one of the parties is dead. Quinn and Lara Spangler never thought that their early teen vow of eternal friendship would last only five whole days. On the sixth day, Lara's father killed her and the rest of their family before disappearing into the night.

Garner is shaken out of her apathy when a down on his luck journalist, T.J. Sterling informs her that he has sighted Gordon Spangler. He wants Garner to help him open doors to the power people in publishing. T.J. promises to allow Garner the opportunity to talk with Gordon before the whistle is blown on the escaped convict. Quinn agrees to the deal, though she has grave misgivings. Her eerie inner warning system proves to be at full operational strength when the headlines state that T.J. committed suicide. Though everyone else thinks the man took his own life, Garner believes that he is the latest victim of Gordon. Garner decides it is time to bring the killer down even if it means risking her own life in the process.

Jane Waterhouse is a brilliant writer whose stylish story is memorably lyrical and populated with unique characters. SHADOW WALK is a walk into dark side of the human existence, a place where psychopaths reign supreme and Mr. Hyde is a Sunday school teacher. The protagonist is a very human and passionate person, torn between leaving a world that taunts her with its depravity yet leaves her yearning to explore it. Like Garner, readers will find the story compelling but a very uncomfortable reminder of what is out there in the real world.

Harriet Klausner

This novel was chilling and unforgettable. Jane Waterhouse writes in an intelligent, interesting manner and I would recommend all her novels in this series.

Garner Quinn, a best-selling true-crime author, goes on a search for her childhood best friends father, who killed his family apparently without reason and subsequently disappeared.

Her interest in the case is initially rekindled when a fellow author asks to meet her and subsequently reveals that he knows where the killer is, although won't identify him.

Days later he is dead in suspicious circumstances and Quinn is left with the puzzle of discovering who he is and where to find him.

Overall, the book is an enjoyable read, with sufficient interest being maintained in the characters and plot to keep the reader reading, though people looking for a fast-paced, blood-and-guts story should look elsewhere.

Like many similar stories, the main character has the financial and occupational freedom to pursue their quest, also a degree of independence. However, whether deliberate or not, there is no real empathy built between Quinn and the reader. When she reaches a dead-end, you don't feel sorry for her, more apathetic.

This is very much a mystery story - how did this man manage to disappear for so many years. Unfortunately, this question is not answered to this readers satisfaction.

The aspect I enjoyed most about this book was the way Waterhouse developed the mood and eerie darkness that ran through most of the work. The anti-climatic climax caught me a little off guard and I felt it detracted a little from the way the story developed. In balance, this is a good work and I would recommend it to anyone who likes strong, tenacious female characters.

I enjoyed the characters and story of this book. The story line could easily have been based upon a true crime and, in fact, did remind me of a couple of similar crimes that I have read about. I didn't like Waterhouse's Graven Images, so I'm glad that I decided to try this one by her. Now I'm looking forward to reading her next novel.