Out of the Shadows

by Guy E. Estes

Never piss off a daughter of the Morrigan, especially in a town like Nightshade.

Nightshade’s a weird town. It has a large Pagan population and a lot of fundamentalist Christians. Usually, they get along well. Then the attacks started.

It began with assaults. A Christian had satanic imagery burned into her. A Pagan had a cross pounded into him. Assaults became rapes, then murders. Each side blames the other.

Detective Tiernan Dempsey turns to two of his friends for help, Dr. Alexis O’Connor, anthropologist and Wiccan priestess and Honor MacGregor, Pagan PI. This case forces Honor to face fears she thought buried leaving her with severe trust issues and a touch of paranoia. Then she set eyes on Ethan Malone.

Ethan expected his life to be unending darkness. Wounded by his past, he resolved to never suffer that pain again. As long as he didn’t let anyone get close to him, he had nothing to fear. Then he set eyes on Honor MacGregor.

And the body count continues to climb. Then reports of possession emerge…

ebook

Published April 2, 2022

About the author

Guy Estes was born in Huntsville, Alabama in 1970 and grew up on his family's ancestral sugar plantation in New Iberia, Louisiana, where he currently resides with his wife and three children. His grandchildren are the eighth generation of his family to grow up on the place, which was occupied by Union troops during the Civil War. He has a bachelor's degree in social studies education and a master's degree in European history. His day job is an instructor at a small safety consultation company. He taught public school for three years and, as a result, no longer fears hell. He can also be found at https://guyestes.weebly.com/
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Reviews

[Helen Desrochers · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was… not good. The story was interesting and I just wish the writing had matched the imagination behind it. Estes was *telling* the story rather than showing it to us- in chapter two, a character was drunk and “sat/fell” onto the couch. The book couldn’t keep my attention and I struggled to get through it. I was bummed because I was so into the idea of Nightshade!

[Brontey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book was just not for me. I dnf’d about 40% in.

The concept was originally what drew me to the book but I feel it wasn’t explored very well. I didn’t feel it had a strong fit in the horror genre.

I think this is due to the writing style, which was very unimaginative and bland. I felt like I was reading a shopping list. There was not much descriptive, active language going on and so unfortunately I got quite bored.

[B · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say, but I didn't find it to be "Horror" genre, Occult, yes. Horror? Not at all. Unfortunately, this book was another miss and just not for me. I couldn't get into the story. The concept is phenomenal though.

Rating:
1.5 rounded to 2

[Karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was….not for me! The idea behind it is what initially drew me to this book, however the execution of this interesting plot was subpar.

Ideally we want to experience a sensory connection to a story. I want to feel like I am there witnessing the story unfold. It felt more like reading an essay.

I was not hooked as I’d assumed I’d be but I will stand by the fact the author has an amazing mind for writing. Their creativity and imagination alone will ensure I give their other books a shot as well. This just wasn’t the one for me.

[David Øybo · Rating 4 out of 5]

