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When Shadows Come

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As a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, Nick Angel has seen a lot. But now he sees almost nothing after being struck with PTSD-related blindness resulting from the trauma of his last tour. In an attempt to put the past behind him, he travels to Venice, Italy, with his fiancée, Grace, to recover, reconnect, and rekindle their love.

Despite his physical and emotional setbacks, Nick senses something dangerously amiss in Venice, and his hunch proves right when Grace is abducted right in front of him. Because all he can see are horrific visions in his mind’s eye of the village casualties from his last mission, Nick will have to rely on his other heightened senses to discover what happened to his fiancée. To find the truth, he must be willing to open his eyes to the tragedies of his past and the ghosts that haunt him.

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 12, 2016

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About the author

Vincent Zandri

241 books576 followers

"Vincent Zandri is one of the most acclaimed thriller writers working today!" --Publishers Weekly

“Zandri (is) a veteran wordsmith who executes quality and quantity at superlative levels.” --Book Reporter

"The story of Vincent Zandri is the story of our times."
--Business Insider

"Vincent Zandri hails from the future."
--The New York Times

“Sensational . . . masterful . . . brilliant.”
--New York Post

"...big time author..."
--Digital Journal

Considered one of the most prolific writers of his generation, Vincent Zandri is the winner of the 2015 PWA Shamus Award and the 2015 ITW Thriller Award, both for MOONLIGHT WEEPS in the Best Original Paperback category. He is also the NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and AMAZON KINDLE OVERALL NO.1 bestselling author of hundreds of novels, novellas, and stories, including THE REMAINS, MOONLIGHT WEEPS, THE EMBALMER, THE SHROUD KEY and QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT. His list of domestic publishers includes Delacorte, Dell, Down & Out Books, Thomas & Mercer, Blackstone Audio, Tantor Media, and more. He is also the CEO of Bear Media. An MFA in Writing graduate of Vermont College, his work is translated in the Dutch, Russian, French, Italian, and Japanese. Having sold over 1 million editions of his books, Zandri has been the subject of major features by the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and Business Insider. He has also made appearances on Bloomberg TV and the FOX News network. In December 2014, Suspense Magazine named Zandri's, THE SHROUD KEY, as one of the "Best Books of 2014." Suspense Magazine selected WHEN SHADOWS COME as one of the "Best Books of 2016". He was also a finalist for the 2019 Derringer Award for Best Novelette. A freelance photojournalist, freelance writer, and the host of the popular YouTube Podcast, "The Writer's Life," Zandri has written for Strategy Magazine, RT, Living Ready Magazine, New York Newsday, Hudson Valley Magazine, The Times Union (Albany), Game & Fish Magazine, CrimeReads, Altcoin Magazine, The Jerusalem Post (ghost), Market Business News (ghost), Duke University (ghost), Colgate University (ghost), New York University (ghost), The Rice University Gazette (ghost), Yale University (ghost), Digital Journal (ghost), and many more. An Active Member of ITW, he lives in New York and Florence, Italy. For more go to WWW.VINZANDRI.COM

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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Profile Image for Fran.
Author 57 books148 followers
March 28, 2016
When Shadows Come: Vincent Zandri
Shades of black, shades of grey and translucent white all are part of the world of Nick Angel as he tries to see the world through different eyes. Each day he struggles to find his way around and hopes that someday the blindness that has taken over his eyes whether permanently or temporarily will cease to hamper his life and give him back what the war in Afghanistan took away. His mind is alert his feelings are vividly described as we learn about his PTSD and related blindness. A Captain in the service and losing his sight on his last tour, he hopes to do more than just rekindle his relationship with his fiancée Grace in Italy. But, things do not always turn out the way you want and the author creatively creates the beginning scenes filled with humor, sarcasm and tension between the two characters. He adds in a touch of mystery and fear as Grace sees a strange man staring at her and Nick at several different cafes and the feeling is chilling. The setting is the romantic Venice, Italy the emotions are strong and the fear is not far from happening as they are in a restaurant talking and all of a sudden it gets quiet at his table and Grace is no longer there. How can someone vanish in plain sight and no one sees it happening? How can someone’s mind function when he has visions, pictures and images of the war that haunt him? The events are described and the village deaths devastating and Nick know has to use his sense of touch, smell, hearing and taste to hopefully overcome his loss of sight to find Grace. But, the police are not sure that he is telling the truth and the questions make you wonder whether they are going to really search for her, find out who the mystery caller is and keeps saying: I See when they answer and nothing more. The author makes you wonder if Grace left on her own, was really abducted or the shadows that come and go and the light that finally allows him to see at times is just playing with his mind.

The events of the war and the tragedies that he encounter haunt him as does some of the wars that he imagines within himself and his head. Befriending a waiter named Giovanni proves fruitful and learning about what might have happened to Grace from a short news story changes it all. But, why the police react to him in a negative way gives the reader much pause for thought. Detective Carbone seems skeptical and does not believe that Nick is being honest nor does he appreciate the fact that he hides that he can see at times and at times he cannot. The shades of black come often and then the light comes when he least expects it allowing him to focus more clearly and see the events for himself. But, each time he spots the man in the brown overcoat no one else sees him but when he and this waiter are in a church and spot him how does he disappear so fast and why does this person haunt him on the phone.

