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Shadow Informant
When Caroline is roused in the middle of the night to come to work she knows she’ll be heading for a murder scene. After all, she’s homicide, it’s her job, and she’s prepared for everything. Until she arrives in a suburban commuter parking lot where a young lawyer is lying on the ground, a hole in his chest, his organs vaporized, and a topographic map of a metropolitan grid tattooed on his face. She’s in no shape to deal with the bizarre case. She’s broke, lost visitation rights to her kids and can’t remember the last time she had sex, never mind how to start dating again. The last thing she needs is for her partner, whose family life is idyllic bliss, to drag her to the morgue. A week later she still can’t decide whether the local pathologist nurtures repressed yearnings as a sorcerer, or whether victim number two—a fist-sized hole in his chest, his organs vaporized and wearing another topographic map on his face—points to something sinister that could lead to a nearby research army facility.
Her efforts to get more information are stonewalled by the army brass. Resistance, however, is the best cure for Caroline’s depression. But when overnight a crater yawns where a local church used to stand, and a third victim is found nearby wearing yet another topo map tattooed on his face, the FBI takes over Caroline’s case. And their idea of cooperation does not include sharing of information. Caroline doesn’t mind being ignored, but she hates being goaded by the FBI and their ridiculous assumption that her sleazy ex-husband, a Senatorial candidate about to marry his child-bride who’ll soon inherit a one-hundred-million-dollar fortune, might be the real target of the perpetrators of this series of bizarre happenings.
It’s enough to make her consider a career change…except Colonel Lejeune, a career soldier and the man in charge of the army lab, wants to talk to her and not the FBI. When he asks her to dinner she hopes that it’s because she has better table manners than the FBI’s Special Agent in charge.
Her efforts to get more information are stonewalled by the army brass. Resistance, however, is the best cure for Caroline’s depression. But when overnight a crater yawns where a local church used to stand, and a third victim is found nearby wearing yet another topo map tattooed on his face, the FBI takes over Caroline’s case. And their idea of cooperation does not include sharing of information. Caroline doesn’t mind being ignored, but she hates being goaded by the FBI and their ridiculous assumption that her sleazy ex-husband, a Senatorial candidate about to marry his child-bride who’ll soon inherit a one-hundred-million-dollar fortune, might be the real target of the perpetrators of this series of bizarre happenings.
It’s enough to make her consider a career change…except Colonel Lejeune, a career soldier and the man in charge of the army lab, wants to talk to her and not the FBI. When he asks her to dinner she hopes that it’s because she has better table manners than the FBI’s Special Agent in charge.
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Published May 14, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 10, 2018
Carly and her partner, Bill, work in the homicide department of CPD. A late night call takes her to a deserted commuter carpark, with a young lawyer dead on the ground with a large cauterised hole in the middle of his chest, all his organs having been vaporised! Not the sort of wound they are used to seeing. The victim also has an extensive tattoo on his face – something that wasn’t there before his murder.
The autopsy comes up with some unexpected details. The wound has been caused by something that at the current time is impossible. It would have to have been fired from a tank and would blow the person into pieces. This is a neat hole, that lets the detectives see right through the victim’s body. The other oddity could only be seen under black light and shows the tattoo is in fact some sort of road map.
The case gets more difficult as the number of victims increase and more maps are left on the faces of the dead. They begin to see a pattern regarding the victims – but one that is impossible to find a reason for. Could there be a serial killer out there, with an advanced or home-made weapon, causing the deaths and another person leaving them the clues? It seems too strange to be true.
The maps are leading them to somewhere and they need to find out what that is. There has been a theft of military research material which is also linked to this case and Carly gets to meet Ben, an army colonel at a nearby research facility and the sparks of romance start to be fanned. There is a lot more to the maps, the dead victims and the theft of this secret material, than meets the eye and I really don’t want to give anything away.
Towards the end of the book, as all the clues and strange happenings begin to converge, we find out who the real target is, but the identity of the serial killer and the tattooist are not matters that they can easily define. There is a bit of a wrap up at the end of the book, which may answer some questions, but certainly leaves you wanting to know more.
