Shadowed
Buy the Book: Amazon Published by: Marlborough Press
Release Date: August 29, 2018
ISBN13: 978-1726043748
OVERVIEW
When Vengeance Strikes, Love is the Most Dangerous Game of All
After a Massachusetts court frees accused murderer Rob Townsend, the victim’s closest friend seeks bitter revenge. But Dylan Johnson may be no match for Townsend, a killer with a powerful reason of his own to double-down on homicide—his ex-girlfriend Heather Carter is now involved with Dylan.
As brutal jealousy and violent revenge rage, a mysterious corporate recruiter from Tanzania contacts Dylan and Heather with an offer to leave behind the murder and mayhem for lucrative positions in Africa. Coffie Kuma tells them they’ll be working on “technology with a humanitarian heartbeat.” Kuma’s pitch is persuasive, his stately manner impressive. And since both Dylan and Heather are out of work, it’s an offer they can’t refuse.
Dylan’s attempt to leave, though, could be cut short when detectives unearth incriminating evidence that ties him not only to the targeting of Townsend, but to the shooting and paralyzing of a beloved Boston policeman. Then, Townsend tries to thwart Heather’s escape by blackmailing her with humiliating evidence of her own compromised behavior.
Deeply troubling questions haunt both Dylan and Heather: Can they find real freedom under the African sun? Or will it be feeding time on the savannah?
With Shadowed, Thomas Waite, the author of widely published and critically acclaimed thrillers, sweeps readers from Boston’s luxurious condos to the wildest, most remote reaches of Africa. That’s where his sharply-drawn characters discover that nature, “red in tooth and claw,” can scarcely compete with the violence of humans. And, in a unique twist, Waite offers a vivid and ingenious reinvention of Richard Cornell’s classic short story, The Most Dangerous Game.
PRAISE
"Thomas Waite has already established himself as a preeminent writer of riveting thrillers and Shadowed is no exception. From the murky depth's of Boston's Charles River to the harrowing wild lands of Kenya, Waite takes readers on a ride so real they'll feel as if they're flying in the co-pilot's seat!"
—Dale Dauten, King Features Syndicated Columnist
EXCERPT
A rustle ran through the crowd. People were staring at their phones, as though a text or tweet from inside the jail had announced that Townsend was on his way out.
“He’s coming,” confirmed a middle-aged man to Dylan’s right, nodding to those around him. The guy was squat with a meticulously sculpted beard. What struck Dylan hardest was how normal Townsend’s supporters appeared, and that felt most disturbing of all. The only defining features of the crowd were its overwhelmingly male character and age, which looked to range from mid-thirties to late fifties—the country’s most resentful and troubled cohort, with its disproportionately high rates of opioid addiction and suicide. So what the hell attracted them to the well-groomed and highly educated Townsend? Dylan couldn’t help but wonder if they’d shown up on the theory that if Rob were getting away with murder, then maybe they could, too. And if he were correct about their aggrieved temperament, they undoubtedly had plenty of targets in mind.
Including you.
He casually tugged the hoodie closer to his face as the crowd started clapping and whooping. The half-light doors above the stairs were swinging open. An instant later, Rob’s unmistakable visage appeared to loud cheers.
Dylan recoiled physically. It felt as if something evil had been loosed upon Nashua Street, and wouldn’t be crawling back into its hole anytime soon.
* * *
With the loss of vision came a heightened awareness of unseen creatures, the scurrying sounds on the roof or walls or in the trees that pressed close to the house, where beasts or poisonous snakes might drop down to feast on the life that had appeared in the shelter below. And there were much harsher noises, too, screeches that raised the damp hairs on Dylan’s arms. Nothing that sounded human, but who was to say what people savaged in the night would sound like. Maybe inhuman. Maybe like beasts themselves.