So let me be very clear about this - if you are one of those ‘easily offended’ readers, OUT OF THE SHADOWS might simply not be the right book for you. I rarely consider myself being one of those people, but how does this Alabamian author dare to use the image of a ‘…bitter, chain-smoking old lady from Queens…’ negatively??!! YES - as an ardent-New-Yorker-(i.e. NY, NY)-by-choice I was VERY much offended by that. Otherwise, Guy Estes who happens to not only call the ‘Heart of Dixie’ home, but is a true multi-generationally ALA-BA-MAN (sorry I just learned that this is actually a term…) wisely situates the first story of his new ‘CLANN NA MORRIGNA’ series away from his or my home state in a fictional current-day-America town in the (non-fictional in-the-middle-of-nowhere-at-times-battleground) state of Colorado. For his new series, he also abandons the heroic fantasy genre from the ‘Sisters of the Storm’ series he has written previously and ventures into crime/thriller. Therefore, as can be expected from the stories ‘genre’ (and in line with the author showing us some famous ‘Southern hospitality’…) one learns a lot more about guns and their (responsible) handling than I would have expected [and to my very surprise I actually very much enjoyed learning something new here as this ‘teaching’ is very well incorporated in the writing…]. Well, and it is about here where the stereotyping ceases - as the story is mostly told from a Pagan perspective! This is of course unexpected and unique (although for me personally learning about the Pagan cultural aspects was less interesting than learning about the guns … - PLEASE, PLEASE don’t judge me now….). A couple of minor spoilers ahead, so stop reading now if spoilers are not your thing! The love story between the stories two protagonist Honor and Ethan is well developed, as are both characters (although only Ethan is described as a ‘nuclear reactor of rage’ in the end - in my opinion - both fall into this ‘category’). The author’s deep and sensitive understanding of the human natures especially shines through with the bonds Honor and Ethan form to start healing their respective prior traumas. Especially the horrors Ethan had gone through are, at times, emotionally hard to read and most definitely earn themselves a ‘trigger warning’, which in itself speaks for the quality of the writing. Those scenes are written very well and (unfortunately) too realistically (‘unfortunately here’ because a non-realistic writing style would rarely trigger someone and lead to nightmares…). The one character I would have wished to learn a little more about (and again please do not judge me now…) - is actually the ‘bad guy’ whose point-of-view we do experience at times in this ‘multiple-point-of-view’ novel (guess he calls himself the ‘orc’ [that term and the use of ‘elf’ annoyed me a bit - but well the author has written fantasy before…]). Apart from utter insanity there is simply no “understandable” comprehensible motive why the bad guy does what he does - but again this might be actually intentional by the author as this could be revealed in the next installment of the series and I’m eager to read the next ‘Case of a Pagan PI’ which the author will publish. Overall OUT OF THE SHADOWS is a very recommendable stereotype shattering thriller [and for the ‘old ladies from Queens’ … truth behold some of them are real ‘pieces of work’ - but deep, deep down all of them are - as it is the case with Honor (the pagan PI) - real sweethearts!].

[Dave Saari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pagans vs. Christians

“Out of the Shadows” by Guy E. Estes tells the story of a group of friends who live in the fictional town of Nightshade, Colorado, which is home to Tara University and also boasts an unusually high concentration of Pagans. The principal characters include Alexis O’Connor (a professor of anthropology and a Wiccan priestess), Honor MacGregor (a private investigator), Nightshade Police Detective Tiernan Dempsey, and a mysterious newcomer named Ethan Malone. All except the policeman worship Pagan goddesses, and a fair amount of the book is devoted to explaining the background of various Pagan beliefs.

The crux of the story involves a disturbed, self-described “orc” who rages against those he sees as “elves” – unaware of their own privilege, ignorant of the orcs who live among them in the darkness. The bad guy begins by assaulting and defiling University students – first a Pagan, then a Christian, which leads to massive demonstrations led by both Christian and Pagan religious leaders. The violence against Nightshade residents continues to increase, eventually leading to multiple murders. The victims are marked with various symbols, convincing the Christian leaders that the perpetrator is a Satan worshipper, which they erroneously equate with Paganism. Due to their expertise in all things Pagan, Alexis and Honor are hired by the police to delve into the evidence and help find the killer.

The main characters are well-developed. Honor and Ethan both have unresolved issues due to some terrible things that have happened; they struggle to help each other as the story unfolds and they begin to form a bond. Alexis and her mentor, Lauren, are the wise women willing to help all those who seek it, whether Pagan or Christian. In contrast, many of the others in the book seem more like caricatures than realistic characters.

There were moments in the book when I was drawn into the story, but I never really quite got to that “can’t put it down” state. I think the reason was that nobody ever really seemed motivated to solve the case, even as it progressed to ever greater violence and the dead bodies piled up. Alexis and Honor would ask a few questions, discuss things with Dempsey, and then sit around the Pagan bookstore chatting about everything but the case. The police, though supposedly working frantically, never seemed to find any useful leads; they couldn’t even find the killer’s location in the small town after both he and his vehicle were identified.

In summary, I thought the book was well worth the read – it had many interesting aspects and overall good potential. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t quite deliver the goods. I give it three stars.

[Trish Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting pagan take on a serial killer

FYI - below, I briefly describe some of the violence in the book.

Out of the Shadows is a good serial killer story with flashes of action that drew me in and kept me reading. However, I got bogged down with backstory for numerous characters and world-building between those flashes. The author clearly knows a lot about paganism and his own takes on the town where the action is centred, but it would have been more interesting if those details had been tightened up.

