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The Shadow of Seth: A Seth Anomundy Murder Mystery
Sixteen-year-old Seth Anomundy is a product of his environment: in this case, Tacoma, Washington. What L.A. was to Chandler, Tacoma—a working-class port city now undergoing urban renewal—is to author Tom Llewellyn. Seth has grown up in Tacoma's tough neighborhoods, where he's perfectly at home in Choo-Choo's boxing gym and Miss Irene's soul food palace, the Shotgun Shack. With his mom working nights as a cleaner, Seth goes to high school, gets decent grades, and makes money where he can: filling in as cook at the Shotgun Shack, working as a sparring partner, and running errands for Nadel, the clock repairman. Life is hand-to-mouth, but okay—until he gets the news that his mother has been killed. The police don’t care about the death of just another drug addict, so a bewildered Seth takes it upon himself to find the killer. On a clock delivery run, he meets a beautiful rich girl named Azura Lear, who encourages Seth and tries to help track down the killer. But instead of finding answers, Seth finds only trouble. He faces down a gang of baseball-bat-wielding high school jocks and deals with the contempt of Azura’s suspicious father. And then there’s King George—a teenage thug Seth has previously managed to avoid—who has for some reason let it be known that he wants Seth dead. Right now.
- GenresMysteryYoung Adult
185 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 4, 2015
1 person is currently reading
167 people want to read
About the author
Tom Llewellyn
13 books22 followersTOM LLEWELLYN is the author of five novels for middle-grade and young-adult readers, and one picture book. His books have been translated into five languages.
His first novel, The Tilting House, was published by Random House in 2010. Regarding his 2024 novel, The Five Impossible Tasks of Eden Smith (Holiday House), Booklist said: "A truly memorable setting for a terrific tale."
Tom graduated with honors from the University of Washington's creative writing program. When he's not making books, he writes thought leadership for an investment company and serves as the co-founder of the street art project, Beautiful Angle. Tom was born in Tacoma, Washington, where he raised his four brilliant children. He lives in Tacoma with his amazing wife, Deb.
His first novel, The Tilting House, was published by Random House in 2010. Regarding his 2024 novel, The Five Impossible Tasks of Eden Smith (Holiday House), Booklist said: "A truly memorable setting for a terrific tale."
Tom graduated with honors from the University of Washington's creative writing program. When he's not making books, he writes thought leadership for an investment company and serves as the co-founder of the street art project, Beautiful Angle. Tom was born in Tacoma, Washington, where he raised his four brilliant children. He lives in Tacoma with his amazing wife, Deb.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 23, 2015
It is apparent from the first few pages that sixteen-year-old Seth Anomundy has been alone for years, despite the fact that he lives with his mother. She is a hard worker, but a free spirit. Often that freedom means making poor choices and either forgetting about Seth, or dragging him along on some adventure that isn’t necessarily one a kid needed to take.
Now that he is in high school, she works nights cleaning businesses, so he comes home to an empty apartment over a boxing gym in a less than desirable neighborhood. Seth is surprisingly ambitious and centered, willing to pick up jobs here and there to make a few dollars. He goes to high school, making decent grades and most of the time keeps out of trouble.
Then his world spirals out of control. When picking up a clock for repair from one of the wealthiest families in town, Azura Lear answers the door. She is rich, beautiful and wants to spend more time with him. Seth brushes her off, takes the clock back to Nadel, an old-fashion clock repair man to be fixed.
Azura won’t leave him alone. At school she flirts with him and shows up in the most unlikely places to see him. This infuriates her previous boyfriend, who now is out to teach Seth a lesson about dating rich girls that “belong” to someone else.
Then the tenuous thread of stability Seth has snaps. His mother is found dead and the police are not really concerned about another junkie biting the dust. All evidence points towards murder, but they have other cases to solve and figure she put herself in a bad situation one too many times, therefore not much effort was involved in the hunt for her killer.
The only suspect they have is the owner of a diner that his mother used to clean who has turned up missing. Therefore, the case is not being worked until they find Miss Irene. Seth is sure Miss Irene is not guilty, so he begins searching for her, on the assumption that she must know something about the real killer.
Seth’s troubles explode. One of the neighborhood bullies is out to kill him and he doesn’t know why. He is falling hard for a girl that wants to be with him, but her ex-boyfriend and father will do anything to keep them apart. And worst of all he has to figure out how to make enough money to stay in the apartment so he is not homeless.
So this sixteen-year-old’s life becomes a game of cat and mouse while he works in the boxing gym as a sparring partner, runs errands for the clock maker, works in the kitchen at Miss Irene’s diner and becomes the barista for Choo-Choo, the owner of the gym. All this is happening as he continues to search for his mother’s killer.
