An Evil Shadow

Val Bosanquet Mysteries #1

by A.J. Davidson

True Detective fans should read this book, the first of the Val Bosanquet mystery series. Val, a former New Orleans detective, is offered a job as Chief of a campus PD. A Haitian child killer he helped convict for the murder of her mother has just been enrolled at the university. Val stumbles across new evidence. Corporate corruption and Voodoo make for a volatile mix in the Deep South.

Genres: Mystery, Ebooks, Fiction, Amazon, Mystery Thriller

ebook

First published March 3, 2010

About the author

AJ Davidson is a traditionally published author and playwright, who, in Spring 2010, made the switch to Indie. He is keen to explore the potential of a rapidly changing publishing world, and is enjoying the closer contact with his readers that e-books afford. Currently writing his first horror story.

AJ has a degree in Social Anthropology. Married for 38 years, he has two children, a Beagle called Bruce, and Dusty, a very mean cat.

Not one for staying long in the same place, AJ has lived in many countries across several continents. He has worked as a pea washer, crane-driver, restaurateur and scriptwriter.

A member of the ITW.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even though I chose this for the "E" in the title because I needed a book with that letter for a challenge I need to finish by the end of July, I figured I would rather have the shame of not completing it than gnash my teeth on characters I cannot stand and I find utterly ridiculous. I feel nauseous how the main character does not even have an iota of self-respect, but to suck up to his bimbo ex? wife. So I am expected to have some honor for this cop's agenda? Or his buddy who is a member of this stupid trio love triangle. The storyline idea was hopeful, but it cannot make up for an intense dislike for everyone in the book. I hate I even read to the 1/4 mark. Thankful it was free. No stars!

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed parts of this book, a thrilling police mystery combined with Haitian history which I found interesting.
BUT I have to say the spelling mistakes distracted me and it got complicated with the amount of people to keep track of.
I hope the rest of the series is edited better and not so hard to follow.

[Sheila Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of crime fiction in which the investigator goes at a case with a lone wolf attitude and breaks all of the established procedures even if there are compelling reasons for him to do so. That being said, I did enjoy "An Evil Shadow". AJ Davidson did a good job of pulling together various plot elements to write a story that kept me interested until the very end of the book.

[Glenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good action book, no profanity or needless sex scenes and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I want to read more in this series.

[Patt Lisenbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Evil Shadow

I'm not one for telling spoilers of a story, so if you want that, read a different review. This was a good story, just not a favored genre. You might enjoy it, so try.
My only complaint is that the book needs another edit for grammar in the wrong words every few pages, and extra -spaced paragraphs. They are correct in some areas, but not in others. That would help the readability of the book.
Taborri Walker, author of the Earth Maid series on Amazon

[ukkindlecustomer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corporate Evil and Bad People

Ignore the odd typo and simply enjoy the strong plotline containing numerous twists and well drawn characters on both sides of the law, not afraid to do whatever it takes.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story line. Typos in the ebook a little off putting.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

"An Evil Shadow" is a very good police thriller. The primary characteristic of this book is entertainment, but I also learned much I didn't already know about Haiti and Voodoo. Until the last several chapters, the story moves at a perfect pace and most of the characters are well developed. The weak development of Angie's character is one of the exceptions, and the pace seems to be a little rushed at the end. The rapid, but unexplained, change in Val's and Angie's relationship at the end is one specific example of rushing the pace. Obviously, this change was necessary to accommodate other books in the series, but a reasonable, believable explanation would have been a nice addition. If these problems had been fixed, I might have given the book 5 stars. The Kindle version needs another proofreading, but except in a few cases,the errors don't detract from the story or conceal the intended meaning. The print version may not have these glitches, but since I much prefer to read on my Kindle, both for the convenience and the lower price, the rare editing glitch is an acceptable tradeoff for me. I enjoy reading many of the new authors made available through the low cost of Kindle Direct Publishing, but it was a pleasure to be in the hands of a true professional writer for a change. It was obvious even from the first chapter that this book was written by an experienced author and not another struggling beginner. Many playwrights make novels sound like play scripts, but Mr. Davidson seems to be skilled at both crafts. I applaud and appreciate his move from traditional to electronic publishing. I've added several more of his books to my wish list, and look forward to many more hours enjoying his work.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the first installment of the Val Bosanquet Mystery series by AJ Davidson, An Evil Shadow, we were introduced to his wild and wacky world. Set in New Orleans, Louisiana, Valentino "Val" Bosanquet was a former NOPD detective and lost his finger, a decade ago, to one of his cases. When his brother Marcus asked him to step in to be the interim security chief for the University of New Orleans, when Marie Duvall, a young Haitian girl who lost her mother due a brutal crime, she was accused of the crime. He needed to step in to protect, though he had his druthers. Along the way, he dealt with his soon to be ex-wife, who was in love with his brother, dirty cops and other nefarious types of people who didn't want him to stand in the way of their schemes. He would stop at nothing to get to the both of it.

