The Shadows we Hide Review

By: Ezra Rowekamp-Ambs

The Shadows we Hide is by Allen Eskens and the protagonist Joe Talbert is a journalist for the Associated Press in Minneapolis. Joe gets himself into a little bit of trouble and this forces him to step away from work. He takes this opportunity away from work to look into the death of a man who shared the same name as him. Is this man the father he never knew? The book is mystery themed with deep emotional values as Joe goes on a journey while digging back into his traumatic childhood.

The book is the second of three in the series, however, readers don’t need to read the first book, The Life we Buried, to understand the plot of this novel. To give a sample of the style of the book here’s a quote from the first chapter: “I’m lying on the hood of my car, my back reclined against my windshield, knees bent, fingers laced together on my stomach, my breathing relaxed to ease the throb of pain”. It’s told from the first person perspective of Joe and the author's writing is very detailed and descriptive. The reason I chose this book is due the fact that I received a recommendation from a person who reads many books, so this one is known to be a standout.

What I liked most about this story was the depth of the characters and how they developed throughout the story. A great example is Lila, Joe’s girlfriend, who is my favorite character. Throughout the story she is juggling many different struggles with her job, her past traumas that get brought up because of Joe’s investigation and her upcoming bar exam. Her dealing with all this brings trouble to their relationship but the way they change and battle through it is great. I like the mystery factor because the suspense keeps the pages turning. Breaking down the scenes there were a lot of moments that were tense because it had harsh but meaningful moments.

When it comes to the things I don’t like about the book, if I had to pick something it would be how it wrapped up, it felt perfect. This is definitely nit picking because overall it was a great story but it’s important to see both sides.

Readers that enjoy hard hitting emotional stories would like the novel. They get to see Joe confront his past and find out who he is. Also there is a mystery theme so readers that like mysteries would love it. Overall I rate the book four stars out of five. I highly recommend this book and I’m thankful it was recommended to me so you should take the opportunity.