This fast paced novel turned and twisted through the rough areas of Tacoma, Washington faster than a freight train. Llewellyn takes the reader along for this gritty ride with interesting characters doing sometimes appalling and/or comical things.
Each character is constructed as a whole person, the backstories interesting as well as the mixture of jobs and interests of each. I was especially amused by the barista info. Seth is taught how to make a perfect cup of coffee, so the reader also learns. The little things are important when making an exquisite cup of brew and none of them are lost on Seth. The unlikelihood of the perfect coffee in a boxing gym – good enough for Choo-Choo to come back in the middle of the night to see if there is a cup left – puts such a realistic feel to this book I felt like I could go to Tacoma, find the gym and enjoy a cup with him.
This is a YA novel, but like so many these days, is well worth reading if you are 16 or 61. It is a great whodunit and so much more.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy that I can keep for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was not expected to return this item after my review.
Copyright © 2015 Laura Hartman
Now that he is in high school, she works nights cleaning businesses, so he comes home to an empty apartment over a boxing gym in a less than desirable neighborhood. Seth is surprisingly ambitious and centered, willing to pick up jobs here and there to make a few dollars. He goes to high school, making decent grades and most of the time keeps out of trouble.
Then his world spirals out of control. When picking up a clock for repair from one of the wealthiest families in town, Azura Lear answers the door. She is rich, beautiful and wants to spend more time with him. Seth brushes her off, takes the clock back to Nadel, an old-fashion clock repair man to be fixed.
Azura won’t leave him alone. At school she flirts with him and shows up in the most unlikely places to see him. This infuriates her previous boyfriend, who now is out to teach Seth a lesson about dating rich girls that “belong” to someone else.
Then the tenuous thread of stability Seth has snaps. His mother is found dead and the police are not really concerned about another junkie biting the dust. All evidence points towards murder, but they have other cases to solve and figure she put herself in a bad situation one too many times, therefore not much effort was involved in the hunt for her killer.
The only suspect they have is the owner of a diner that his mother used to clean who has turned up missing. Therefore, the case is not being worked until they find Miss Irene. Seth is sure Miss Irene is not guilty, so he begins searching for her, on the assumption that she must know something about the real killer.
Seth’s troubles explode. One of the neighborhood bullies is out to kill him and he doesn’t know why. He is falling hard for a girl that wants to be with him, but her ex-boyfriend and father will do anything to keep them apart. And worst of all he has to figure out how to make enough money to stay in the apartment so he is not homeless.
So this sixteen-year-old’s life becomes a game of cat and mouse while he works in the boxing gym as a sparring partner, runs errands for the clock maker, works in the kitchen at Miss Irene’s diner and becomes the barista for Choo-Choo, the owner of the gym. All this is happening as he continues to search for his mother’s killer.
This fast paced novel turned and twisted through the rough areas of Tacoma, Washington faster than a freight train. Llewellyn takes the reader along for this gritty ride with interesting characters doing sometimes appalling and/or comical things.
Each character is constructed as a whole person, the backstories interesting as well as the mixture of jobs and interests of each. I was especially amused by the barista info. Seth is taught how to make a perfect cup of coffee, so the reader also learns. The little things are important when making an exquisite cup of brew and none of them are lost on Seth. The unlikelihood of the perfect coffee in a boxing gym – good enough for Choo-Choo to come back in the middle of the night to see if there is a cup left – puts such a realistic feel to this book I felt like I could go to Tacoma, find the gym and enjoy a cup with him.
This is a YA novel, but like so many these days, is well worth reading if you are 16 or 61. It is a great whodunit and so much more.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy that I can keep for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was not expected to return this item after my review.
Copyright © 2015 Laura Hartman
August 17, 2015
She left. It was the last time I'd ever see her alive.
Growing up I read a lot of Hardy Boy books, I was always checking them out from the library and buying my own at Borders. I may have moved on to adult thrillers, however I found reading The Shadow of Seth to be refreshing, as it's the middle ground between mystery books for children and mystery books for adults.
Being young adult, the mystery was simple and a quick read. That's not a bad thing -- the story flowed very well. In this story sixteen year old Seth Anomundy is awoken in the middle of the night to the news that his mother has been murdered. Since he's old enough to fend for himself, he decides he'll look for the killer himself since the police don't seem too concerned about his mother's death In the beginning of the story Seth is doing a clock pickup for Nadel, a clock repairman, when he meets a girl named Azura. The two are complete opposites: Seth is poor and Azura is loaded with cash. You know how the saying goes: opposites attract. The two end up as friends, although Seth is convinced she'll leave him at many minute because she's everything he isn't.
