Shadow of Doubt

Newpointe 911 #2

by Terri Blackstock

A poisoned past. A bitter present. Is Celia a murderer … or a victim? Detective Stan Shepherd lies comatose in the hospital, a victim of arsenic poisoning. The Newpointe police have a Celia Shepherd, Stan’s wife. Celia is no stranger to such charges. When her first husband died of poisoning, a technicality scuttled the case against her and Celia got of scot-free. Now it looks like the same old story—only this time, the motive appears plain. An old flame has moved into town under circumstances bound to raise suspicion. And that’s just for starters. More evidence is gathering that can put Celia away for good. But attorney Jill Clark thinks the pieces of the puzzle fit together a bit too neatly. Either her client’s Christian faith is a sham or she’s the victim of a deadly frame-up—and the real killer is still afoot … Shadow of Doubt is book two in the Newpointe 911 series by award-winning novelist Terri Blackstock. Newpointe 911 offers taut, superbly crafted novels of faith, fear, and close-knit small-town relationships, seasoned with romance and tempered by insights into the nature of relationships, redemption, and the human heart. Look also for Private Justice, Line of Duty, Word of Honor, and Trial by Fire.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Mystery, Christian, Fiction, Suspense, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller

386 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Terri Blackstock is a New York Times best-seller, with over seven million books sold worldwide.. She has had over thirty years of success as a novelist.

Terri spent the first twelve years of her life traveling in a U.S. Air Force family. She lived in nine states and attended the first four years of school in The Netherlands. Because she was a perpetual “new kid,” her imagination became her closest friend. That, she believes, was the biggest factor in her becoming a novelist. She sold her first novel at the age of twenty-five, and has had a successful career ever since.

In 1994 Terri was writing romance novels under two pseudonyms for publishers such as HarperCollins, Harlequin, Dell and Silhouette, when a spiritual awakening prompted her to switch gears. At the time, she was reading more suspense than romance, and felt drawn to write thrillers about ordinary people in grave danger. Her newly awakened faith wove its way into the tapestry of her suspense novels, offering hope instead of despair. Her goal is to entertain with page-turning plots, while challenging her readers to think and grow. She hopes to remind them that they’re valued by God and that their trials have a purpose.

Reviews

[Madelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a whirlwind. This one was even better than the first in the series. More mystery, evidence, reasoning, and logic. Don't get me wrong, the first one was full of that, but this book took it to a whole new level. Terri Blackstock is a definite favorite of mine, and I trust her unwaveringly as a clean Christian author, which is something I don't find very often. Give her a try! You won't be disappointed.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

First audiobook and new author=the new favorite way to take a weekend trip out to Dallas. I couldn't get the first in the series, so with my usual contempt of series order, I grabbed this one. I was immediately interested in Stan and Celia's plight, though I think Aunt Aggie stole the show on multiple occasions...especially her penchant for assault with purse!

This was my first Blackstock; while at times it felt wordy/overly descriptive, and a few characters made me want to knock them upside the head for stupidity (especially Sid), I stayed interested and enjoyed the story.

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

In book two of the Newpointe 911 Series, the focus is on Stan and Celia. What I loved most about this novel was Aunt Aggie.

[JaneReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the character of Aunt Aggie. She is a feisty fighter, I laughed so hard when she used her purse to get herself locked up. Her neice Celia has been accused of poisoning her husband with all the evidence pointing to her. Aunt Aggie is one of the few characters who believed her and stuck by her amid all those who questioned. I felt like the police were lazy and didn't even consider the fact that the evidence seemed too obvious. However, Celia's sneaking around didn't help her at all. She made some pretty dumb moves. I figured out who was setting her up very early on. I liked Stan. Even though he had a brief period of doubt, he was determined to trust what he knew. He was vocal and questioned his coworkers' findings. I was invested in the story and the characters. I enjoyed the faith element and how Celia put her trust in God during a really difficult time. Also, it was fun to catch up with characters from book one.

[Sarita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another fast pace suspense from Terri Blackstock. I really enjoyed this story, though not as much as her other books. It just seemed a bit unreal that everyone will turn on Celia like that, knowing her for 5 years. All the evidence just seemed to good to be true and the police seemed a bit inadequate believing it so easily.

