Shadow People

Peter Warlock #2

by James Swain

In Shadow People, national bestselling author James Swain’s brilliant follow-up to Dark Magic, magician Peter Warlock has a dark secret. A psychic who peers into the future, he is able to use the information to alert the authorities to pending trouble.

During a séance Peter is confronted by a group of evil spirits called shadow people, beings who have the power to kidnap a person’s soul. Peter is taken to another plane, where he confronts a serial killer about to claim his next victim. It’s a harrowing encounter that Peter only barely manages to survive.

Peter soon realizes that the shadow people are connected to the serial killer, and that he is a member of the Order of Astrum, a group of evil psychics who murdered his parents years ago. He must find the serial killer in real time before he claims his next victim. To save many lives, Peter may have to tap into a legacy that he has always dreaded…and a power that may consume him.

Genres: Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Demons, Fantasy, Supernatural

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

James Swain is the national best selling author of seventeen mystery novels, and has been published in twelve different languages. His books have been chosen as Mysteries of the Year by Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, and have received three Barry Award nominations, a Florida Book Award for Fiction, and France’s prestigious Prix Calibre .38 for Best American Crime Fiction. Born in Huntington, New York, he graduated from New York University and worked as a magazine editor before moving to Florida to run a successful advertising firm. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys researching casino scams and cons, a subject on which he’s considered an expert.

Reviews

[Albert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, its been awhile since I read a book and thought, this is really not good. For me there was a lack of effort in the dialogue and setting to get into this book. I thought perhaps it was meant to be a young adult novel but I have read young adult novels that were written clearer and with more concern for the intelligence of the reader. There is a passage early on where Peter, the magician, returns from an out of body experience where he runs into a serial killer. He knows the date of the murder because he saw a newspaper at the killer's house that gives the verdict to a trial that has been going on. One of the other characters asks what the verdict is, because she must have an obvious lack of focus on what is happening at the moment. Peter leaves his body to see a serial killer who has killed several women and is ready to kill another but no, please tell me what is going on with the trial that has been in the news instead. And when Peter says it was a guilty verdict the other character actually cries out "Yea!" Yea? In that moment in the book the author lost me. If the characters in the book cannot stay involved in the story then why would you expect the reader to? Sorry cannot recommend this one at all.

[Jay DeMoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first book in this series, but this one didn't work for me. it wasnt as exciting, yet seemed darker (but not in a good way). the issues with Liza and Holly (no spoilers) was super annoying.

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

~2.5

Hmm. I don't think I'm the right audience for this one. The basic idea--a psychic who is dragged by the spirits into different times so that he can solve nascent crimes--is right up my alley. But the worldbuilding made me wince. Swain's world is neatly divided into Light (definition: the side of cancer-curers, ebola-fighters, and the protagonist) and Evil (maniacally-laughing serial killers who sell their souls to the Devil and tattoo their bodies with skull-eating demons). The whole basis of the story is a serial killer who is going after women who are aiding the Light by curing cancer, etc. Such simplistic worldviews drive me nuts, especially when they come tied to the idea that it's okay to murder agents of Evil because they're Evil.

The rest of the story doesn't precisely break the mold. Peter has to struggle with a literal inner demon (but don't worry--he's on the side of the Light, after all, so it's okay if he commits a few murders here and there) while dealing with a demanding and unreasonable Muggle girlfriend and doing magic shows for the kiddies. The mechanics of mystery are simultaneously so simplistic that I became impatient with the protagonist and so utterly unrealistic that it demanded more suspension of disbelief than the all the book's ghosts, demons, and gods put together. How could a renowned member of the CDC be lured into a job at a local college by an unknown professor? One generally knows everyone of importance in one's field, so there's no way these women could actually be fooled by believing in the existence of the unknown professor, even if one sets aside the ludicrous idea that they'd take a job at a mediocre school. One of my major attractions to hardboiled UF is the world of greys. I hate it when things are simplified into a structured Light/Dark duality.

Meh. I read too many books in this genre to be hooked by this one.

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my very first book by this author and I was a bit skeptical at first, normally not really knowing what to expect or if I'd enjoy it or not...

It was time well spent however, I have no regrets, as it's a nice entertaining book...

it's a fantasy-fiction mixture, addressing a blend of magic and communication and interactions with spirits from the other world, the dead that on their end are also in a constant battle of the good versus evil...

I myself I am quite into the vampire lore, as such I was somehow attracted to see this author approach and I was pleased overall, it's a good action book, with a clear plot unfolding and plenty of twists and turns at many corners, thus a pleasant entertaining book if you like this style...

on the downside, I'd say I was personally somewhat annoyed by the author using some common repetitions used in the teen and young adult slang like "I'm game" or I'm all for it" or similar variations of the same theme... but I guess this is to attract this type of audience as well, yet, it can be a bit annoying if overdone in a book that's by default a literary creation...

nonetheless, I've enjoyed and I think I'll give it few more tries, I'm open to trying few more books by this author who's tapping into the paranormal world serving us action and mystery...