Although Azura is a center character in the book, I felt that she wasn't fully tethered to the plot, almost as if her role wasn't that important and she wasn't really needed and just thrown in as a bonus. That's not *completely* true, however. I'd expand upon what I mean by that but it'd involve spoilers, which nobody is a fan of. In short, Azura is indirectly related to a part of the story but at the same time I felt that her role wasn't concrete and she herself was sort of "fluff" added. I also felt that the first exchange of dialogue between Seth and Azura was kinda awkward and unrealistic, but it's brief and their future conversations in the book were completely fine.
That was the only thing I didn't like about the story. Everything else about it was great! I enjoyed going back to my roots and reading a mystery for younger audiences. Although the mystery isn't too advanced or hardcore, it still keeps your attention and had me turning the pages. I enjoyed going back to my original reading roots with a mystery for younger readers. The noir aspect was a nice touch, too. Seeing how the tagline for the story is "A Seth Anomundy Murder Mystery", I hope there's more to come!
Thanks to Poisoned Pen/Poisoned Pencil for the review copy!
You can find more reviews like this one on Devin's Book Hub!
Growing up I read a lot of Hardy Boy books, I was always checking them out from the library and buying my own at Borders. I may have moved on to adult thrillers, however I found reading The Shadow of Seth to be refreshing, as it's the middle ground between mystery books for children and mystery books for adults.
Being young adult, the mystery was simple and a quick read. That's not a bad thing -- the story flowed very well. In this story sixteen year old Seth Anomundy is awoken in the middle of the night to the news that his mother has been murdered. Since he's old enough to fend for himself, he decides he'll look for the killer himself since the police don't seem too concerned about his mother's death In the beginning of the story Seth is doing a clock pickup for Nadel, a clock repairman, when he meets a girl named Azura. The two are complete opposites: Seth is poor and Azura is loaded with cash. You know how the saying goes: opposites attract. The two end up as friends, although Seth is convinced she'll leave him at many minute because she's everything he isn't.
Although Azura is a center character in the book, I felt that she wasn't fully tethered to the plot, almost as if her role wasn't that important and she wasn't really needed and just thrown in as a bonus. That's not *completely* true, however. I'd expand upon what I mean by that but it'd involve spoilers, which nobody is a fan of. In short, Azura is indirectly related to a part of the story but at the same time I felt that her role wasn't concrete and she herself was sort of "fluff" added. I also felt that the first exchange of dialogue between Seth and Azura was kinda awkward and unrealistic, but it's brief and their future conversations in the book were completely fine.
That was the only thing I didn't like about the story. Everything else about it was great! I enjoyed going back to my roots and reading a mystery for younger audiences. Although the mystery isn't too advanced or hardcore, it still keeps your attention and had me turning the pages. I enjoyed going back to my original reading roots with a mystery for younger readers. The noir aspect was a nice touch, too. Seeing how the tagline for the story is "A Seth Anomundy Murder Mystery", I hope there's more to come!
Thanks to Poisoned Pen/Poisoned Pencil for the review copy!
You can find more reviews like this one on Devin's Book Hub!
July 3, 2015
I received this book free for review from the author or publisher in exchange for an honest review. Despite the privilege of receiving a free book, I’m absolutely candid about it below because I believe authors and readers will benefit most from honest reviews rather than vacuous 5-star reviews.
The nutshell on this is that it is a tale of murder most foul, as they say. The protagonist's hard-working single mother is found dead and her enterprising young son is left to unravel the who and the why. As mysteries go this one is more Hardy Boys than it is hard boiled but it's reasonably entertaining in a rather simple way.
In evaluating YA fiction I look at three basic things. The first is whether there's anything in the book that I wouldn't want my kids to read. I have zero tolerance for drugs and sex in YA fiction and this one is reasonably clean on that front. The topics are mentioned but not in a positive way and not at length. The book does have some degree of violence but nothing prolonged or bloody. Lastly, kids to drink in this novel but never the protagonist and it's never viewed as a positive thing. So the book is pretty clean.
The second thing I look at is whether there's anything positive in the book that I would want my kids to be exposed to. This book has a few positive themes involving working across socioeconomic boundaries, avoiding prejudiced opinions of others and general social diversity. The themes aren't terribly strong but they are there. It also demonstrates strongly the example of a teen working to save himself from a negative situation after the death of a parent.