I also guessed the real killer correctly early on as well as one part of the motive.

But, given the above, I still found myself flipping through the chapters to see what is happening.

[Brian McBride · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know if I just really despise the falsely accused trope, but this was one of the most aggravating (though, admittedly, compelling as a result) books I’ve read in a long time. However, there were so many things I took issue with. First and foremost, how little it took for all of Celia’s closest friends and family to doubt her and believe she was capable of what she was accused of. Maybe I’m just loyal to a fault, but if someone I loved and knew closely was accused of a crime, I’d be in firm denial no matter the amount of evidence I’d seen. So to see even Celia’s own husband doubt her, albeit briefly, it was just super frustrating and unrealistic to me. Which brings me to my other qualm: CELIA KEPT MAKING STUPID MISTAKES. Like, if you’re being falsely accused of a crime, stop sneaking around, stop withholding information from your attorney, stop meeting with the other suspect, just STOP. Ugh. I’m rooting for you, Celia, but in this book you had the brain cell count of a horror movie character splitting off from the rest of the group. But the absolute worst part of this book was the ineptitude of the police force. If I hear them say “the most obvious suspect is usually the criminal” one more time, I’m going to blow a gasket. Maybe I just watch too many criminal procedurals, but cops in stories almost always have a gut instinct. Except, apparently, the Newpointe police department. And what is that complete unwillingness to even consider another suspect? How is it nobody could put together that all the super obvious clues were obvious for a reason – that maybe, just maybe, someone was setting Celia up? Not to mention the complete lack of a cohesive motive for most of the story, and then a cobbled together “adultery” motive? Really?

Anyway. The hold plot was just ludicrous and unenjoyable for me because I really do hate this trope. BUT. I devoured the story. It accomplished its goal, which was to compel the reader and had some sweet moments between side characters that will lend to later books in the series I’m sure. In the end, I’ll give this book 3.5 stars because I’m feeling generous.

[Mimmsan · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first I couldn't put it down. But then the main character got really
annoying doing one self incriminating thing after the next.
Also, if she was innoncent, which we have to believe, there is only one suspect, her brother, to choose from. (after learning that her ex-boyfriend was in jail at the time)

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Think I have a new favorite author! The book was full of murder, suspense and romance...but it also had a spiritual side to it as well. If you are looking for thrillers to read by a Christian author, Terri Blackstock books are the ones to read! Can't wait to read the others I have by her!

[Sheila Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! More than the mystery, I enjoyed how Terri Blackstock wrote about the way people gossip and how others so often choose to believe a person is guilty before all the facts are available. The story provides a valuable lesson we all need to learn.

[Christine Indorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

And actual 3.5

Who is responsible poisoning a cop. All sign points to his wife. But it is to perfect. It was a fun ride but to predictable. Still was glad I read it, would recommend!!

[Theresa Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I enjoyed book 1 this one was even better. I adore Aunt Aggie. She is a spunky 81 year old woman. It was wonderful to see her make a decision at the end.

Several reviews criticized Celia for the choices she made and how she was trying to get convicted. However, she did what she felt like was best to find out who was after her husband.

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celia had a first husband they find out now, that died from arsenic poisoning. Second husband in critical condition from arsenic, now listed as attempted murder, also was a Newpointe Police Officer . Rollercoaster of evidence that seemed to continually pop up to point that Celia was guilty.
Those that were around was family and friends. A little long, but interesting to find out who and why.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written whirlwind of suspense.

[Bekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t think Terri Blackstock could top the thrilling story from book 1, but I was wrong. And as always, Terri did a great job weaving Biblical truths throughout the book.

What I Liked: I really liked Celia. I felt so sorry for her when nearly the whole town turned their backs to her and gossip spread throughout the town about her. It reminded me of the power of words and how we so quickly jump to conclusions and assume the worst about other people. I was encouraged to make sure I watch my words and that I don’t make the same mistakes the people in the town did.

There was action around every page and while I was certain things would work out in the end, I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out. I really liked Celia and Stan’s marriage relationship. The trust Stan had in his wife, despite the lies being believed about her, was good to see and even though he wasn’t perfect, his trust in his wife’s love and in Jesus most of all, was good to see.

