Shadow Play

by Katherine Sutcliffe

Beautiful but naive Sarah St. James entrusts her life and honor to Morgan Kane, a ruthless, unprincipled rogue and adventurer, on a perilous trek into the savage wilderness of the Amazon

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Victorian, Adventure, Westerns, Historical Fiction

419 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Katherine Sutcliffe was born an only child in East Texas. After working for a time at an oil company and as a headhunter for a computer personnel company, Sutcliffe decided in 1982 to quit her job and attempt to write a novel. Three years later she sold her first book, Desire and Surrender to Avon Books. She works eight hours a day, five to seven months a year. Sutcliffe also attempts to find a single CD that will provide inspiration during the writing of each book. In the past, she has used the soundtrack to Somewhere in Time and Kitarō's Silk Road.

In 1995 and 1996, Sutcliffe worked as the Consultant Head Writer for the soap operas As The World Turns and Another World. Sutcliffe was offered the job after Bill Graham, who searched for writers for Proctor and Gamble, mentioned to his wife that they wanted to refocus the soap opera stories on romance. His wife, who loved Sutcliffe's book, insisted that he contact her. During her time as a soap opera writer, she concentrated on developing the six-month story lines, which the breakdown writers would then develop into dialogue and individual scenes for the show. During this time frame, Sutcliffe also made a guest appearance on Another World, playing herself. She resigned from her position after the networks began to insist that she move to New York City to be more accessible.

Her historical romance, Notorious, sold out its first printing in a mere four days.

Sutcliffe lives near Dallas, Texas. She met her husband, an English geologist, while they worked for the same oil company. They have three children, Bryan, Rachel, and Lauren. Sutcliffe also raises and shows Arabian horses.

Reviews

[Misfit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review edited to add - a huge thanks to Sandi. If you hadn't *liked* the stepback (which ended up on my feeds), I'd never have known this book existed. I ordered it just 'cause I loved the artwork so much, so credit to Sandi for the find. Now for the stepback, courtesy of saturnnalia:



Georgetown, British Guiana, 1876.

The girl: Sarah St. James is in a bit of a pickle with her father dead (and bankrupt!), but she's not down and out yet. Bent on revenge against Rodolpho King, the evil baddie she blames for her father's death and downfall, there's only one man who can lead her into the heart of the Amazon jungle to get him and get her father's money back. Once that's accomplished, she can pay off daddy's debts and return to England to marry her butterfly chasing lordling.

The guy: Morgan Kane. Handsome, charming and oh-so disreputable, but he's pretty popular with the married ladies. Morgan's the only man to escape the clutches of Rodolpho King and his infamous rubber plantation and live to tell about it. Morgan still has a few things to settle with King (you will never guess), so he accepts Sarah's gold to finance his trip back (he plans on dumping her at one of the ports along the way).

Sarah might have something to say about those plans...

"You may control men across five continents with a bat of those long, pretty lashes, but I'm not so easily impressed."

That's about all you need to know going in, just fasten your seat-belts for a non-stop wild ride. The closest I can get to describing this is a 19C version of Romancing the Stone, and that's complete with Morgan's Danny DeVito pygmy side-kick (complete with bone through his nose). There are alligators, headhunters, fire ants, vampire bats, a horde of monkeys invading the ship and feasting termites for starters. Oh, and snakes - lots of snakes. And King's pet jaguars (shudders). Tropical storms, tropical fevers, deaths, near-deaths and don't believe anyone's dead until you see a body. And through it all, the sexual tension between Sarah and Morgan continues to build.

"I won't be another of your conquests, Sarah, so just turn your drenched little butt around and get back to your hut before it's too late for both of us!"

Despite his rough exterior, Morgan Kane is a very complicated man and he's carrying a ton of emotional baggage from his childhood - although this is one romantic hero who keeps it inside and doesn't inflict his butt-hurt on everyone around him. Sarah was a near-perfect mix of spunky heroine (without being annoyingly spunky), she kept her femininity in the worst of the situations (without being a foot-stomping Miss), and she sure did a lot of growing up along the way.

This has to be one of the best romances and the best rides I've come across in a long, long time. Action on every page, plus plenty of laugh out loud moments at Morgan's irreverent quips. He stole most of the scenes, until things got to London at the end. That marmoset named Nuisance and Sarah's Indians sure gave Morgan a run in scene stealing department.

Go and get this now. What are you waiting for?

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read: 7/5/25 -late review
Setting: 1876 British Guiana, Brazil
Trope: Revenge, second changes
4.5 stars

What an exciting Jungle Cruise adventure! Katherine Sutcliffe at her best!

Plot: Sarah's father, The Governor of Guiana, has committed suicide. She is ruined if she can't get her hands on some rubber tree seeds. She plans to confront the evil man she blames for her father's death. One problem...she needs Morgan's help. Morgan is the only man to have ever escaped the evil Rodolpho King. Morgan agrees to help Sarah. He plans to have her finance the trip, and then he will ditch her at a village along the way.

