Woman in Shadow by Carrie Stuart Parks

 

Book Excerpt:

"Award-winning author Carrie Stuart Parks combines her expertise as a forensic artist with her talent for crafting a gripping story in this page-turning web of light and shadow.

A woman off the grid.

Darby Graham thinks she’s on a much-needed vacation in remote Idaho to relax. But before she even arrives at the ranch, an earthquake strikes. Then a barn on the edge of town is engulfed in flames, and strange problems at the ranch begin to escalate, and Darby finds herself immersed in a chilling mystery.

A town on fire.

More fires erupt around town, and a serial arsonist sends taunting letters to the press after each. As a forensic linguist, this is Darby’s area of expertise . . . but the scars her work has caused her are also the reason she’s trying to escape her life.

A growing darkness.

As the shadows continue moving in, pieces of the town around her come into sharper focus. To make it out alive, Darby must decide if she can trust the one man who sees her clearly."

Title: Woman in Shadow
Author: Carrie Stuart Parks
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Woman in Shadow" by Carrie Start Parks

My Opinion:

What will happen when Darby Graham, a forensic linguist, is sent to a ranch that helps her deal with her PTSD? We find she is sent from Clan Firinn, a law enforcement program that needed help with this issue, completing her final test.

The setting is new Yellowstone with frequent earthquakes adds to this story with the author giving us an intriguing story of what all had happened to Darby as the story weaves back and forth till the end. Even though Darby was no longer in law enforcement, we find that her training skills will help with all that is happening at 'Mule Shoe Resort and the little town of Targhee Falls.' How will the verse that was sent to her...'Be strong and courageous...Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go' be able to help Darby since she had been a non-believer? The read gets even more exciting as there was a hint of romance. How will that all turn out? Who was this 'Shadow Woman', and let's not leave out those beautiful dogs, Holly and Maverick, in how they came into play? For the most part, the characters were well-developed and defined, giving the reader a good read to the end. To find out the who, what, and why, you will have to pick up this book to see how well this author delivers it to the reader.

Be ready for a mystery-thriller and suspenseful story with some Christian aspects as you read through 'Woman in Shadow.' It gets even more so as we find out what had happened as Darby's PTSD flashbacks come out, giving us all that we needed to know about what had happened earlier in her life that would help her in the situation she was now in. Would this be a redemption and healing process for Darby?

'Women in Shadows' was one of those reads that one will find hard to put down until the end. And yes, I was left surprised by who this wrong person turned out to be!

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.