[Saoirse · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not finish this book. At page 44, I realized the the cringe I was experiencing may become permanent and I have no desire to go through life looking like I have just smelled a particularly potent fart. Ooh! That is a tad mean, isn’t it? But that’s pretty much how I felt. The writing is simplistic, filled with bad similes and mis-used adages. The characters are cookie-cutter quality with 50’s B-movie names right out of the database of stereotypes. But the dialogue was what, ultimately, did me in. Oh, boy, but it’s... Well, it’s not good. It’s not realistic. People just do not speak to each other like that! And life is too short to waste my precious reading time on books that I do not enjoy thoroughly. I’m positive that many people will find merit in the story Swain presents. I, however, am choosing to move on.

[Tay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than the first one. I wish he devote more time to the Jack Carpenter series.

[Branchsuper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stage magician is actually a real wizard...

[Pat Marker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked this book. Ghosts and witchcraft.

[Karen Bissonette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

I really liked this book and the main character, Peter Warlock. I hope there is a sequel written very soon!

[Rosie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really fond of the Psychic world.

[Ronald]

90

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published at Reading Reality

Peter Warlock is a magician, one like David Copperfield or Harry Houdini. He pulls rabbits out of hats and saws his assistant in half.

Except that Peter Warlock also has more than a bit in common with Harry Dresden, that other famous wizard (or warlock) of urban fantasy. Some of Peter Warlock's stage tricks are all too real. Peter's stage name, and stage persona, are a mask that he uses to hide some real magic.

Peter Warlock is a psychic. He reads minds. Sometimes he can see the future. Usually when something bad is barrelling down on New York City.

In this second story about Peter Warlock and his friends, the Friday Night Psychics (see my review of Dark Magic for Peter's first outing), a group of powerful and dangerous ghosts, called "shadow people" seem to be after Peter and his friends.

They keep kidnapping Peter and everyone close to him, just so they can drag their souls to the site of a future murder. Even worse it's the latest in a long line of murders by a serial killer, and it seems that Peter and his friends are the killer's next victims.

The killer is even more dangerous because he recognizes Peter's power, even in his incorporeal state, AND knows how to harm him. The man isn't just a murderer, he's one of the many minions of Peter's nemesis, the demonic Order of Astrum.

The only question is whether Peter can stop him before he kills again, all the while trying to fend off the misguided affections of a witch who is scrying (spying) on his every move and while he's attempting to preserve his relationship with the only normal woman he has ever let into his life.

Dying might be easier, if only there literally wasn't the devil to pay.

Escape Rating B: In my review of the first Peter Warlock book, Dark Magic, I did say that if there were further books in the series I would be a very happy reader. Color me happy.

The Peter Warlock series should probably be the dictionary definition for dark fantasy. It's not quite urban fantasy, although it has a bit of that flavor. The setting is contemporary New York City, after all. But it's a NYC in which magic works, albeit only for a select and secretive few. Very few people believe and it is all too easy for a practitioner to either end up in a psychiatric ward or become a government experiment. Neither outcome is desirable.

There are demons. It's part of Peter's past, and possibly future, that his parents were killed by a group that dedicated itself to evil, The Order of Astrum. A group that they once belonged to.

There is a dark side to the force, and its minions are everywhere. Part of the suspense in Shadow People is for Peter to determine exactly who serves whom. Who is truly evil, who is merely misguided, and who is trying to help him? Nothing is clear, everything is in shadow.

Peter is a fascinating character. I was utterly transfixed by his story in Dark Magic, but Shadow People spent too much time talking about his relationship issues and not enough time dealing with demons and magic. While I still felt compelled to finish the story as fast as I could turn the pages, it left too many of the larger issues unresolved.

In short, Shadow People has the feel of a middle book. It ends on one hell of a cliffhanger. There had better be a third book in this series!

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really liked the first book in this series, but this one did not work for me at all.

The first book jumped right into the magic and the pace was fast and furious the whole way through with the suspense and drama being the main focus. This second book, or what I managed to get through started off with way too much "chick-flick-ish" emotional relationship drama for my taste.

Between the angst of the girlfriend Liza, and the stuff with fellow psychic Holly [which is all I'll say to avoid spoilers] this book just irritated me. This is definitely NOT what I was expecting, or what I wanted from a book like this. I'm not a chick-flick fan in movies, and I like it even less in a book.

To be fair there was some of the magical battles I was expecting mixed in with the portion I read [or, rather, listened to, as I had this on audiobook] but everytime we got into that, the story seemed to quickly switch back over to the relationship drama, making me groan and roll my eyes.