The side story of demonic possessions was interesting but did detract from the main plot, as did the continual point-of-view jumping. It might have been more fun if it had been woven into the killer's aims.

I found myself trying to guess who the perpetrator might be before reminding myself that I already knew because the reader is told early on in the book. I would have found it more entertaining if there was a twist accomplice or the killer wasn't revealed until the end.

This is definitely an 18+ novel, and even then could do with a trigger warning in the blurb and the front of the book. Whilst it is listed under Occult Horror, so violence and abuse are to be expected, I recoiled at the detailed descriptions of rape and threatened rape/abuse, and the shooting murders of two young children.

Lastly, the excessive descriptions of the women's body parts in this book are unnecessary. I'm sure men talk and think like that, but no women I know talk about themselves that way. At least the male protagonist listed other traits he admired in addition to the other assets. A couple of situations of that kind of talk would have done the job better.

If you like a good serial killer story with some religious counterpoints as a backdrop, this would be a good one to check out.

[Nico Genes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pagans’ and Christians’ life in Nightshade it’s not always peaceful.

“Out of the Shadows” is an exciting story on the occult side of fiction. Despite being a small town, the Nightshade Police Department had its hands full with multiple crimes against young people and many protests from its citizens. Until recently, the Pagans and Christians seem to live in a certain harmony, despite their different beliefs. That could be true until the moment when the crimes seem to be related to religion. Alexis and Honor are helping the police investigate the crimes.

I felt that three main elements were intertwined: many explanations of Paganism and Christianity, a serial killer investigation, and a love story. I appreciated certain information on the Pagan goddesses, the knowledge I had forgotten or something new to me, and the very realistic comparison between Paganism and Christianity. The love story was credible and proof that traumatic experiences don’t always have to be obstacles to moving on in life and overcoming fear, grief, and anger. However, it is clear that that is never easy, and every individual has their way of suffering and overcoming it, if ever.

I felt certain information was repeated, and the police investigation was somewhere in the back, and because of that, the flow of the story didn’t run smoothly. However, the idea of the plot is an interesting one.

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is hard for me to review with out spoilers, but I will do my best. Frist off I got the book from Netgalley for an honest review. Second this book has a lot of triggers, rape, sexual abuse, torture, causing other harm, metal health problems, religion, police brutality, there problem more and I'm drawing a blank.. With that said this book got to me I really got in to the convocation this book created and i remember sitting with my husband quoting this book at lunch one day with him. With this said it all so made me angary and not that oh i hate the writing more like I hated what the characters had to go though because some of our characters has gone though some terrible things in the past and my heart breaks for the characters even though they aren't real. Now this book is said to be horror and yes their horrifying thing going on I would call it a thriller more then anything person Over all even though this was a slow book for me to read I still felt like this book was a good book and I liked the writing. Over all I gave this book 4 stars out of five

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting mystery centered around Christianity and Pagan culture, with some possession, gun fights and politics all mixed in. I enjoyed reading this book, and it held my attention, but at times, I found the amount of details about the different religions overwhelming. I felt that those tangents really took me out of the story. I liked the characters though and that's what kept me reading until the end. I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a strange read. Nightshade is a town that is populated by Christians and Pagans. After a spate of horrendous attacks each community is blaming each other and the town has become a tinderbox. The police call in the help of a PI known as Red Sonja an Amazonian women who can definitely kick ass. There is also a love story. Pure fantasy and very entertaining.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have faith in this author, okay? The premise of the book is amazing and the characters are all intriguing.

What lost me on occasion was the over-detailing certain scenes. Sometimes the tangent went on a bit too long for my liking.

However, I did still enjoy much of the book and I do see a bright future ahead for this author.

[Divya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a mystery story following the deaths of college students by a serial killer. The story has a religious undertone to it and dwells on some of the aspects of Christianity and Paganism. The book was fast paced but was a bit crude in my opinion. I received a free copy of the book and this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Polly Krize · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book at all. Whether because of the writing or the poorly developed characters, I am unable to give it a good review. Just my opinion.

[AmuletBears · Rating 5 out of 5]

#netgallery

I read this book in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. It kept me hooked from beginning to end. Out of the Shadows is a book I will most definitely be recommending to people.