Rodolpho won't stop sending his assassins after Morgan. He knows he won't find peace until he destroys Rodolpho. He doesn't count on his growing feelings for this spunky woman.

So, Sarah, Morgan, Morgan's sidekick, and other Natives (there mainly to die) go on an adventure down the Amazon. Count on things to go wrong! There are hordes of monkeys, alligators, headhunters, fire ants, vampire bats, tropical fevers, Jaguars, and snakes (it had to be 🐍!), ...just to name a few.

Sarah: Okay, Sarah's plan or lack thereof is stupid. She had no business going into the Amazon, especially to confront an evil man. That aside, I liked Sarah. She didn't complain, no matter what. TG! She was just the right kind of spunky.

Morgan: My Morgan!🥰 He was the perfect, tragic romance H! Despite his rough exterior, Morgan is a very complicated character. To say he's carrying a lot of baggage would be an understatement. And now Sarah needs a hero. Can he be that man for her?

"SARAH, I'll be your hero. Just believe in me. Give me this chance to prove I'm worth something. " 😥

Romance: Their relationship developed naturally. Think, " Romancing the Stone," and you understand how these two fall in love. Sarah and Morgan had great, humorous dialog that carried the plot.

Secondary characters:
●Henry: Henry is Morgan's very short pygmy sidekick (complete with bone through his nose). Henry is the one person who truly loved Morgan. I loved his devotion to his one friend.
● Kahn (?). : He was Sarah's servant. His relationship between both worlds proved interesting. I hate I forgot his name 😬
● Rodolpho King was worthy villain, who does not like that his favorite left him.

Dislike: KS did a great job with her characters but her story had one problem for me....neither of the characters have an actual plan! 😡 I kept waiting for some intelligent plan to be revealed, but nope. Morgan risks it all without telling anyone 🙄.

Conclusion: That one problem aside, this was still one of the best romance adventure book I've read in a long time! I highly recommend!

Sidenote: I learned a lot about rubber trees. I had no idea of their importance and the monopoly of it.

[Lynsey A · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for me. This was a good read and I enjoyed the story. I thought Morgan's character was more vulnerable than other heroes and I liked that. That's not seen much in romance novels. The hero isn't usually afraid of anything but Morgan did have his fear of King.

I gave it 3.5 stars more so because I compared it to my feelings after reading A Fire in the Heart. That probably isn't fair of me but there it is. I just felt more emotion and more involved with the characters.

This is a good story and Sutcliffe did a great job of showing Morgan's love for Sarah.

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.50 stars

Take the setting from River of Eden, the snarky humor from Amazon Lily, the odious villain from The Book of True Desires, the heroine’s obsession for a man she didn’t love from Emerald Rain and the suspension-of-disbelief from The Soldier and the Baby and then twist all these topics into a tight knot. Prepare yourself for some characters who are loaded with tension, a good bit of denial and a fair amount of self-loathing and you just might understand what this story was all about.

”The night and forest pressed in on them, turning the air to steam and the trees into hulking black forms.”

It was an emotional powerhouse. I can’t imagine anyone reading this story and not having their mental state affected in some way.

”He begged only once in his life and he wouldn’t do it again.”

The villain in this story is in my top 5 list of evil people.

“To speak was to shatter the quiet in the most discerning way.”

If you ever wondered what it must feel like living along the Amazon River during Victorian times, this story will fulfill your imagination. Heat that makes you feel like you are melting. 100% humidity that makes it difficult to breathe. Insects that bite, sting or chew. Snakes that can squeeze the life out of you. Alligators, shrunken heads, poison darts and cannibals, just to name a few.

Ms. Sutcliffe yanked at my emotions. I was cautious. Pleased. Disgusted. Numb. Resigned. Sad. Triumphant.

I thought the story itself was too long, surpassing 400 pages. I ingested the chapters slowly with numerous breaks between them. I had to think about what I just read and prepare myself for more anxious thoughts. I must admit, I didn’t always like Morgan and Sarah.

Of all the characters I preferred most, it was Morgan’s best friend, Henry. A pygmy with a British nobleman’s accent. A kindly man with a sense of humor and a bone in his nose. I’ll miss this imaginary being most of all.

[Crista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am under the impression that Katherine Sutcliffe is a "hit or miss" for me. I LOVED her book Dream Fever, but until now haven't really cared for many of her other books. Thankfully that was not the case with this book. Sutcliffe really outdoes herself with this one.

This is romance at it's finest: Tortured Hero (check), Likeable Heroine (check), Relevant Secondary Characters (check), Interesting setting (check), Riveting adventure (check)...this one truly has it all.

