Chasing Shadows by Matthew J Evans

 

322 pages

You can buy Chasing Shadows...Here

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• The Blurb...

You've never met a detective like DI Angelis before. Where The Police Procedural meets The Supernatural

Detective Inspector David Angelis investigates the gruesome murder of a friend and neighbour and uncovers a conspiracy in which he is at the centre. But they’ve got something very wrong about him, and his newfound abilities are not what they seem to be. Angelis exposes the dark world of designer drugs and the deadly psychopath they have created.

Chasing Shadows is the first in a police procedural crime thriller series with a supernatural twist like no other.

• Our Review..

Stepping out of my comfort zone of bog standard real-life type crime thrillers we have Chasing Shadows. Where our protagonist David Angelis after being horrifically injured in the line of duty as a police officer is in a coma when in a last throw of the dice he becomes a candidate for a new radical drug trial. Cue two years later and David is now back on the job with a promotion but he is now blessed with "special powers" including, but not limited to, mind control and being able to tell when someone is lying. When people connected to the unethical drug company begin dying David is drawn into the investigation and is on the trail to find how he developed his powers. 

Should someone with his powers be allowed to live? After all he could, if so wished, rule or even destroy the world. Why would someone with such incredible power be happy being a copper in Chichester of all places. Is David the only one? To this end a shadowy-Governmenty-Agenty woman is tracking his every move.

The story is told partly in first person (David) with the remainder told in third person.

Initially I struggled to track the large number of characters introduced early on but by halfway I got hold of it. One point that came to my mind was that if David has all the powers then it is a bit of a mismatch when catching the crims in this novel, even the ones jacked up on rage inducing, strength enhancing meds, It would be like Man City v Boreham Wood. He needs someone his equal to battle. There are more books in the series so the Magneto to David's Professor X may yet emerge. 

Its the sort of story I would have loved as a youngster. It has lots of special powers,  Marvel hero type stuff. I think I would describe the tale as YA with a hard, adult, religious,  battle between good and evil spine through it. And who doesn't love the eternal battle between good and evil, darkness and light. From Moses and the Pharoh, Gandalf and Sauron, King Arthur and Mordred through to Skywalker and Darth Vader it is literally a tale as old as time.  

It is a very unusual and interesting book, unusual to me at least. I dont know if the author has perfected it but he is definitely onto something with this Prime Suspect/Constantine type mash up. It will leave you pondering this world (and the next.)

Oh and the twist is a little rip-snorter!

• Selected Quotes...

"I sense people are hurting everywhere I go. It’s background noise, like the rumble of traffic. I’ve learned to push it away, but sometimes I can’t. I just wish the gift or curse I received had the power to take that hurt away."

"I didn’t think I was a religious man, but I’ve seen such darkness today. I need to step into the light again. I look around, and I’m struck by the silence. This is one of those thin places. I’m wondering if the people praying over the centuries have punctured a million holes between heaven and Earth. Is that how it works?"

"I’m looking at Martina now, and I’m getting the darkness, the violence and anger. It’s exuding from every pore of her skin."

• If You Like This Then You May Like...

Constantine by John Shirley

Later by Stephen King

Lucifer by Mike Carey/Neil Gaiman

Midwinter of the Spirit by Phil Rickman

• About The Author...

I’m a crime author living near Chichester, West Sussex, UK. My novels are usually set in locations close to my home, and this is an area of Sussex that I love and know well. I’ve served many years here as a police officer, and I now use this experience to help me write crime fiction.

I have so far published three crime thriller books in the DI Angelis Crime Thriller series: Chasing Shadows, Hide Her Away, and Take You Home. All are available on Amazon Kindle and in paperback. These novels are dark police procedurals with a strong supernatural element that distinguishes them from other police crime thrillers.

I first tried my hand at crime writing during the COVID pandemic. As a result, in 2021, I published my first novel, Chasing Shadows. My policing experience helped me write true-to-life police procedures in my novels, with a fictional balance to keep the action moving. (from matthewjevans.co.uk)

(photo is Matthew with his son Zac)