[Sara Bartlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mystery requiring concentration to link all the Haitian history an political links of the past, the plot was good. not an exceptional book, needs editing to correct the typos. These types of errors really detract from reading, demotes professional standing g of the work. I searched for information about the author, curious about all the typo errors in the book. This author has gone to INDIE books whatever that means, the book was created on CreateSpace and is free. I guess you get what you pay for!

[Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Val Bosanquet is a New Orleans police officer who saw that a young Haitian girl was convicted of the ax murder of her mother, but it seems that may be wrong. She wants to go to college, and Val changes jobs, going to work for the University Police Department. All along the way, people are getting murdered, and otherwise killed. His ex-wife, who is now involved with his brother, thinks that she might like to get back together with him. Problems, problems. This must be part of a series, since it is titled, Val Bosanquet Mystery #1.

[Pheebz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a good story line, and parts of it were well thought out.Your Editor, failed you miserably.Sorry about that A.J. You deserved better.Parts of the story were captivating,the characters,were well developed. However, there were a few that were left blowing in the wind.All in all it was a interesting read,and the story line could have been great with the right Editor. You get an A for effort, your editor gets an F-.Don't be discouraged,hang in there and I wish you the very best in the future.

[Wanda Hartzenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good premise, very well researched which impressed me from a 2 star toward a 3 star rating, however;
Soelling, even syntax mistakes distracted me soo much it actually impacted my reading time. Yes the plot is good, predictable but nonetheless good. However some character formations were brilliant while surprisingly the main character is hardly developed and shows little growth.

I know my review sound very negative but this author needs a good line editor and a few beta readers to challenge the predictability and I believe this will be an author to keep your eye upon.

WaAr

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of the most forgettable books i've read recently. I finished it this afternoon and there is absolutely nothing that jumps out at me as something i'll remember beyond the point where i begin another book. The plot was a jumble of murders, voodoo, and cops of all types. The main character is a college campus police chief that acts nothing at all like real campus cops. On the scale of law enforcement offices, campus cops generally rate just above mall cops. This one acted like he was NSA or FBI. Stupid. I hope the next book is better.

[Ingrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept and plot but it didn't draw me in. It was difficult for me to stay interested. The relationship with Val and Angie and Marcus was nauseating to me, the story was a bit too predictable, and Marie seemed like a temperamental child at times. But above and beyond that, the grammar and spelling was atrocious! Somebody needs to fire their editor. Some phrases I had to read more than once because the way they were worded did not make any sense. Another series in which I have ended the relationship after a single book.

[Tamara aka SoMysteriousLee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give it a MEH. I see others have noticed and noted the typo's, that was distracting. Over all, just not my type of story, typical predictable cop story. I was hoping it would be a different non-predictable cop story. I did give 3 stars cuz it was free, so feel I didn't lose anything other than 2 hours of my afternoon.

[R.L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A girl who supposedly killed her voodoo witch mother and spent time in J jail is out and wants to attend college. The Haiti mafia seem at once to be fascinated with her and want to kill her. The detective who testified against her is up against it trying to decide to keep her safe, and now has doubts about her role in the slaying.

[Black Butterfly · Rating 2 out of 5]

WAAY TO MANY CHARACTERS TO KEEP UP WITH, REALLY GOT CONFUSING & BORING AFTER AWHILE. MIND BOGGLING! YA' NEED A F*CKIN" SCORE CARD!! ONE THING HAITI IS DOOMED BECAUSE OF OVER-THE-TOP-CORRUPTION. THIS MAY HAVE BEEN FICTION BUT I THINK IT MIRRORS THE TRUTH. SAD! ;< I DID LIKE THE COVER THOUGH.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book and I look forward to reading more in the series. The reason I only gave 3 stars was the fact that there were numerous typographical errors. Thorough proofreading would be in order in the future.

[Tif Mulally · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I enjoyed the premise of the book, I found that the book read rather slow. I also found that some of the supporting characters were not developed very well- I had to keep going back to remind myself who was who.

[Jeannine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have enjoyed this Kindle book more if it had less typos and grammatical errors. There were so many that it was very distracting. I thought the plot was a little shaky but I liked it enough to read more in this series.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome read about corporate greed and political corruption set against the backdrop of New Orleans. Rich in New Orleans culture - this was a great murder mystery that left you guessing until the last page.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this as a cheap read on my e-reader and had no expectations going into it. Thought it would be a good summer read and was pleasantly surprised by the writing. I will try another and see if Davidson keeps it up.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it was an interesting plot premise with some voodoo and the setting of New Orleans flavoring the storyline. A lot of characters to keep track of, too. A couple of plot holes made this a little less satisfying than it could have been.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Kindle mystery was worth reading. Yes, there were many characters to keep track of, voodoo terms that I had to look up on my e-reader, and a mystery to be solved. I'll be reading more books in this series.

[John Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished it last week. This author can really tell a story.Had me enthralled from the off and keeps the reader guessing with some great twists.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very oool

[Joanne Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story line is good but it was difficult to read due to all the grammatical/spelling errors. The editor needed to pay more attention.

[Uwe · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting with the haiti/vodoo connection and an ex cop involved. Wait for the second book of the Val series to read ......

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thriller, set in New Orleans after Katrina. Lots of twists and turns, interesting characters with more than a few red herrings. A good read.