What do you think?
Rate this book
The Scroll of Shadows #1
Touching Shadows
Winner of the Romance Writers of New Zealand Clendon Readers' Choice Award 2007
Winner of the Mainstream with Romantic Elements Category NTRW Great Expectations Competition 2007
Art expert and psychic Megan Alistair had two things beaten into her early—her gift was valuable, and she was worth nothing. Now she hides both her gift and her heart, and plays a dangerous double game with the art underworld. Her quest? To find the painting whose whispers and shadows have haunted her since childhood.
Rumor tells multi-millionaire Dominic Stone that Megan Alistair is an immoral, money-focused schemer. So when he goes to her with a business proposition to find a missing family heirloom he expects her to bump up the price and then jump at it—and probably jump him as well. He doesn’t expect her categorical refusal. He certainly doesn’t expect to find her attractive. Or courageous. Or vulnerable. Or humorous. And he sure as hell doesn’t expect this infuriating enigma of a woman to become as important to him as the mystery he needs her help to solve.
Suddenly, for both Megan and Stone there is more at stake than lost heirlooms. The passion and desire unleashed could be more dangerous than learning those secrets whispered in shadows. If they don’t trust each other—and dare to love—their past could ruin them, their present could kill them, and any future together might well destroy them both.
Touching Shadows is a full length (90,000 word) Contemporary Romantic Thriller with paranormal elements.
Winner of the Mainstream with Romantic Elements Category NTRW Great Expectations Competition 2007
Art expert and psychic Megan Alistair had two things beaten into her early—her gift was valuable, and she was worth nothing. Now she hides both her gift and her heart, and plays a dangerous double game with the art underworld. Her quest? To find the painting whose whispers and shadows have haunted her since childhood.
Rumor tells multi-millionaire Dominic Stone that Megan Alistair is an immoral, money-focused schemer. So when he goes to her with a business proposition to find a missing family heirloom he expects her to bump up the price and then jump at it—and probably jump him as well. He doesn’t expect her categorical refusal. He certainly doesn’t expect to find her attractive. Or courageous. Or vulnerable. Or humorous. And he sure as hell doesn’t expect this infuriating enigma of a woman to become as important to him as the mystery he needs her help to solve.
Suddenly, for both Megan and Stone there is more at stake than lost heirlooms. The passion and desire unleashed could be more dangerous than learning those secrets whispered in shadows. If they don’t trust each other—and dare to love—their past could ruin them, their present could kill them, and any future together might well destroy them both.
Touching Shadows is a full length (90,000 word) Contemporary Romantic Thriller with paranormal elements.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 18, 2012
1 person is currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Gracie O'Neil
5 books25 followersGracie was born in London, and raised and educated in New Zealand. Currently living in small-town New Zealand, she shares her life of cheerful chaos with her husband and pets.
Over the years, she has taught elementary school, nodded encouragingly during meetings of electrical engineers, coaxed technophobes down off tall buildings with soothing noises and chocolate, and turned technical documentation from improper English/Asian porn to proper, boring English.
Now she loves helping her heroine find her ‘happy-ever-after’. She also loves making sure the villain gets what’s coming to him.
Her work has won the Romance Writers of New Zealand Clendon Readers’ Choice Award, and the Mainstream with Romantic Elements Category NTRW Great Expectations Competition.
She has also spent two terms on Romance Writers of New Zealand’s Executive Committee, and two terms as part of the editorial team responsible for Romance Writers of New Zealand’s monthly magazine, Heart to Heart.
You can find her most mornings at her local cafe drinking cappuccino and working on her next book.
Over the years, she has taught elementary school, nodded encouragingly during meetings of electrical engineers, coaxed technophobes down off tall buildings with soothing noises and chocolate, and turned technical documentation from improper English/Asian porn to proper, boring English.
Now she loves helping her heroine find her ‘happy-ever-after’. She also loves making sure the villain gets what’s coming to him.
Her work has won the Romance Writers of New Zealand Clendon Readers’ Choice Award, and the Mainstream with Romantic Elements Category NTRW Great Expectations Competition.