The last thing I look at is whether readers will actually be entertained. In this case I suspect they will be but the story doesn't have a great deal of power. I read this over vacation in 25-page increments because it didn't do terribly well at holding my interest but it was amusing enough to go back to after a long day of driving. I'm not sure younger readers will dive in with both feet unless there's something in the characters they can relate to.
In summary, my fiancee summed it up fairly well when she compared it to a Hardy Boys mystery. Nothing too deep. Nothing too complicated. Just a bit of light fluff with some reasonably good moral themes.
PS: I hope my review was helpful. If it was not, then please let me know what I left out that you’d want to know. I always aim to improve.
The nutshell on this is that it is a tale of murder most foul, as they say. The protagonist's hard-working single mother is found dead and her enterprising young son is left to unravel the who and the why. As mysteries go this one is more Hardy Boys than it is hard boiled but it's reasonably entertaining in a rather simple way.
In evaluating YA fiction I look at three basic things. The first is whether there's anything in the book that I wouldn't want my kids to read. I have zero tolerance for drugs and sex in YA fiction and this one is reasonably clean on that front. The topics are mentioned but not in a positive way and not at length. The book does have some degree of violence but nothing prolonged or bloody. Lastly, kids to drink in this novel but never the protagonist and it's never viewed as a positive thing. So the book is pretty clean.
The second thing I look at is whether there's anything positive in the book that I would want my kids to be exposed to. This book has a few positive themes involving working across socioeconomic boundaries, avoiding prejudiced opinions of others and general social diversity. The themes aren't terribly strong but they are there. It also demonstrates strongly the example of a teen working to save himself from a negative situation after the death of a parent.
The last thing I look at is whether readers will actually be entertained. In this case I suspect they will be but the story doesn't have a great deal of power. I read this over vacation in 25-page increments because it didn't do terribly well at holding my interest but it was amusing enough to go back to after a long day of driving. I'm not sure younger readers will dive in with both feet unless there's something in the characters they can relate to.
In summary, my fiancee summed it up fairly well when she compared it to a Hardy Boys mystery. Nothing too deep. Nothing too complicated. Just a bit of light fluff with some reasonably good moral themes.
PS: I hope my review was helpful. If it was not, then please let me know what I left out that you’d want to know. I always aim to improve.
July 1, 2015
When Seth finds his mother dead, he knows it wasn't an accident. With barely any help from the police, he goes out to solve the mystery. Along the way he meets a girl that isn't as perfect as she seems, and he learns that barely anyone can be trusted. Can he find his mom's killer before he gets killed too?
I was really surprised with this book. Full of twists and turns, it grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go. Sure, I had my problems with it but at the end of the day those can be overlooked and you can still really enjoy the book.
I really did not like how the police treated Seth in this book. I hope that in real life they are a bit more caring and less concerned with what neighborhood Seth just happens to live in. I really respected him and his mom and how they got through everything together. I know for a fact that if I was in his shoes, after his mom got murdered, I definitely would not have handled it so well. Overall, he was a great character that I could really connect with.
Azura was a so-so character. I liked how she had a backstory and wasn't what she seemed, but at the same time I didn't like how she never seemed to have a backbone and just went with everything. I also didn't like how there wasn't much of a closure at the end between her and Seth. It leaves room for a possible sequel though, so that might be the reason for the semi-cliffhanger.
The mystery was okay. I could sort of see who killed his mom from the beginning, but at the same time I was sort of doubting myself throughout. This would be a really good book for people out there who love the Nancy Drew books. I, for one, used to be obsessed and I think I read every single one of them so this was a page-turner for me.
***Thanks go out to Poisoned Pen Press for supplying me with an ARC for reviewing purposes. This did not influence my rating or review in any way.***
I was really surprised with this book. Full of twists and turns, it grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go. Sure, I had my problems with it but at the end of the day those can be overlooked and you can still really enjoy the book.
I really did not like how the police treated Seth in this book. I hope that in real life they are a bit more caring and less concerned with what neighborhood Seth just happens to live in. I really respected him and his mom and how they got through everything together. I know for a fact that if I was in his shoes, after his mom got murdered, I definitely would not have handled it so well. Overall, he was a great character that I could really connect with.
Azura was a so-so character. I liked how she had a backstory and wasn't what she seemed, but at the same time I didn't like how she never seemed to have a backbone and just went with everything. I also didn't like how there wasn't much of a closure at the end between her and Seth. It leaves room for a possible sequel though, so that might be the reason for the semi-cliffhanger.
The mystery was okay. I could sort of see who killed his mom from the beginning, but at the same time I was sort of doubting myself throughout. This would be a really good book for people out there who love the Nancy Drew books. I, for one, used to be obsessed and I think I read every single one of them so this was a page-turner for me.