I have read only a few books that feature the Amazon as it's setting. This book will probably ruin all others that attempt to write about this region. Sutcliffe's writing comes alive as she details Sarah and Morgan's journey through the rainforest and Amazon. It is raw in it's intensity and the descriptions make you feel like you are right with them in the middle of the jungle. The action is so intense that I found myself NEEDING to take breaks between chapters....there was so much action going on.

The romance was slow to go, but the "build up" made the romance so much better. I wanted Morgan to find happiness and wholeness so badly, and it became obvious very early on that Sarah was his ticket to those things. I recommend this book highly!

[Laura V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una cosa que me molesta más que las protas que huyen... Son los protas que huyen.
Esto es algo que se remonta al abandono de Regina Mallory, una de las primeras novelas que he leído.
¿Cuando él la dejó abandonada en esa casa y se fue a la india?
Pues bueno, el prota que llevo leyendo ahora.. la ha abandonado casi tres veces.
Y ella no me cierra.. y él no me cierra.
Hacía rato que un prota no me sacaba de los pelos.
Y la verdad.. Me confundió un poco.
Él, no ella. Ella un libro abierto que me hubiera gustado cerrar con candado.
Porque como todos tuvo una dura infancia, y nunca supo salir de una, cuando creía que algo iba bien, paf, fue a peor.
Cuando logró una especie de equilibrio sin sentido aparece "ella", cosa que todavía no entiendo ¬
Y paf, para peor, una y otra vez.
¡Siguió sufriendo(?) hasta el ultimo capitulo!
La cuestión es que creo que él era gay, pero dado la infancia que tuvo el estar con un hombre era inimaginable (quizás).
Y a veces parecía un niño, digo daban ganas de abrazarlo. Y luego ganas de tirarlo por la borda.
Y ..dios, ¡se la pasaba sudando!
La verdad.. fue una novela larga, pero.. yo digo..
"¡Hey! ¡Este epilogo lo salva todo!"
¡Y no! Para nada, fue todo otra vez lo mismo que las últimas tres veces cuando la dejó.
La verdad.. Se va con ThreeStar.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one heck of ride! I absolutely loved it!!

[Priya Singh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The worst ever book i have read in my entire life. why didnt i stop!!!! Cant believe I didnt stop.

[Jewel]

Can't wait to read

[Isabel Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah St. James viaja desde Inglaterra a la Guayana Británica, donde recibe la noticia de la muerte de su padre, tal vez no tan accidental como se pensaba. Tras el impacto inicial que le provoca la noticia y el dolor que la acompaña, Sarah se enfurece cuando sabe del engaño del que fue víctima su padre, de parte de un baron del caucho. Así que planea incursionar en la selva del Amazonas, llegar a la plantación de caucho de King en Jarupá y robarle las semillas por las que su padre pagó y murió. Por supuesto para ello necesita un guía, un hombre que conozca el territorio y que esté lo suficientemente loco como para querer aventurarse en las tierras de King -acompañado de una mujer- que son inexpugnables.
Se dice que hay un hombre que según la leyenda es el boto, un norteamericano de nombre Morgan Kane que, cuentan los indios, huyó en una ocasión de las garras de King y que, por tanto, conoce el terreno como nadie.
Sarah acude a él pero Kane rechaza ayudarla. La joven insiste una y otra vez hasta que éste, finalmente, accede a acompañarla a cambio de una importante suma de dinero.
Aunque el nombre de Morgan Kane está rodeado de leyenda y heroicidad, nadie conoce en realidad quién es ni cuál es su origen. Odiado por los hombres por el magnetismo que parece atraer a las mujeres, que lo idolatran y desean en la oscuridad, pero repudian bajo la luz del sol, nadie conoce en realidad a Morgan Kane. Sólo Henry Longfellow, el pigmeo que fue educado como caballero inglés y que es su más leal amigo.
Un pasado en común con Roberto King, un vínculo jamás desvelado a nadie, es el arma de doble filo que esconde y que, por un lado, puede utilizar contra su acérrimo enemigo, pero por otro, lo hace débil ante él.
Me ha parecido preciosa la historia de amor entre Sarah y Morgan. Debo confesar que cuando empecé a leer la imagen que me creé de éste no se corresponde en absoluto con la que vas descubriendo después. Creo que eso, sin duda, era lo que la autora pretendía.
A medida que se internan en la selva del Amazonas, encarando infinidad de peligros que les obligan a confiar y depender los unos en los otros, un vínculo muy especial nace entre él y Sarah. Algo surge dentro de él, unos sentimientos que le asustan y lo hacen sentir vulnerable, algo que teme, odia y contra lo que lucha. Detrás de sus gestos hoscos, su carácter malhumorado, las mentiras que dice sin remordimientos se esconde un hombre vulnerable y herido que te enamora sin remedio.
El personaje de Sarah me encanta. A menudo mientras leía la novela me la imaginaba como la protagonista de una película antigua, donde una dama envuelta en volantes, sombrilla y peinado muy recatado levanta la nariz con gesto altanero ante el rudo aventurero que, casualmente, necesita la guíe a través de la selva. Pues como en una de esas películas, poco a poco la pulcra y refinada dama inglesa, va perdiendo su elegancia, su altanería y aprendiendo a sobrevivir a la vez que descubre que el hosco y malhumorado seductor que la acompaña es el hombre necesita y que le descubre el amor en todos sus prismas.
No puedo dejar de destacar a varios personajes, por un lado Henry Longfellow, el pigmeo que es el único apoyo y amigo con el que, realmente, Morgan ha contado en su vida y que, de igual modo, se convierte en un confidente para Sarah. En cierto modo, él y Morgan aunque diferentes en el aspecto físico, carácter y raíces, tienen mucho en común y el lazo que los une llega a límites indescriptibles. Para mí es uno de los “grandes” personajes de Juegos en las sombras, no sólo por el papel tan relevante que juega en la trama, sino por lo esconde este pequeño hombre en su interior: amor, lealtad y entrega sin fin.
Y, por supuesto, no puedo acabar esta crítica sin mencionar al antagonista de la novela: Roberto King. Seductor y atractivo, su aspecto físico hace pensar de él en un ángel dorado, pero tal es el veneno que esconde que, a su modo, es un personaje que odias pero tiene un punto que te gana. Malvado sin redención, cruel, déspota... creo que no me dejo ni un calificativo para describirlo, es mucha la oscuridad que esconde. Una obsesión ha guiado su vida desde el día que conoció a Morgan y un secreto, compartido entre ambos, ha forjado un vínculo que nada parece poder romper... tal vez, sólo la muerte.
No me llegó tanto como "Fuego en el corazón", pero es una historia fenomenal.