What I Didn’t Like: There really wasn’t anything that I really disliked about this book.

I give this book 5 stars. This book, as well, is going on my list of favorite books of 2019

[Tamera · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is interesting to me this is rated so high on Goodreads - guess i need to read the reviews for insight. I thought the first book in the series was interesting, and I was interested in the characters especially Jill and Dan, so I went ahead and read the second book. Its an interesting premise that was hinted at in the first book. Stan and Celia are happily married, but she has a mysterious untalked about past since her arrival in town several years ago. Celia and Stan, the only police detective in the small town of Newport, fell in love and married despite her past accusation dismissed by the court of poisoning her previous husband. The book opens with Stan becoming so severely sick, close to dying, and the symptoms reveal he was poisoned with arsenic like her her first husband. Celia realizes whoever framed her for her first husband's death is at it again. God and faith are large elements in this plot, with the town turning on Celia but only a few people believing her claims of innocence. While I believe in God, I am not a bible thumper so some of book comes off as preachy rather than uplifting. I am ok with this, though, since it is inspirational fiction. My problem lied in the unbelievably stupid things all the characters did throughout the book. It was an incompetent police force, which i guess is justified by it being a small town. Then we have Celia acting stupid resulting in making things worse for herself. It was hard to believe no one could figure out why or who was framing Celia, since I knew pretty much as soon as the individual was introduced. There is a crazy plot towards the end to expose the killer, and all i could think was how unrealistic the whole plot was at this point. On top of this, all the female characters seem to constantly be crying. I don't get it.

I think the next book is Jill and Dan, so I will try it out but I think i may be done with Terri Blackstock personally. I don't like her female protagonists - they seem weak, albeit faithfully strong, cry throughout the book, and really make poor decisions. I love the message of books, but I don't think the author is for me. I have enjoyed seeing the slow turn around of Aunt Aggie, and I wonder about Issie.. but again, Issie seems to bring trouble to herself so I suspect she will annoy me in her own book.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

It takes a gift to spin a story so compelling, intriguing, and inspirational. I was not disappointed.

For me A Shadow of Doubt tackled the nagging issue of gossip. Blackstock set the story in a small town, planted a gossip seed, and let her cast of characters run with it. Absolutely nothing came across as contrived. Even police officers. No one was immune to gossip's power.

If I could give a 10 out of 5 stars for this very well crafted story, I would.
An absolute must read. Highly recommended.

[Jeannie E. Hennig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read.

As usual, I enjoyed this book by Terri Blackstock. She keeps your interest all the way through to the end. And I never have to worry about coming across foul language or steamy hot sex scenes. All her books are based on Christianity and her love of the Lord and his book. I read her books over and over again.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book by Terri Blackstock! Stan Sheppard is poisoned and everyone in town thinks that his wife Celia is the guilty person. Even her Pastor thinks she is guilty for a short time. Celia's lawyer and friend develops a plan to draw the killer out and it just explodes from there. I really enjoyed this book!

[Literary Strawberry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this on a road trip. Passed the time. We figured out who did it almost right from the beginning (story-wise, there was really only one person it could be), and the cops were pretty incompetent, but it was reasonably enjoyable. It helped keep the driver awake at the wheel when we were on the road past midnight, and that's what's really important.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great suspense book. Terri Blackstock gave clues along the way about the attempted murder. It was one of those books you did not want to put down. This is the second book in the Newpointe 911 series.

[Chris Unwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a page turner mystery thriller. Loved the book. I've had this book on my Kindle for ages and can't believe it took be so long to read this author. This is the second book in the series. The first was good but this even better!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very faithfilled story. Main characters are police officers and fire fighters. Jealousy fuels the plot.

[Carolyn E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story by Terri Blackstock. I love her books.

[Suzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this series want to read again!

[Josh Olds · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terri Blackstock has been a banner name in Christian fiction for over twenty years. I’ve found some of her books riveting and some of her books lacking. Recently, I decided to go back to some of her older books that I’d never read and see how her stories and writing style had changed and progressed. I started with Newpointe 911, a five-book series published between 1998-2003, that focuses on a group of first responders, their families, and way more drama than you’d expect from a small town.