***Thanks go out to Poisoned Pen Press for supplying me with an ARC for reviewing purposes. This did not influence my rating or review in any way.***
August 22, 2015
I'm not much of a reader of mysteries but do love YA novels and think that there should definitely be more of a mixture with those genres. Unfortunately, The Shadow of Seth didn't quite hit a homerun for me.
Seth has led a rough life. Growing up on the poor side of town, he hasn't always had what he's needed much less wanted. But he's always had his mom there, looking after him, and Miss Irene as a second mother. Good people who want the best for him. That all changes when one night his mother is found dead and the police aren't interested in investigating what seems like an accident or even suicide. Seth knows that something is wrong and takes it upon himself to investigate.
The characters in this book were interesting, diverse, but somehow fell flat for me. I wanted to feel emotional alongside Seth when he realized that he's lost his mother, but I just couldn't connect with him. Azura Lear, love interest, was just . . . infuriating. Nothing she did ever made sense--like traveling to the bad side of town to let herself into the apartment of a guy who only stopped by her house on a job he had to do. Basically, stalking Seth to his home, and then not giving a second thought to the danger she was putting herself in by walking around alone with all of her privileged belongings. It made no sense and she contributed nothing to the plot aside from giving Seth someone to pine after.
The mystery was kind of flat, too. There weren't many twists and turns; it wasn't hard to figure out. It seems like there are going to be more of these mysteries, so I'm curious to see if maybe this case wasn't as clean-cut as suspected (though there wasn't a hint in the ending that that could be so) or if Seth is going to find more cases the police aren't interested in to solve himself. Whatever the case, I think I'm going to end up skipping those books.
Seth has led a rough life. Growing up on the poor side of town, he hasn't always had what he's needed much less wanted. But he's always had his mom there, looking after him, and Miss Irene as a second mother. Good people who want the best for him. That all changes when one night his mother is found dead and the police aren't interested in investigating what seems like an accident or even suicide. Seth knows that something is wrong and takes it upon himself to investigate.
The characters in this book were interesting, diverse, but somehow fell flat for me. I wanted to feel emotional alongside Seth when he realized that he's lost his mother, but I just couldn't connect with him. Azura Lear, love interest, was just . . . infuriating. Nothing she did ever made sense--like traveling to the bad side of town to let herself into the apartment of a guy who only stopped by her house on a job he had to do. Basically, stalking Seth to his home, and then not giving a second thought to the danger she was putting herself in by walking around alone with all of her privileged belongings. It made no sense and she contributed nothing to the plot aside from giving Seth someone to pine after.
The mystery was kind of flat, too. There weren't many twists and turns; it wasn't hard to figure out. It seems like there are going to be more of these mysteries, so I'm curious to see if maybe this case wasn't as clean-cut as suspected (though there wasn't a hint in the ending that that could be so) or if Seth is going to find more cases the police aren't interested in to solve himself. Whatever the case, I think I'm going to end up skipping those books.
August 3, 2015
I was sent this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book is touted as a teen noir mystery. It has done a fairly good job at that, and would be a good introduction to the genre for a young teen. However, the mystery part left something to be desired. I figured it out way too early in the short book. Another thing that was a bother was that the murder happens really quick at the beginning, then the middle drags, but the solution happens super fast at the end. And the solution has parts that are just too far fetched. A lot of the characters were very flat, but that could have a lot to do with the fact the book is less that 200 pages.
Like I said, it's a good introduction to noir for young readers, but it doesn't hold a candle to Marlow.
This book is touted as a teen noir mystery. It has done a fairly good job at that, and would be a good introduction to the genre for a young teen. However, the mystery part left something to be desired. I figured it out way too early in the short book. Another thing that was a bother was that the murder happens really quick at the beginning, then the middle drags, but the solution happens super fast at the end. And the solution has parts that are just too far fetched. A lot of the characters were very flat, but that could have a lot to do with the fact the book is less that 200 pages.
Like I said, it's a good introduction to noir for young readers, but it doesn't hold a candle to Marlow.
August 5, 2015
This book is written in the first person and relates the story of a young man who has to deal with the fact that his mother has been poisoned for no apparent reason. It tell of the struggle of a youth who comes from the port side of town but is a decent person who is coming to terms with what life has dealt him and the love of mother and child. Yes it does have a murder and a mystery and the solution is surprising, but the real struggle of life is what really got my attention. Poisoned Pencil publications has done it again with a intriguing Teen Noir story.
March 28, 2015
A solid, straight-up mystery with a snappy, noir feel.
February 8, 2016
A good choice for YA guys.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews