Chasing Shadows

by Dee Osah

He thought he’d gotten out. But some shadows make you pay to leave. Laz never planned on setting foot in Blackburn again. It’s a detour that’s supposed to cost him nothing. But when he runs into a homie he hasn’t seen in years, one drink turns into one night that leaves a body in a parking lot, and Laz with a debt he never agreed to.

Leila has spent her whole life being the good one—the girl who hands out flyers nobody wants, who prays for her unbelieving friends while a part of her keeps score, who has never let herself want the wrong thing out loud. Then a guy she’s spent months warning herself away from—a man who goes against everything she believes in—starts to look less like temptation and more like the grace she’s never let herself receive.

Baron has never let anyone matter enough to lose. Never let anything become real enough to keep. Until a woman he once mocked for her faith becomes the only steady thing left standing while his whole world tips toward war, and he starts to wonder if she has something he’s never once let himself want.

Three people bound by a single year in their lives, a killer hiding behind a familiar smile, and a fire none of them can outrun. Because in Blackburn, love will cost you. Faith doesn’t come with guarantees. And some shadows only stop chasing once you turn around and face them.

Chasing Shadows is a raw, unflinching standalone prequel to the Improbable Romance series—Urban Christian fiction for readers who want their faith fiction to mirror real life, grit and grace in the same breath, and don't need either one to flinch from the other.

187 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 8, 2026

About the author

Dee Osah is a husband-wife team with a godly passion for weaving their personal experiences into stories anyone can enjoy. They live in Houston with two young daughters, who already love to whip up compelling tales. When not writing, they enjoy analyzing the financial markets, watching K-dramas and Anime, and learning to grow food for their ever-growing family.

Reviews

[Ifeanyi Omoike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chasing Shadows is a story about chasing things you think will satisfy you and you realize at the end of the day, they won’t. It reminded me of the woman at the well in the Bible and how she also chased fleeting things and realized they could not satisfy her. Sometimes, you realize this early like it happened for some people in this book and for others, you realize it too late.

The characters in this book pulled at my heart especially Sienna. I admired her love for Zaza, her daughter and the way she continued to fight for her even if she was scared and vulnerable.

‘Blackburn is a place where black people burn’ was a line in this book and it was an experience to see this happen. Although it was heartbreaking, it was also educative and there were valuable lessons such as to value the good people you have in your life today and treat them right.

This story made me reflect on my own life and make adjustments where needed. I also loved Dee Osah's exquisite writing. Highly recommended!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bailey Hartfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Chasing Shadows" is an urban Christian fiction novel with lessons of love, the choices we make, and how our faith can be exactly what we need in times of moral questioning. Laz is a complex main character, but very likeable and proves throughout the story to be a young man who has a lot to learn. The end was gutting, but a very much needed wrap to this prequel as we can look forward to what’s next for Laz and Leila. I really enjoyed the writing, it was well thought out and structured. A very steady read with hardly any parts that felt like they were dragging in any way. I am very much looking forward to what’s in store from Osah!

[Don Shaze]

Laz, liela, and baron are very intriguing characters this book makes you look at faith and love, choices and consequences of choices when we can sometimes ignore the signs our hearts give us. It was a good read a very well laid plot and that what happens next feeling to keep turning the page.