The Shadow Side
Linda Castillo Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Shadow Side

"

Berkley, Jul 2003, 5.99, 384 pp.
ISBN: 0425191028

Due to a head injury on the job three years ago, Chicago police detective sergeant Adam Boedecker remains on the inactive list. Adam is in no rush to return to work where he knows he will sit at a desk rather than do field work. However, everything changes when his peers inform him that his brother Michael killed his wife and then himself. Adam refuses to believe non-violent Michael who loved his wife could commit such atrocities.

Adam sneaks into his sibling's home, violating a crime scene, to find the only odd thing a prescription for Valazine. He learns that the drug is a miracle worker used to battle depression and its creator Dr. Elizabeth “Eli” Barnes just received a prestigious award for her efforts. He soon finds seven other violent deaths in the past year by users of the drug. Desperate to learn the truth, he travels to Roth Pharmaceuticals to talk with Eli. Skeptical, Eli soon becomes a believer that her magic elixir can trigger violent behavior in otherwise calm peaceful individuals. As the two some fall in love, someone kills her mentor and wants them dead too.

THE SHADOW SIDE is an exhilarating romantic suspense that focuses on the action for much of the plot. The story line is fast-paced and never slows down until the final moment of rescue is completed though a key deliberate act (left vague deliberately by this reviewer) by the villain seems too horrific and out of place. Still fans of romantic suspense starring a female scientist with no social life and a male cop with no life will want to read this thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout.

"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Shadow Side

Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).

Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%

Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
Medical Thriller Yes
Medical Plotlets: - cure/disease
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60%
Kind of investigator - police procedural, American
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
The crook is.... - stalking/killing innocents
Any non-mystery subplot? - feelings towards lover
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets: - vigilante getting revenge
Mostly a criminal POV story Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - hunted by killer/stalker

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - police/lawman
Age: - a teen
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - Swiss
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Midwest

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 5-7
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript

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Linda Castillo

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The Shadow Side
Linda Castillo Book Review