Which brings me to another thing that didn't work for me, which was the narrator's voice. I know that's kind of not fair, but how an audiobook narrator's voice hits the reader is part of the enjoyment of the story. A really good narrator - and I've listened to a number of those, as I listen to a lot of audiobooks as I commute daily - can vastly increase my immersion into the story and the resulting enjoyment of the book. Unfortunately, the narrator here just did not fit my vision of what the Peter would sound like. Peter as written [because I read the first book in paper format] hit me as strong and commanding, and the narrator's voice struck me as being a slightly geeky computer-guy - it just didn't connect properly for me to the story and the characters. That's probably more on me than the author or the narrator, but the longer I listened, the less connected I was to the story.

I was disappointed, because I really, really liked the first book, so starting this one and having it fall so flat for me was unexpected. Fortunately, my TBR is full of next reads. Hopefully the next one will be a better fit for this reader.

[Michel Sizaire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking forward to reading the next novel in this series.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise was good - a psychic who does magic trying to stop a serial killer who sold his soul to the Devil. The writing was weak, the dialogue was terrible, the characters were bland. I started with this book, the second in the series. I will not go back and read the first nor will I continue reading the series.

The author tells us at every turn that Peter has this demon inside him. After the fifth time, I was like, yes, we get it, now let's move on to the story. Then we find out that when he was a child, Peter (or rather the demon inside Peter) killed 8 people but that was ok because they were all evil. Wait, what?? No, that's not ok. Every killer can rationalize their actions. Just because you only killed bad people, does not make you a better person.

His girlfriend, the perfect understanding love of his life, pulls the cliched "it's me or the psychic abilities" trope at the end of the book. This dropped my rating from 3 stars to 2.

Holly, the witch that loves him, is a stalker freak that really needs to get a life. She spends the entire book spying on Peter. She is told repeatedly to stop and yet she does not, even goes so far as to attempt raping Peter. The whole time she justifies her actions with "I love him so it's ok." Then she sees him go superdemon on the bad guy and she's devastated and distraught and wants nothing more to do with him.

Rachel, the last victim, once she is saved was about as calm as a person ordering a glass of water at a restaurant. No screaming, not upset, no hysterics, absolutely no emotion at all.

I could go on with my rantings but I really want to forget that I had this experience and move on with my life.

[Janet Surrusco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good continued story. Still don't care for the over demanding girlfriend and the way he reacts to her. Strong male character who saves people can't stand up to girlfriend. Was hoping this would wrap up story. Sometimes I feel like I'm buying long chapters, which I guess I am. The total story bought new would be quite expensive.

[Starr Gardinier · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Shadow People” by James Swain

Swain manages to combine a thriller with the supernatural, and pull from his hat a touch of a good versus evil page-turner.

Now you see it, now you don’t. A cliché, but one that character Peter Warlock uses to entertain. That is, before the Shadow People ‘entertain’ him. Having a bit of evil inside of himself, but trying to use it for good, Peter works with FBI Special Agent Garrison to bring down a serial killer.

Kidnapped by the Shadow People and brought against his will to a time in the future, he is ordained to be the one to save Rachel, not only the killer’s next victim but also someone whose good works are a threat to evil.

Peter’s girlfriend Liza is determined to understand who he is, the good and the bad side of Peter. She accompanies him on his frenzied run from present to future and is put in harm’s way. Peter is just as firm in his need to not only keep Liza safe but to also keep her in his life and shares more than he has ever shared about himself. This leads to not only an enlightenment of his past but of what he is actually capable of.

Swain puts you in a trance, forcing you to turn page after page until all is revealed. A magic trick? I think not. I recommend this to readers who are looking for something different, entertaining, thrilling, and completely engaging.

[Junkie for the Written Word · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know who this book was written for. It doesn't say YA on it anywhere, and in fact I looked at the call number on the spine to see if it had accidentally been misshelved when I picked it up. Nope, FIC not YA. The thing is it's written in a way that is so over simplified that I just wouldn't expect it to be written for anyone over the age of 10. Also he defines words. I hate that. I'm a grown ass woman who has read a lot of books, if I don't know what a something is I can grab a dictionary. Sure not everyone knows what a jotun is (unless you play GW2 in which case you've killed thousands) but that's when you give context clues, you don't just slap the definition down in the sentence. It assumes your reader is stupid or either they're so young they need that definition to answer the text questions at the end of the chapter.

I only made it halfway though the book. The plot seemed weak, the characters were beyond weak, and the prose was unbearable. Also the Satan worshiper thing is a either take all or go home trope. It has to be the pit of darkness personified to even have the remote possibility of not being corny. Otherwise I start picturing these guys:

[Normalene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fourth Night Prowler story about the shapeshifting Ikati, but this gives us a new side to Christian, Leander’s brother, who in previous stories was not very likeable. Here he changes his spots by giving us some of his backstory that makes us feel more aware of his sensuality and the reasons he is so distant. He meets a human girl in an antique bookstore and falls hard; but he is in Barcelona to catch a megalomaniac who’s out to enslave the world – yes that would be Cesar of the previous book Rapture’s Edge. Human girl, September Jones and her human, best friend Asher try to make sense of Christian’s on-again- off-again obsession with Ember but who knows what is going on in the mind of an Ikati assassin? When Cesar discovers that Christian values Ember, Cesar uses Ember’s step-mother to get her to give herself up as bait to draw Christian out. Since that is exactly what Christian wants, you can expect violence, mayhem and naked men who have just shifted. The romance is well-developed and the storyline matches pace with the action and the relationship growing together. The twist at the very end is set up to lead you into the next book and the threat to the world is even bigger.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just some random thoughts. I want to like these books more than I do, but I just can't make the connection with any of the characters. Maybe it's picky, but one thing that annoys me, as it does in every book that uses it, is the witch who is "descended from the original Salem witches," which I just find incredibly offensive, given that those people were innocent and would probably be appalled by the suggestion that they actually were witches, even "good" ones. Maybe it will cause some conflict in future books, but I find the character of Holly, one of the aforementioned witches, to be positively creepy and stalkerish, and her attempt to compel Peter to have sex with her, if the genders were reversed, would be considered attempted rape - it certainly doesn't seem like any kind of real love to me. Yet at least one of the other characters insists to Peter that he is REALLY in love with Holly, because of course he's too stupid to know his own mind. Not to mention that the "rhymes" she uses when casting her spells are positively painful.

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shadow People is a fast paced mystery thriller, mixed with magic (the stage kind), psychic abilities, and the afterlife. Too much mystery for people looking for paranormal, and too much paranormal for someone looking for a straight mystery, this book falls into a strange no-mans land. I found the characters to be a bit flat, which lessened my involvement when they were involved in mortal peril, but the interesting story balanced it out. This is a very quick read, and was enjoyable, but wasn't something I felt the need to add to my library. I'd recommend waiting for the paperback if you're interested in reading this one.

[Stan MacKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadow People by James Swain was rivetting. I am not an avid reader, and am a very slow reader. A book has to grab my attention right away or I get bored and won't read further (perhaps missing out). Oh well! I got to the end of the book only to discover it just ended when I needed to know what was going to happen next. Had I read the first novel, Dark Magic, I would have known that elements of the story continue from one book to the next. I guess I will have to read the next book to find out if Dante is eliminated or if Peter and Liza stay together .... UGH !!!

[Dr susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Shadow People better than Dark Magic. I would still consider this series more horror than fantasy. The story seemed deeper, the characters more appealing, and the stakes more real. However, the main female characters continued to be less than pleasing, with a choice between the girlfriend who is still not happy with her psychic magician and a creepy obsessed stalker witch. I almost gave Shadow People 3 stars due to the unflattering female characters, but I gave it 4 for the more interesting story.

[Douglas Castagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the Tony Valentine books, The Jack Carpenter books, even the Vincent Hadare ones. Peter Warlock, well, he is all right too. The first one was solid, though this one seems too scattered. I liked the supernatural element to this series and this entry did not disappoint in that regard, it was the mystery and the juxtaposition of the two parts of the tale that seemed to never meld properly. I wonder what series he will focus on next, and now the newest one isn't an entry in any of his series.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Peter Warlock is a true warlock...but the public knows him as a magician. After seeing a shadow person, he is transported into the world of a serial killer and must stop the killer before he gets his next victim. I wasn't very fond of this book. I found the characters a bit unlikeable...especially Peter's girlfriend (a "if you love me, you will" type of gal).

[Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a lot going on while listening to this book and I didn't realize it was second in a series. It probably would get a higher rating from me if I had read the first one. Between life happening and jumping into a world that I was expected to understand already, it didn't go down as well as it could have. Perhaps I'll check out the first one and re-review this one then

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This urban fantasy series has an interesting concept--an actual psychic making a living as a stage magician. Plus it is more well-written than a lot of urban fantasies. Still I couldn't get excited about the story line in this book. I still plan to read book 3 when it comes out.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grabbed this book from the library off the new fiction section and it seemed interesting. Ended up reading it in a day and now I need to read the first one! Gripping story with very interesting characters

[Tom Reed · Rating 1 out of 5]

while an interesting idea, this book (at least through approximately the first quarter, at which point i gave up) was very poorly written. the characters were bland, the dialogue plain, and what i believe was supposed to be frightening ended up to be quite silly.

[Lori Gramlich · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read and I enjoyed it, however I HATED how it ended. It doesn't finish the story so you're forced to read the next in the series if you want closure. I'm pig headed enough to not read it. Well, ok I probably will, but not right away.