The shadows come and then the light shines and he can see more clearly but the world never looks the same each and every time. Going to try and find Grace proves futile, hampered by the police and almost as if they are trying to gaslight him into thinking he is losing his mind reminding him of his time in the war and thinking that he is imagining things. Finding the reporter might be helpful but will she be able to take away some of the clouds or shadows and send him so light. Each time someone tries to help him he falls prey to his or her wiles and at times gets injured no only physically but mentally too. Like a light bulb that is flickering and about to go out and another you hope to replace it with to see more clearly his world flickers, dims, goes out and then shines. How will Nick finally deal with the harsh realities of what really happened if and when the truth is finally revealed?

Nick seems to be caught in a world comprised of the war, his nightmares, and his emotional upheavals and trying to figure out whom to trust. When the police finally explain what happened to Grace and he sees it for himself will it bring her back? The war is real and what happened in Afghanistan haunts his dreams and waking hours that at times he sees things but is not sure if they are real. Illusions, visions, noises, nightmares and PTSD are all playing on his mind as he struggles to find himself and Grace and hopefully will unravel the puzzle and clear out the shadows and bring in the light. But, the author reminds us that things are not always what they seem and Nick has a long way to go before he can reconcile what happened in the war and then face the present.

The ending unfolds and the truth will blindside you as Nick becomes part of the kidnaper’s plan and what he finally faces you just won’t believe. Who is this man and what is his link to Nick and his past? What happened in the army that caused him to lose memory, lose his sight and get PTSD? The author uses italics to recreate the scenes within his mind that happened during the war, even in the present as his nightmares are real. The voice he hears and the person is real but who else is behind what happened to him and others and what is Operation Perfect Concussion? You won’t believe what the army did to him and you won’t believe the final ending. Who lives? Who dies at the hand of someone seeking revenge? Why did he really take Grace? What is her final fate? When the shadows come and are finally lifted will Nick ever see the light?

When his wife commits suicide what was the reason? Is what she did his fault and each time he relives what happened it is different making him wonder if she died because he failed to save her or because she did not want to live anymore? The author brilliantly creates the conversations between him and Karen and you begin to wonder whether Nick really saw Karen or he just saw WAR! Going to war and enlisting seemed to be his life but will he return again or will he finally realize what it has done to him and why? Can you take your memories and tuck them away? Can you relive the past and move on to the future? Told in the first person in Nick’s own voice allowing readers to hear his thoughts, get to understand his anger, frustrations and fears and realize that Nick Angel might not be an angel in his manner or demeanor, but he is one angel of a man that you want on your side.
The ending is quite compelling, explosive and enlightening as author Vincent Zandri takes readers inside the mind of a man who fights for his life, hopes to regain his sight and has to deal with his past hoping to break free and live in the future. When the Shadows are finally lifted what Nick see clearly?

Fran Lewis: Just reviews/MJ Magazine





Profile Image for David Taylor.
1,542 reviews24 followers
May 22, 2024
Is it all fiction?

When Shadows Come is the seventeenth book I’ve read or listened to by Vincent Zandri. I can’t think of any of the previous fifteen that left me feeling the way When Shadows Come did at the end. This story from the outset hooks its reader through the circumstances Nick finds himself in. If PTSD blindness isn’t bad enough, his fiancée Grace being kidnapped in front of him sets the hook so deep the reader isn’t going to be able to fight free of the hook. I wasn’t expecting where this story was going or how it might resolve even when major plot pieces were disclosed. I can remember feeling the same way about The Remains as I was reading it. But when I finished The Remains, I wasn’t left with the question When Shadows Come posed to me. I’m still left wondering how much truth might be encapsulated in the fiction of this story, hence the title of my review. If you enjoy thrillers that will grab you and cease to let you go even after the last word has gone, I’d suggest grabbing a copy of this book – in fact grab a copy of the audiobook and let Christopher Lane take you on a thrilling adventure through Venice. Mr. Lanes’ character voices and delivery variances really brought the story to life for me.
293 reviews4 followers
February 2, 2017
Ker-Pow! This Incredible Read Will Bowl You Over When You Least Expect It! Hold On to Your Hat!

Wow! Wow! And did I mention it was like, "Wow?" I believe that it was Bette Davis who said, "Hold on to your hat, it's going to be a bumpy ride!" That absolutely sums up this incredible stunner of a book! I won't tell you too much, except to say that once you read it and reality finally sets in, that you'll never ever truly be able to forget it. You've been warned. Keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times until the ride comes to a full and complete stop! Happy reading...!!!
3 reviews
June 23, 2017
Hitchcock quality thriller!!

Fantastic suspense- filled . loved it.
Couldn't put it down. Riveting. Insightful. Research extraordinaire on this book ! Hitchcock rating
Profile Image for Michael Sherer.
Author 26 books103 followers
April 29, 2016
Zandri's Best Yet
Ever since I finished reading Vince Zandri’s “When Shadows Come,” I’ve been trying to find the words to do it justice. Zandri is probably best known for his hardboiled series featuring Albany PI Dick Moonlight. This stand-alone, however, shows what he can do when not constrained by either a specific milieu or character, and for my money, it’s the best piece of writing he’s ever done.

Not so long ago (a year?) I was among many of Vince’s Facebook friends who admired his posts and photos from Venice, Italy. Ever the intrepid world traveler, Vince was there, it turns out. to ad verisimilitude to “When Shadows Come.” But it’s not just the details and flavor of Venice that he captured on that trip by visiting the city in person. In fact, other books have imparted the feeling of being in Venice. Cornelia Funke’s “The Thief Lord” or Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti series come to mind.

But the true realism Zandri found in Venice was in his characters, especially Captain Nick Angel, veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his fiancée, Grace. Nick is afflicted with hysterical blindness brought on by PTSD that comes and goes, and its during one of these bouts of sightlessness that Grace is kidnapped literally from under Nick’s nose. To find her, Nick must confront his own ghosts to learn how the tragedies of his past affect his present.

As tough a soldier as Nick is and has been, Zandri infuses him with emotional fragility and vulnerability. And for all their problems as a couple and the difficulty of dealing with Nick’s PTSD and its symptoms, Grace is his perfect counterpart, as tough as Nick when it comes to the things that matter most—love, loyalty, and the promise of a future filled with joy and hope.

On the surface, “When Shadows Come” is a riveting and suspenseful thriller that kept me turning the page long after I should have turned out the light. But at its heart, the novel is a tale of love and redemption. Yes, it sounds trite. And yes, you’ve read a hundred books about the redemptive power of love. But unless you’ve already finished the book, you haven’t read this story of how an emotionally broken man is saved by his love for a woman and her love for him. And the ride—both emotionally and for the thrills—is well worth the price of admission.

At times, I found myself chafing impatiently at Nick’s struggle, and wished that review sites offered the option of awarding tenths of stars. The few nits that bothered me made me think that “When Shadows Come” was not quite perfect. Maybe a 4.8-star book. But upon reflection, I realize that the things that made me literally yell at Nick to open his eyes and see what was so obvious to the reader were beyond his ken because of who he is and how his past has affected him. And that’s the result of Zandri’s masterful writing. Hell, I give it five enthusiastic stars.

Profile Image for Evelyn Ryan.
150 reviews7 followers
April 6, 2016
I was lucky to score a copy of this, and since my preferred reading these days is audio, I received the six-disc unabridged copy, which was very well done, read by Christopher Lane. Which gave me lots of reasons to get in the truck and drive, since it's the only cd player I have. Much of this was listened to while navigating the roads during a surprise snow storm and the atrocious roads. Good reason to drive slower. Had the story not been so engrossing, I'm pretty sure I would have raced to get where I was going, bad roads or not. (That is what they make the lower gears for, right?)

The story of a career Army Captain, how his past and present have now come to effect him, his future and that of his fiancee, is very well written. The story is compelling, taking place over just a few days in Venice, Italy. Kidnapping, PTSD induced blindness, flashbacks and people who aren't who they say they are, all combine to move the story along to it's conclusion.

I will admit that I figured out much of the plot line as it built, and I don't know if that is deliberate or not, however, the final pieces fell into place only at the end. This made it a really good story for me, since so many plots these days are cookie-cutter, no matter the genre. The characters were well defined. The details of places and events allowed me to picture them very clearly which brought them to life. And the ending makes me wonder, and wish, for maybe a new story to follow- what happens after to Nick? What of his past? What of the one who walked away?
1,219 reviews2 followers
May 28, 2016
I received this book as a First Read. The writing was good but the story and characters were weak. The pace was slow and there was a lot of redundancy. But the larger problem was that the story required so much suspension of disbelief and the characters were so unrelatable that it lost the reader. It also relied to heavily on so many tropes we've seen all too many times in other stories. It would've been great to have more originality, twists, and turns to make it less predictable.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
111 reviews
October 12, 2016
Great story!!

This is probably one of the best books I have read in a long time. Could not put it down! The plot is amazing, and had me hooked. I can usually figure things out before the end, but I have to say---I did not see this coming. It was great. What a twisting, turning plot. Read it, you won't be sorry. See comments. Book on sell this month for 1.99
53 reviews1 follower
April 21, 2016
Disaappointed

I have enjoyed many of his books but was not impressed by this particular novel. No offense meant to the author but this one was just not my cup of tea. Maybe fine for others but I just couldn't work up much interest . Sorry.
Profile Image for Lori Greenlee.
440 reviews1 follower
Read
April 23, 2016
Not as good as his other books

This book was just plain awkward at first . It gets better towards the end and then all this information is given in the last few pages . The storyline w as good but the delivery was lacking.
202 reviews3 followers
December 8, 2016
Ok

Really enjoyed that it was based on an actual CIA program. Even more so that qualifying into has been removed. I'd read another by this author
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