Deadly Shadow

A Paranormal Suspense Thriller (The Assassin Chronicles, Book 1)

De: Kim Cresswell

Narrado por: Robin Siegerman

The Assassin Chronicles TV series is in development with Council Tree Productions.

Two recent murders. Two serial killers. A conspiracy that reaches beyond the physical world.

Consumed with grief over the tragic death of her husband, FBI Agent Victory McClane is obsessed with finding Ohio's serial killer, "The Wrapper". When another young woman turns up dead and the victim is linked to Derrick Lynn, son of the secretary of defense, Victory finds Derrick has all the right answers and is a little too helpful.

Derrick has a secret: He's a government assassin who uses his unusual paranormal skills to eliminate targets. Determined to keep his own secrets buried, he offers to help find the Wrapper. But can Victory trust him?

As the body count rises, Victory must cross a dangerous line - into a world of government cover-ups, murder, and betrayal - a decision that will test her limits and everything in which she believes.

The battle between good and evil begins! Deadly Shadow is the first audiobook in the gripping paranormal/supernatural thriller series, an action-packed blend of suspense and mystery for detective and crime story lovers.

©2018 Kim Cresswell (P)2018 Kim Cresswell

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Deadly Shadow takes you on a suspenseful, thrilling ride." (Dima Zales, New York Times best-selling author)

Get Hooked

This is the first Kim Cresswell book I've read, and boy have I ever been missing out! The characters walked off the page and into my mind, what they saw, I saw, what they felt, I felt, and boy did I ever feel it. I grinned, I cried, and I didn't care how many odd looks I got from the other train passengers, I couldn't help myself.

The story is fast moving, there's a lot happening and it weaves an interesting tapestry of events and connections. The paranormal element of the story is well done and not overdone. It left me wanting to know what other abilities are out there.

Loved the narration, the character voices are clear and recognizable and the delivery conveyed the tone and emotions of the different parts of the story.

I received a free copy of this book from the author and/or narrator and/or publisher and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.

If you found this review helpful would you please take a moment to click yes below.

Excellent story, great narrative.

I am extremely impressed with this amazing start of a new series. I do enjoy a fantastic suspense, mystery book. Something that is different from my usual go-to.
The first couple of chapters, while I was extremely locked-in with the story, the audio seemed a bit fuzzy. I normally double and triple check my earphones when that happens, because I've had bad earphones in the past. But this time around, it wasn't tech issues. Maybe it was total accident, but I willingly overlooked it. Definitely a minor hiccup, but the audio was amazing after that.
This aside, Robin Siegerman did a wonderful job narrator. She was, in fact, a new narrator for me. I am always looking to find new voices. Robin was able to make me believe in all the characters and their depth, their growth. She read clearly and amazingly. Awesome.
This all aside, Deadly Shadow is a book to add to your list. Audio, ebook or paperback. I highly recommend it. There was a point in the book where I had to just turn off my device, toss my earphones aside and I went to hang out with my dogs. I only do that when I need to come down from an emotional roller coaster. Now, this is a mystery/suspense. It just kept building. But what broke me and forced me to take a break from my listening streak (I listened to about 2 hrs. without ceasing by this point). I just felt like my heart was bleeding on the floor because of the pain experienced by a family member to one of the victims. It was heavy. But I kept listening just to know that there would be justice and redemption.
This is an amazing start to a new series. I truly hope to read more from Kim Cresswell soon. Her style of writing is one to look for.

My Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars.

Great story; narration needs a little work

I really like FBI Agent Victory McClane. She’s in a tough business and she’s suffered a tragedy or two. Now she’s on the hunt for a serial killer, maybe two. Yet she still has a sense of humor and she’s totally dedicated to her daughter Jade who is off at college. Her work partner, Ryan, is a steady brotherly type who isn’t above teasing her a bit here and there. They make a really good team.

Derrick makes a really great questionable character. He’s not evil but he’s not really on the side of good either. His paranormal abilities were recruited when he was a young man and he’s spent decades serving his country, albeit for this shadowy group that specializes in assassinations and espionage.

Even as Victory and Ryan narrow in on the serial killer ‘The Wrapper’, Derrick finds himself drawn further into Victory’s circle of influence. He has been ordered to keep the government paranormal group a secret, even if that means destroying evidence, compromising people, or worse.

The tension spirals up and up until this crushing wave comes down on Victory. Derrick has to make a tough decision of whether or not to help Victory, which would mean sharing a few of his secrets with her. The last hour of the book is nail biting and a little heart wrenching. Over all, it was a satisfying murder mystery and a pretty good paranormal tale. 4.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Robin Siegerman has the perfect voice for Victory McClane. She sounds like an older, confident, career woman. She also had a decent voice for Ryan, however I did sometimes get his voice confused with Derrick’s voice. Derrick always sounds raspy (which I wasn’t sure was what was intended) and sometimes Ryan’s voice went raspy as well, blurring the distinctions between these two characters. The male voices sometimes needed a bit of masculinity. Several of Siegerman’s voices were a bit cartoony. For instance, Jade (who is in college) sounds like a 12 year old. Angie, who works at the FBI office, sounds like she’s 16. The newsreporter sounds like a Disney witch. Also, Siegerman didn’t always nail the character emotions. McClane sometimes sounds flat even when she’s joking. Angie sounds way too chipper even when she’s handing out condolences. On the other hand, there were no technical issues with this recording. 3.5/5 stars

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Kim Cresswell. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Excellent murder mystery with a paranormal touch

Detective Kate Becket meets X-Men. There's a serial killer named "The Wrapper" kidnapping and torturing young women to death on the streets of Ohio. Agent Victory McLane is on the case, while also going after another killer called "The Shadow" due to the ability of not leaving any trace behind on his murders. This Shadow is closer to Victory than she thinks, and may be of great help in finding "The Wrapper".

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. The two parallel cases in the story got me hooked, and the several twists and turns kept my attention. The characters are likable, and they are developed enough to make me care for them. 

I like murder mysteries but I don't always enjoy paranormal stories. This was an exception. The paranormal factor in this story added another layer of complexity and interest, and Derek was so charismatic that I couldn't resist his charm. Another thing I liked was that, instead of having your typical young main characters, here Victory and Derek are on his forties, which, I think, makes for a more interesting read for people my age.

Robin Siegerman was the perfect match for this story. Her voice sounds mature, very appropriate for Victory, but she also did great in performing the rest of characters, delivering different voices and using sound effects when on phone calls, so that listening to this audiobook almost felt like watching a movie.

Great story, plot, writing, characters, and narration. What more can anyone as for? I would absolutely recommend it to anyone into murder mysteries, even though they are not into paranormal.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Kim Cresswell. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Deary Shadow review

Suspenseful and thrilling, Deadly Shadow was for the most part all right, sort of a disappointing ending. Still five stars and worth it.