She has also spent two terms on Romance Writers of New Zealand’s Executive Committee, and two terms as part of the editorial team responsible for Romance Writers of New Zealand’s monthly magazine, Heart to Heart.
You can find her most mornings at her local cafe drinking cappuccino and working on her next book.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 21, 2012
This is a fabulous romantic suspense. Thoroughly enjoyable and kept me guessing.
My critique partner, Gracie O'Neil's first book, Touching Shadows, is released on Amazon. It's a Romantic Suspense with elements of paranormal and it's fan-bloddy-tastic. $3.99 on Amazon for a 90,000 word book that you won't be able to put ...down. It won the Reader's Choice in the RWNZ Clendon (full book) awards.
Art expert and undercover psychic Megan Alistair is still searching for the painting that has haunted her since childhood. When businessman Dominic Stone gets involved, her lifetime's web of secrets and lies begins to unravel. This time her masquerade isn't protection; it's a threat—against Megan, but worse, against the man she’s learning to love.
My critique partner, Gracie O'Neil's first book, Touching Shadows, is released on Amazon. It's a Romantic Suspense with elements of paranormal and it's fan-bloddy-tastic. $3.99 on Amazon for a 90,000 word book that you won't be able to put ...down. It won the Reader's Choice in the RWNZ Clendon (full book) awards.
Art expert and undercover psychic Megan Alistair is still searching for the painting that has haunted her since childhood. When businessman Dominic Stone gets involved, her lifetime's web of secrets and lies begins to unravel. This time her masquerade isn't protection; it's a threat—against Megan, but worse, against the man she’s learning to love.
June 15, 2012
Gracie O'Neil can write like you wouldn't believe. Her prose is fluent and easy to read, but don't let that fool you - it's brilliant, and honed like a straight razor. "Touching Shadows" sucked me in from the first page, and kept me rapidly turning those pages until I'd followed her twisty, Machiavellian plot all the way to its dramatic conclusion. Her characters, while dramatic, were authentic, flawed people, and not just soulless puppets that populate a lot of thrillers. And the romance...oh yeah, I'm a junkie, but I LOVED the romance between Megan and Stone. Looking forward to Book Two in the series with a great deal of impatience...
May 23, 2013
Touching Shadows is a brilliant first novel. It is original, dramatic, peopled with characters you'll remember long after you've read the last page, a plot with more twists and turns than a switchback mountain road, and just as jagged and dangerous.
O'Neill has penned a thriller guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat with an ending garanteed to satisfy the most discerning reader.
This is a book that has it all. A heartwarming romance, mystery and a spooky paranormal element with lots of laugh out loud moments and pathos in equal measure. It kept me turning the pages well into the wee small hours and I can't wait for the second book in this series.
Gracie O'Neill is an author to watch.
O'Neill has penned a thriller guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat with an ending garanteed to satisfy the most discerning reader.
This is a book that has it all. A heartwarming romance, mystery and a spooky paranormal element with lots of laugh out loud moments and pathos in equal measure. It kept me turning the pages well into the wee small hours and I can't wait for the second book in this series.
Gracie O'Neill is an author to watch.
March 30, 2013
Romantic Suspense is not (usually) my cup of tea, but add a dash of psychic ability and a heroine who refuses to take any kind of crap off anyone (especially her Mr Tall-dark-and-handsome) and you have a story I couldn't put down.
Kudos to Ms O'Neil, this is the start of what must be a great series.
Kudos to Ms O'Neil, this is the start of what must be a great series.
March 26, 2013
Talk about a riveting read! Gracie O'Neil is my critique partner and a truly gifted writer. At the risk of sounding biased, this is one of the best books I've read in a long time. I mean it! Touching Shadows has everything I look for in a book: action, romance, a touch of paranormal abilities, and plenty of suspense. I couldn't wait to get into the second once I'd finished.
January 16, 2014
Fast easy read. Another New Zealand author. Relaxing beach read.
October 4, 2017
The story started of interesting, and didn't stall anywhere. Love the story, love the writing, love the ease of reading.
Will definitely be getting more by this Author.
Will definitely be getting more by this Author.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews