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Squinting at Shadows
On a quiet night in 1989, the daughter of senatorial candidate Corbin Eddings is savagely murdered in her upscale Kenilworth home—while her family sleeps just rooms away. The case goes cold. The killer vanishes. And the tragedy fades into history.
Thirty-five years later, a shocking the brother of the original prime suspect leaps to his death from the same room where the murder occurred. In his pocket—a single slip of paper bearing the name Zev Isom, an elusive figure connected to an international weapons trafficking ring.
FBI Special Agents Eileen Prado and Ira Fisher are assigned the cold case, but what begins as a straightforward investigation quickly unravels into a dark web of corruption, deceit, and power games that stretch from the shadowy arms trade in the small South American country of Suriname to the halls of the U.S. Congress.
As the agents peel back layers of political coverups and long-buried secrets, they confront a conspiracy involving high-level officials and a ghostlike puppet master whose reach seems to know no bounds. For Prado, haunted by memories of a near-fatal undercover assignment, the case becomes a personal reckoning. For Fisher, a former D.C. insider, it's a reminder of the brutal realities behind polished facades.
Gripping, layered, and disturbingly plausible, Squinting at Shadows is a high-stakes political thriller that exposes the deadly cost of silence—and the moral price of power. The novel is based on a true crime. The daughter of long-serving Senator Charles Percy of Illinois, and one-time presidential candidate, was murdered in the family home in 1966 during Percy’s initial run for the Senate. The details of the crime, which remains unsolved, are faithfully represented, and the author's 35 years in politics provide an informed and realistic foundation for the reader.
Thirty-five years later, a shocking the brother of the original prime suspect leaps to his death from the same room where the murder occurred. In his pocket—a single slip of paper bearing the name Zev Isom, an elusive figure connected to an international weapons trafficking ring.
FBI Special Agents Eileen Prado and Ira Fisher are assigned the cold case, but what begins as a straightforward investigation quickly unravels into a dark web of corruption, deceit, and power games that stretch from the shadowy arms trade in the small South American country of Suriname to the halls of the U.S. Congress.
As the agents peel back layers of political coverups and long-buried secrets, they confront a conspiracy involving high-level officials and a ghostlike puppet master whose reach seems to know no bounds. For Prado, haunted by memories of a near-fatal undercover assignment, the case becomes a personal reckoning. For Fisher, a former D.C. insider, it's a reminder of the brutal realities behind polished facades.
Gripping, layered, and disturbingly plausible, Squinting at Shadows is a high-stakes political thriller that exposes the deadly cost of silence—and the moral price of power. The novel is based on a true crime. The daughter of long-serving Senator Charles Percy of Illinois, and one-time presidential candidate, was murdered in the family home in 1966 during Percy’s initial run for the Senate. The details of the crime, which remains unsolved, are faithfully represented, and the author's 35 years in politics provide an informed and realistic foundation for the reader.
310 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 30, 2025
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August 17, 20255-Stars: "Fascinating and shocking"
Squinting at Shadows starts with a flashback to the murder decades earlier of the daughter of a U.S. Senator. Bethel states at the outset that his novel was “triggered” by the circumstances surrounding the actual murder of the daughter of Senator Charles Percy, which was never solved. Bethel assures us that, “Other than the details about where and how Valerie Percy was murdered, which are faithfully reported, no part of the novel is factual.” We will, of course, take Bethel at his word, but reading his novel is made a bit more interesting as one considers whether any of the rest of the story is, if not “factual”, at least the result of some informed speculation on the part of Bethel.
Readers of previous Bethel murder mysteries know to expect many twists, turns, subplots and characters. We start at Kenilworth, Illinois and end up in Washington DC after stops in Paramaribo, Suriname, New Orleans, and DeLand, Florida, with mysterious murders happening at about every stop. We are introduced to characters of all descriptions and all degrees of goodness and evil.
I highly recommend getting on board for the fascinating and, as one would expect from Bethel, shocking trip.
Donn Flipse
Squinting at Shadows starts with a flashback to the murder decades earlier of the daughter of a U.S. Senator. Bethel states at the outset that his novel was “triggered” by the circumstances surrounding the actual murder of the daughter of Senator Charles Percy, which was never solved. Bethel assures us that, “Other than the details about where and how Valerie Percy was murdered, which are faithfully reported, no part of the novel is factual.” We will, of course, take Bethel at his word, but reading his novel is made a bit more interesting as one considers whether any of the rest of the story is, if not “factual”, at least the result of some informed speculation on the part of Bethel.
Readers of previous Bethel murder mysteries know to expect many twists, turns, subplots and characters. We start at Kenilworth, Illinois and end up in Washington DC after stops in Paramaribo, Suriname, New Orleans, and DeLand, Florida, with mysterious murders happening at about every stop. We are introduced to characters of all descriptions and all degrees of goodness and evil.
I highly recommend getting on board for the fascinating and, as one would expect from Bethel, shocking trip.
Donn Flipse
August 18, 2025
This is another great read by David Bethel employing his vast knowledge of governmental back scene activities. FBI agents Prado and Levin take us on an international manhunt that starts with a decades ago murder of a prominent politician’s daughter. The twists and turns keep you guessing and just when you think you have it figured out, the story goes in a whole different direction.
It’s a fast read and a perfect vacation beachside/poolside read. Based on the ending, I’m anticipating a return to this story in the near future.
It’s a fast read and a perfect vacation beachside/poolside read. Based on the ending, I’m anticipating a return to this story in the near future.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews