REVIEW: Chasing Shadows by Karen Harper

Chasing Shadows by Karen Harper: This is one of the best books I have read in a while! And talk about a cliffhanger! Wow! A fan of Karen Harper’s novels in the Amish genre, I was excited to see a new and different series of hers.

Harper is quite a talented writer and storyteller. I am already eager for number two in this series!

Claire, the main female character, has quite the interesting career as a forensic psychologist, and as someone who deals daily with a challenging health condition. She is also the single mother of a precious little girl starting preschool. Claire relies heavily on her sister and the sister’s family for help with daughter Lexi when Claire is working or not feeling well. Her ex husband, Lexi’s father, travels frequently as a pilot. Claire meets Nick, an attorney, when she is shot outside a courthouse by a bullet Nick believes was meant for him. Nick helps rescue her, and once she has recovered, gives her an intriguing job proposal. This offer requires the two of them to travel from southwest Florida to St. Augustine.

As a Floridian, it is total fun to read about areas I am familiar with! And having been in St Augustine and Naples again this year, it was double fun! Identifying with the areas that the characters are portrayed in makes the story even more real. Claire is trying to help Nick clear the daughter of a family friend of her mother’s murder, though Claire is unaware of Nick’s even deeper motivation for this case, which lies in his own family’s past. A past that torments him every second and seeks to harm him throughout the story.

Chasing Shadows is chock full of twists and turns. These twists involve Jace, Claire’s ex husband, visiting and making efforts to win Claire’s heart back even though he initiated their divorce in the first place. Nick and Claire also gradually explore their attraction and feelings for each other. This book kept me up both nights over the weekend to finish and find out if Claire was successful in helping Nick clear his friends’ name. And it ends with a very unexpected turn of events that has the reader desperate for the next book in the series! I cannot recommend this book enough!

Book Info:

Publication: November 29, 2016 | Mira | South Shores #1

Every case that Claire Britten cracks is a win, not only professionally but personally. The forensic psychologist has spent a lifetime fighting a neurological disorder, and her ability to conquer it is a testament to her razor-sharp intuition.

Nick Markwood is used to winning in the courtroom, so when his latest case is overthrown by Claire’s expert testimony, he can’t help being impressed by her skill. He needs her on the team of his passion project—investigating unusual cases involving mysterious deaths. Her condition doesn’t deter him, and neither does the attraction that sparks between them…even if it should.

As they join forces to investigate a murder in St. Augustine, Florida, Claire is thrust into a situation far more dangerous than she’d anticipated, pushing her disorder to a breaking point. Just when she fears she can’t trust her own mind, she discovers Nick’s personal connection to the case—and wonders whether she can trust anyone at all.