In Private Justice, we were introduced to the small town of Newpointe, Louisiana, and its emergency workers. In that book, Detective Stan Shepherd was the one who cracked the case and hunted down the killer. In Shadow of Doubt, he’s the one being targeted. Worse, his wife Celia is the prime suspect.

The police do have their reasons. Stan’s been poisoned with arsenic and Celia’s first husband was murdered by arsenic poisoning. Not only that, but Celia had been arrested for the murder before getting off on a technicality. She moved to Newpointe, where nobody knew her, fell in love with Stan, and started her life over.

As Stan clings to life, Celia desperately protests her innocence. Unfortunately, the facts keep lining up against her. It’s all circumstantial, but it’s quite compelling (almost too compelling, one might think). The drama over the false accusation is compelling, but the police work is bumbling at best. The mystery isn’t as compelling because we know it wasn’t Celia and Blackstock offers no great alternatives until the book’s end—which is when things really get wild.

Things come to a head when Celia tries to sneak into Stan’s room to see him. She’s caught. And *gasp* it’s discovered that someone put arsenic in Stan’s IV bag. Stan insists it wasn’t Celia. Celia insists it wasn’t her. But it’s not exactly a good look for the suspected murderer to visit the victim and then the victim almost die again.

Celia is her own worst enemy at every turn, withholding information, acting incriminatingly, refusing to cooperate with the investigation. The police are less-than-competent, jumping to conclusions and refusing to consider alternatives. (But you know, that part might be accurate.) It moves the plot along, but it’s an incredibly frustrating read. Blackstock makes it so obvious to the readers that when the characters don’t pick up on it, you have to assume they’re a bit dense.

The plot to uncover the real killer is absolutely bonkers non-sensical. I was willing to say that this book was just average and a product of its time until this twist. Spoilers ahead. Celia is imprisoned, but they think they have a sure-fire way of testing to see if she’s the real killer: let her go and either she’ll try to kill Stan again or the real killer will try to set her up for the murder. They can’t just release an alleged killer for no reason, so they arrange for Aunt Aggie, Celia’s aunt, to fake her death so that Celia can petition to attend the funeral. (Aggie has been an important background character in the series.) They’ll monitor Stan and catch whoever tries to kill him in the act.

Somehow this works. The real killer—Celia’s brother, jealous because Celia was always the favorite—attempts to kill Stan one more time, setting Celia up once again to take the fall. Except…why would he try to murder Stan again if his motive is simply sending Celia to prison? She’s already assumed guilty. It baffles the mind. It’s a low-budget soap opera twist and it’s just silly.

This one was my least favorite of the five Newpointe books. Most of them are just mediocre, but this one was actually bad.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this book a 3.5 if I could have because the Gospel was so clearly presented. I really appreciate Terri's efforts to do that! On the other hand I was quite disappointed with this book. I really enjoyed the first book in the series and was looking forward to this one. Some of the things that disappointed me in the book are as follows: The general idea of the plot was a good one, but the way it was developed was pretty thin. I had the villain and motive picked soon after that character was introduced. Even as a sub-amateur sleuth, I picked up on some of the obvious flaws in the "evidence" that was being presented, while supposedly seasoned and trained Police officials in the book accepted them without question. In general, the Police was depicted as being inept. I grew up in a small town and understand about gossip, but I also know that there are also good and wise people who guard against it and disregard it and stand by their principles despite gossip that didn't seem to happen in the book. The way supposed friends and church members so readily turned on the main character was disheartening to me. I know about "fair-weather" friends, but I also know that there are good friends who will stick by you through thick and thin. To finish my wee rant, I was disappointed at the way the preacher was presented as being so weak, inept and indecisive. I think the author's desire was to present him as being human, a "regular guy" and not a spiritual super-hero, but in doing so I felt she demeaned his calling and the leadership qualities needed to be a Pastor. I fully agree that church leaders don't always know what to do in some situations, but in the book there were some things that should not have been up for debate (e.g. the gossip and accusations allowed in the prayer meeting, not visiting the main character, not visiting the victim, etc.) In my opinion, this was not one of Terri's better efforts!