[Suzy Vero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadow Play (1991) is an amazing page turner that I found impossible to put down. Set mostly in the Amazon region during the mid 1870s it follows the journey of Sarah St James who’s determined to avenge her father’s death. She convinces Kane Morgan, a womanizing adventurer to take her up the Amazon to find the man she believes killed her father.

She’s stunningly beautiful, engaged to a gentleman back in London, and Kane is everything forbidden to women. Both are attracted to each other is putting it mildly .. there’s a huge build up of steam, and then searingly passionate sex scenes.

Sutcliffe’s writing is notable in this book for suspenseful pacing, gripping drama, detailed descriptions of the Amazon culture, and the monopoly of the rubber trade. Also, the character arc for the hero is splendid … he’s a deeply flawed man, broken by his past.. he’s endured physical torture described in great detail, and a deprived lonely childhood.

I did think the story is overly gory and graphic… the horrors of cruelty towards the native people, alligators, piranhas, fire ants, boa constrictors, malaria, headhunters, starvation, violent gun fights etc. Yes, it’s a journey on the Amazon River but I thought the ghastly stuff at times overshadowed the developing romance. A minor quibble … I detested the last couple of chapters when the story continues in London. It felt contrived and completely unnecessary. Much better to have ended it in South America, and then finish with the Epilogue.

Overall, I was enthralled with this epic adventure, and the love story of two people who faced so many obstacles. Brilliant!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stepback for first edition paperback by the artist Victor Gadino.

Ebook not available at this time.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow!!!!
what a wonderful story!

[Tee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jungle adventure.

[Judy Hannigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadow Play is an engaging adventure romance novel that kept me turning the pages throughout.

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A BIG 4.5 STARS!!

I cannot begin to tell you how exhilarating I find a story with characters who are all loathe and not love at first sight! Attraction is fine because that's how the sexual tension and bantering foreplay begins!

OUR HERO is a man who just needs a good loving because he was abandoned by his selfish whore of a mother at a young age. Always wishing to be adopted by a good family, he grew up into a harsh, cynical man who has been through shit just to survive. Then he meets the most beautiful woman in his life, Sarah and begins their romance that is such a delightful push and pull of attraction that it confuses the hell out of him and turns him into such a boar-ish man at times. He can be very protective of his feelings whilst protecting the woman he loves. confusing much? Thats love.

OUR HEROINE is a 19 year old young lady who has lost her father and is now on the verge to seek out the man who ruined her father - KING who happens to be a mutual enemy of Morgan. She is spirited and extremely beautiful and means well. She can be a little dense with her feelings but other than that I got no complains.

OVERALL it was an entertaining and mildly intense story that got me hooked for the whole day. I would love to read more of Sutcliffe's books.

[Hilola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read two books by this author. That was some 10 years ago and Shadow Play was one of them. I remember that I loved them very much. I did not have access to more of her books back then, but now that I've got I certainly am going to indulge myself with some more :))

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

All time favorite! Just bought another copy!

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

enjoyable read