Shadow Men by Edward Kendrick

Title: Shadow Men
Author: Edward Kendrick
Cover Artist: Reece Dante
Publisher: Silver Publishing
Genre: action/adventure
Length: 49K

Two men, Rafe de Lorca and Steele Reid, are committed as deeply to their job as they are in their love for each other. Trained in espionage, they are killers by necessity and patriots by choice. Betrayed by the very people they work for and on the run, will they manage to survive, or will those who are after them prevail?

Espionage agent Anders must protect Grant Eastman and his son, Nicky, after Grant discovers information vital to national security. Teamed with a third man, they attempt to get the information into safe hands while trying to elude those who would kill them to retrieve it.

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I’m coming at this book as a fan of both Jason Bourne and James Bond, and also as a John le Carre and Eric Ambler reader. I’m willing to be thrilled, can tolerate a high body count, and think sexytimes after the chase ends is perfect. I also like to know what’s at stake.


Rafe and Steele belong to some undefined but well-funded and well-staffed government espionage agency. They are deeply committed to each other and make a formidable team, being able to out-shoot, out-sneak, outwit, and out-maneuver 98% of their colleagues. A good thing, because once they locate the prized information, they have to elude everyone in their quest to bring this information to people who will act on the knowledge.

What’s important enough to make Rafe and Steele kill their former associates, who may or may not be untrustworthy or only believing information given to them by their superiors? Your guess is as good as mine—the blurb is almost as detailed as the book on that score. The fade to black issue is very visible here—they have the documentation but don’t share with the readers.

Little details that should bring the action to life get the same treatment, like this:

"Help me. Let me in before they find me."
"Who are you?" Steele called out.
"{name redacted}."
"Prove it."
The man spoke three words, paused, and then added a short phrase.

This disrupts the rhythm of the scenes and unfortunately feels sloppy, like the author didn’t spend the effort to invent something convincing.

Rafe and Steele are alive on the page though—they banter, kiss, bind wounds, and defend each other across countries and continents in their patriotic effort to stop whatever is going on. They are an established couple, and their devotion to each other and to their country is one of the book’s very brightest spots.

At about the halfway point, focus switches to Grant and Anders. Grant’s stumbled into this mess by trying to do the right thing, and the agency is still a house divided—Grant can only determine which side to trust by the direction of the shooting.

Anders is another good man—he’s as committed as Rafe and Steele to bringing the unnamed malfeasance to an end and while Grant is freaked out about participating in the operation, he’s also noticing Anders as a man. The tension between them is thick, whenever they have a lull in the action, but Grant’s been widowed once and isn’t in the market for sex as tension relief only. Their back-away-closer dance produced some tension on its own.

The story has a low heat rating for the sex, which is fine; a lot of on screen humping and moaning would sit uneasily in the middle of the mounting body count, and I’m assigning it a high rating for sexual tension, which is also fitting. The book should also have a very high tension rating over “What made this all worth it?” which is not so okay—it kept me from being invested in the good guys’ success for any other reason than because they’re the good guys. “Bad men are bad” seems to be the rest of the reasoning, and considering the substantial carnage, that’s not enough.

Trying to manage the conventions for both action/adventure and for romance in the same story produced a compromise that stepped all over one of the best action/adventure elements, and inadvertently smashed an extremely romantic element, IMHO, although I’m sure others might disagree with me on this. Even so, the author managed to balance everything except for the reader knowing why the victory was worth the cost. 3.5 marbles

A Blog Hop excerpt from Edward Kendrick

Edward Kendrick, another of our Colorado authors, has a little snippet from a work in progress that went with one of the Thousand Word Thursday Pics.

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“Why don’t you look around while I have a few words with Juste,” Dilys told Tien.

Tien took the hint and strolled down one of the aisles, stopping when he found the section dedicated to the paranormal. Pulling out a book that looked intriguing he began to thumb through it, found an interesting story and began to read. He got lost in it, so when Juste tapped his shoulder he jumped, almost dropping the book. Embarrassed, he shoved it back where he found it.

“Dilys is ready to leave,” Juste informed him, a smile quirking his lips up. 

When Juste didn’t move Tien frowned, started to turn to go the other way, and realized the aisle dead-ended at a wall.

Juste chuckled and stepped aside, saying softly, “You’re welcome to come back any time.”

Wondering what game Juste was playing, Tien decided he wouldn’t go there so he replied, “Maybe I will. You have some interesting books here.”

“Good. Always like to have new, happy customers.”

Again Juste was watching him as he had earlier in the office. And again Tien wasn’t certain what to make of his scrutiny. It certainly couldn’t be for the reason he was thinking. Not from a man as gorgeous as Juste, a man who probably had all his female customers eating out of his hand.

Tien inched past him, more than ready to find Dilys and get out of the store before he let his imagination get the better of him. A hand landed on his shoulder and he froze.

“Here, take this with you so you can finish it.” Juste held out the book Tien had been reading.

“I can’t afford…”

“I’m loaning it to you.” Juste smiled as he waited for Tien to take it.

“Thank you,” Tien whispered. He practically grabbed the book, ignoring the spark of desire he felt when their fingers brushed. Tucking it under his arm he walked quickly to where Dilys stood, let her know he was there and when she placed her hand on his arm he led her out of the store without a backward glance.

“Be careful around Juste,” Dilys said once they were safely on the sidewalk.

Lying through his teeth he replied, “He doesn’t seem all that dangerous.”

“Tien, believe me when I say he can be very dangerous, in a variety of ways. He is after all a Loup Garou.”

“He has no reason to come after me,” he muttered.

Dilys laughed softly. “Unless I miss my guess he might have every reason to come after you. He’s quite partial to men.”

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Edward has a new release coming!  An Honorable Man will be out Saturday, June 16, just in time for Father's Day.

Paxton, a forensics scientist whose wife has deserted him and their twin sons, becomes embroiled in trying to catch a serial killer when the boys discover a human finger-bone while rock-hunting. As more bodies turn up, and his housekeeper takes temporary leave, Paxton turns to Jordon, the boys’ grade school teacher, to watch them after school.

 

There is only one problem, Paxton and Jordon were lovers before Paxton married. Now, with his wife gone for the past two years, Paxton finds he still has feelings for Jordon, feelings which may be reciprocated. For the sake of his sons who hope their mother may someday return home, and his own belief that she might, he fights to be an honorable man.

 

 Get updates on Edward's news here at his blog.