[Adam Blumer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Blackstock. What a fun read! Even though it's an older novel of hers, I enjoyed reading it. It has more to do with relationships and the strains of the investigation on people (along with related gossip) than with the actual solving of the crime. Which is fine, but I did get a little weary of the endless drama of Celia and whether she was guilty and why everyone was so mean to her by rushing to judgment. Even the people at her church weren't so nice. The local police weren't much better. Surely she was innocent; otherwise, why so much time spent on why everyone thought she was guilty? But she did some pretty silly and illogical things that only made her situation worse, so sometimes I lost patience with her and wondered when she'd screw her head on.

Jill's romantic thread seemed a bit tacked on, with little reason to be there other than to throw some romance into the story. Keep in mind that I'm not a romance reader, so I rushed through these unimportant parts. The crime is the story.

I was very happy that Blackstock took the opportunity to shine the light of Christ on the situation with overt faith elements you simply don't see very often in Christian fiction today (if at all). I already knew who the killer was by the grand reveal, but it was still a fun read. Deftly written and carefully plotted, this is worth a read for sure. I think, however, that Blackstock has evolved a bit in her technique since she wrote this one. Her newer books are better crafted and tighter. This was a clean read; I didn't notice anything objectionable. So if that's what you're going for, you'll be happy with this one.

[Sofia Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical Celia: "Celia reached for a tissue next to the bed and blew her nose. "I read about all those martyrs in the Bible who walked into furnaces and lions' dens and were crucified and beaten and beheaded... and I kept wishing that I had some greater purpose for my suffering, too. ... But there isn't any grand purpose here, Allie. There's no greater good. It's all just a mistake.""

Celia's husband had died of arsenic poisoning. And she was accused - though not convicted. And just when Celia thought the nightmares were over, her second husband gets poisoned too. Who is the killer and why would he want to do this to her again? Doesn't anybody believe that she's innocent?

"Shadow of Doubt" is not only a mystery, but a Christian one. Throughout the story, Celia learns to trust God with the battle instead of trying to do fight it herself.

I wasn't ready for the length of the book -370 pages - and would have liked a faster-paced novel. However, I'm not the targeted audience, which would probably find the length acceptable. The story is told from multiple points-of-views. About halfway through I thought about it, figured out who the murderer was, and later had the satisfaction of saying "told ya." I wasn't prepared for how smart he was, though.

This is the second in the Newpointe 911 series. The first is "Private Justice" and the rest are "Word of Honor," "Trial by Fire," and "Line of Duty."

[Coralie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 2 in the Newpointe 911 series.

Well, it's no secret that I adore Terri Blackstock. This book leaves me with no different opinion. The title was extremely fitting. The characters battled with doubting and maintaining faith in the suspect, a dear friend to many of them. Doubt is something that tickles in the back of your mind, it slips in; it's not a brick wall that just hits you in the face. But just a tiny bit of doubt is enough to tint your opinions and views, which will affect your actions.

Terri Blackstock has expertly woven a new story in her Newpointe 911 series. This story surrounds Celia and Stan Shepherd. The recurring characters continue to develop and we get to peek into Allie and Mark's restored relationship too. I loved the plot and, of course, I love the characters. The setting feels so authentic to me, but I wouldn't really know any different if I were honest. I particularly enjoy the small town atmosphere; now that I can attest to. Overall, wonderful addition to my library!

[Randy Tramp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detective Stan Shepherd lies comatose, a victim of arsenic poisoning. His wife Celia is the prime suspect.

What a great cast of characters. Lawyer Jill Clark stands by Celia, even when the evidence continues to build against Celia. Aunt Aggie, a feisty eight-year-old also sticks by Celia. (Everyone needs an Aunt Aggie)

What I found so interesting is the reaction of all the other characters. People by nature are judgmental. No difference in this book.

The mystery of "who done it," continued throughout the entire book. The way the reveal could only be described as "brilliant." In all the books I've read, I've never seen this tactic.

The action continued throughout the entire book causing me to look forward to the next book in this series.