Blind Shadows

by James A. Moore, Charles R. Rutledge

When private investigator Wade Griffin moved away from his hometown of Wellman, Georgia he didn't think he would be back. Too many memories and too many bridges burned. But when an old friend is found brutally murdered and mutilated, nothing can keep Griffin from going home. Teamed with another childhood friend, Sheriff Carl Price, Griffin begins an investigation that will lead down darker paths than he could ever have imagined. Soon Griffin and Price find that there are secrets both dark and ancient lurking in the back woods of Crawford's Hollow. As Halloween approaches, something evil is growing near the roots of the Georgia mountains, and the keys to the mystery seem to be a woman of almost indescribable beauty and a dead man who won't stay dead. As the body count mounts and the horrors pile up, Griffin and Price come to realize that the menace they face extends far beyond the boundaries of Wellman and that their opponents seem to hold all the cards. But the two lawmen have a few secrets of their own, and one way or another there will be hell to pay. Blind Shadows is a fast moving synthesis of high-octane crime fiction and horror. Lovecraft and Arthur Machen meet Spillane and Elmore Leonard. A Southern Gothic full of guns and monsters and hard boiled action.

Genres: Horror

396 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

James A. Moore was the award winning author of over forty novels, thrillers, dark fantasy and horror alike, including the critically acclaimed Fireworks, Under The Overtree, Blood Red, the Serenity Falls trilogy (featuring his recurring anti-hero, Jonathan Crowley) and his most recent novels, seven Forges, The Blasted Lands, City of Wonders , The Silent Army and the forthcoming The Gates of The Dead (Book Three in the Tides of War Series) and A Hell Within, co-authored with Charles R. Rutledge.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Jesus,” Griffin said. “Yeah,” said Price. “Someone really went to work on him.” “Tell me most of this was done after he was dead.” “Wish I could, but the ME’s preliminary findings suggest he was still alive for most of it.” Griffin’s stomach was roiling but he didn’t look away. He wanted to remember it, needed to. It would help him find the bastards who had done it."

True Detective meets the Chtulhu Mythos in an action-packed Halloween tale with strong Joe R. Lansdale vibes starring couple of former cop-buddies/childhood friends ex mercenary P. I. Wade Griffin, Sheriff Carl Price, and their allies, against a certain Great Old One and the hellish lovecraftian family trying to summon it.

Griffin rang off. “Maybe something on the glyphs, Carl.” “Better than the feds are doing then. Who you got looking into them.” “A witch.” “Like pointy hat and nose with wart witch?” “More like hot twenty-five year old witch.” “I like her already. She know her stuff?” Griffin said, “She does. Charon has helped me with a couple of other cases that veered over into the Twilight Zone.”

Totally loved it and main storyline reminded me so much Call of Cthulhu RPG and Arkham Horror board game, that made me wanna play them again.

“Take the warning.” “What warning would that be?” “You saw it. The girl saw it.” “The writing on the floor? Neat trick. How did you manage it? I’m fascinated by this sort of thing.” “Take the warning,” the man gurgled. “Or what?” “We kill you.” “Why don’t you come into what light there is so I can see you?” “You don’t want to see us.”
“Try me.”

A great start to these hard-boiled crime/horror series.

Running Code, the police called it when they drove with the lights and siren. Griffin had almost forgotten what that was like. He glanced to one side and saw an old cabin by the side of the road. A big, grinning Jack O’Lantern sat on the cabin’s front porch. Happy fucking Halloween, Griffin thought.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid entertainer: that's how I would like to summarise this book. It is a mix of southern horror (readers of Wellman & Lansdale would be able to appreciate the numerous tributes paid to those maestros in this story), mystery, action, and Lovecraftian nightmares, all told in a rapidly paced story with crisp dialogues and occasional dry humour. I enjoyed the story to such an extent that the hefty tome (a beautiful book by all means) was over by midnight. Recommended, with a request to the authors to revisit the protagonists in another fast-and-furious story.

[Paul McNamee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read, especially for the month of October. Good horror and a wild ride at the end.

Personally, I enjoyed the in-references to other horror & pulp tales and writers scattered throughout the book - be they names, creatures, swords, etc.

Looking forward to the sequel already.

[Barry Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book showing horror comes to the small town and what good people will do to stop it.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detective/horror novel. Justified with a good helping of dark magic and Lovecraftian creepiness. Even Raylan Givens would have his hands full. Very highly recommended.

[Kurt Criscione · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome. Action packed story with a mythos twist.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC! Would give it more stars if I could.

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant. Love the writing these guys manage together. I've read Moore before, but now I have to find what Rutledge has written before (and after) this).

[Jonny Illuminati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly enjoyable horror a la the Old ones. I look forward to reading more by these two.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Great pulpy fun that reminded me of the adventures I devoured as a kid.

[Erik Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, needs some proofreading

I enjoyed the story, but kept getting pulled out by typos and missing words. This could be a much better novel with some proofreading.

[Veronik Durocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good!

A modern Lovecraftian story that the master himself would have loved! And for the Crowley fan as I am, the cameo was well appreciated. ;)

[Jim A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read a book this quickly in a long time. Well written, incredibly entertaining. Starts as a murder mystery, turns into horror, ends like a video game.