Moonlight shadows

by Kel Richards

261 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Kevin Barry "Kel" Richards (born 8 February 1946) is an Australian author, journalist and radio personality.

Richards has written a series of crime novels and thrillers for adult readers which includes The Case of the Vanishing Corpse, Death in Egypt and An Outbreak of Darkness.

Richards currently presents ABC NewsRadio's weekend afternoons, which includes regular Wordwatch segments. Wordwatch is a feature introduced by Richards. Initially developed as a "filler" program for the radio programs to allow time for changes of people or locations, it tapped into an interest by the listening public and several books have been produced based on the show's research. In November 2003 the thousandth episode of the show was produced.

Richards can also be heard on ABC Local Radio programs including Nightlife (national) and Evenings in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Reviews

[Philip Hunt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this one from the church lending library because I knew the author once. Kel and I worked on Brisbane radio at the same time, although on different stations. We were also among the small group of broadcasters who were openly Christian. Kel has written a series of crime fictions, this one published in 1994. He tells a good story that unravels in the most important way for this genre, namely, it keeps you reading to see what happens next. At the end there is a crisis and a reveal that you may not see coming. Apart from that, the writing is light and easy, the characters rather thin, and the romance cringe-worthy. Kel has also tried to weave in the Christian message of salvation. A worthy attempt, but it feels out of place, and the dialogue changes in style so that it becomes a sermon, or a religious tract. I'd say Kel was aware of the difficulty in making this work, as he has one of his characters comment on its sermon-like nature.