I hope there are more books to follow in this storyline, or with these characters, as they are so easy to fall into step with and makes the book easy to read and you won’t put it down until you finish it. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
The autopsy comes up with some unexpected details. The wound has been caused by something that at the current time is impossible. It would have to have been fired from a tank and would blow the person into pieces. This is a neat hole, that lets the detectives see right through the victim’s body. The other oddity could only be seen under black light and shows the tattoo is in fact some sort of road map.
The case gets more difficult as the number of victims increase and more maps are left on the faces of the dead. They begin to see a pattern regarding the victims – but one that is impossible to find a reason for. Could there be a serial killer out there, with an advanced or home-made weapon, causing the deaths and another person leaving them the clues? It seems too strange to be true.
The maps are leading them to somewhere and they need to find out what that is. There has been a theft of military research material which is also linked to this case and Carly gets to meet Ben, an army colonel at a nearby research facility and the sparks of romance start to be fanned. There is a lot more to the maps, the dead victims and the theft of this secret material, than meets the eye and I really don’t want to give anything away.
Towards the end of the book, as all the clues and strange happenings begin to converge, we find out who the real target is, but the identity of the serial killer and the tattooist are not matters that they can easily define. There is a bit of a wrap up at the end of the book, which may answer some questions, but certainly leaves you wanting to know more.
I hope there are more books to follow in this storyline, or with these characters, as they are so easy to fall into step with and makes the book easy to read and you won’t put it down until you finish it. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
January 12, 2018
Shadow Informant by Edita A Petrick Review 1-11-18
Murder and romance don’t really go together but in this case, it works!
A serial killer who leaves a road-map on his victims should be easy to track down…
When Carly is roused in the middle of the night to come to work she knows she’ll be heading for a murder scene. After all, she’s a homicide detective, it’s her job, and she’s prepared for everything. Until she arrives in a suburban commuter parking lot where a young lawyer is lying on the ground, a hole in his chest, his organs vaporized, and a topographic map of a metropolitan grid tattooed on his face. A week later victim number two—same first name, same fist-sized hole in his chest, his organs vaporized and wearing another topographic map on his face—points to something more sinister that could lead to a nearby army facility.
What did I like? I totally fell in love with Carly, she is the sort of person that I wanted to be when I grew up. A Cop and well maybe not the single mom detail because I did get that part in my life also, but I sure wanted to be a COP! I loved the grit that Carly has and when she wakes up to the future, what a gal she becomes!
What will you like? A twist and turn storyline, action, murder, romance, and huge craters where buildings should be still standing. Being a homicide detective in the first place is a tough job and for sure it is thankless! Carly has that, and she has a jerk for an ex-husband. When you throw in a little romance that is so different than she had ever known, well then you have an amazing storyline. Can’t wait to get to book two. I received this from the author for an honest review with no other compensation.
Murder and romance don’t really go together but in this case, it works!
A serial killer who leaves a road-map on his victims should be easy to track down…
When Carly is roused in the middle of the night to come to work she knows she’ll be heading for a murder scene. After all, she’s a homicide detective, it’s her job, and she’s prepared for everything. Until she arrives in a suburban commuter parking lot where a young lawyer is lying on the ground, a hole in his chest, his organs vaporized, and a topographic map of a metropolitan grid tattooed on his face. A week later victim number two—same first name, same fist-sized hole in his chest, his organs vaporized and wearing another topographic map on his face—points to something more sinister that could lead to a nearby army facility.
What did I like? I totally fell in love with Carly, she is the sort of person that I wanted to be when I grew up. A Cop and well maybe not the single mom detail because I did get that part in my life also, but I sure wanted to be a COP! I loved the grit that Carly has and when she wakes up to the future, what a gal she becomes!
What will you like? A twist and turn storyline, action, murder, romance, and huge craters where buildings should be still standing. Being a homicide detective in the first place is a tough job and for sure it is thankless! Carly has that, and she has a jerk for an ex-husband. When you throw in a little romance that is so different than she had ever known, well then you have an amazing storyline. Can’t wait to get to book two. I received this from the author for an honest review with no other compensation.
October 8, 2018
The ARC of Shadow Informant was received in exchange for an honest review. I am not sure I would have found this book any other way. It was an interesting take on a police procedural type of story that created quite a few questions during the whole book. The romance in the story was subtle and made it more believable. The main characters did not have a drawn-out romance that took away from the mystery of the plot.
The story begins when Caroline (Carly) is awakened to go a murder scene in suburban Chicago by her partner Bill. Although they are CPD, they are requested to help with the grisly and unusual crime in the suburbs. The weapon for the crime is part of the mystery. As Bill and Carly investigate this murder they are drawn into other crimes in the suburbs that all seem to be linked together. As the investigation continues she meets Ben, who is a colonel with the Army at a research facility in the area. He starts to pursue Caroline romantically as well as helps in the investigation.
This was a great mystery that kept me guessing the whole time. The crimes and the investigation were at times really hard to understand but kept me engaged in the story. The romance was so understated but felt so right for this story and this might be strange, but Ben might be my new favorite book boyfriend. He was solid and understanding and helps Carly to see herself as the strong woman she is.
The story begins when Caroline (Carly) is awakened to go a murder scene in suburban Chicago by her partner Bill. Although they are CPD, they are requested to help with the grisly and unusual crime in the suburbs. The weapon for the crime is part of the mystery. As Bill and Carly investigate this murder they are drawn into other crimes in the suburbs that all seem to be linked together. As the investigation continues she meets Ben, who is a colonel with the Army at a research facility in the area. He starts to pursue Caroline romantically as well as helps in the investigation.
This was a great mystery that kept me guessing the whole time. The crimes and the investigation were at times really hard to understand but kept me engaged in the story. The romance was so understated but felt so right for this story and this might be strange, but Ben might be my new favorite book boyfriend. He was solid and understanding and helps Carly to see herself as the strong woman she is.
June 3, 2023
Suspicious murders, high tech weaponry. Detective Sergeant Caroline Osych (Carly) and Bill Rashleigh are homicide detectives on Chicago police. They are investigating a series of murders of men all named Michael. Murders are connected because of hole burned through their chest. If this wasn't puzzling enough to the detectives, there are also some unusual distinguishing tattoos. Good mystery, I'll buy author again.
October 9, 2018
This is an interesting idea for a romantic suspense. I enjoyed the twists and turns. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC.
March 6, 2017
Shadow Informant is a murder mystery that has some unconventional murder methods. The victims all have a 4 diameter hole vaporized from their chest, which appears to be “inhuman.”
Carly is a homicide detective assigned to the case. She’s pretty amazing, and I like her style. There’s a lot of “paranormal” feel to this, but you can’t be certain, since they are inquiring with the military, on what they know about weapons that can vaporize five pounds of flesh out of someones chest.
This book could be considered paranormal or out of the ordinary with the murder mystery genre, which I found to be super exciting the whole way through the book. As the reader, you’re uncertain on what’s going on, and are following the mystery alongside Carly, and the other detectives on the case. I was uncertain on where the author would be taking the plot, and if was going to have a supernatural tone. I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t read it, so you’ll just have to check it out to see if they can solve the murders by reasonable explanation, or if there’s more to this then what can be explained.
Everything was connected in this book, and Petrick doesn’t spend a lot of time with information that does not apply to the story line. I really like her writing style, and have just found out there are a bunch of other books written by Petrick, which I’m definitely adding to my shelf to read soon!!
I give this book 5/5. It’s not your typical murder mystery plot, and will have you hooked from the first paragraph!
Carly is a homicide detective assigned to the case. She’s pretty amazing, and I like her style. There’s a lot of “paranormal” feel to this, but you can’t be certain, since they are inquiring with the military, on what they know about weapons that can vaporize five pounds of flesh out of someones chest.
This book could be considered paranormal or out of the ordinary with the murder mystery genre, which I found to be super exciting the whole way through the book. As the reader, you’re uncertain on what’s going on, and are following the mystery alongside Carly, and the other detectives on the case. I was uncertain on where the author would be taking the plot, and if was going to have a supernatural tone. I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t read it, so you’ll just have to check it out to see if they can solve the murders by reasonable explanation, or if there’s more to this then what can be explained.
Everything was connected in this book, and Petrick doesn’t spend a lot of time with information that does not apply to the story line. I really like her writing style, and have just found out there are a bunch of other books written by Petrick, which I’m definitely adding to my shelf to read soon!!
I give this book 5/5. It’s not your typical murder mystery plot, and will have you hooked from the first paragraph!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews