Author:  Theodore J. Cohen
Publisher:  TJC Press
ISBN:  978-0-9849209-3-8
Pages:  Kindle/EPUB
Genre:  Mystery

Reviewed by:  Gary Sorkin, Pacific Book Review
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Review

From the prolific keyboard of Theodore Jerome Cohen comes the latest of the Detective Louis Martelli series titled Night Shadows.
In this incredibly supposable story, NYPD Det. Martelli and his partner Sean O’Keeffe methodically detangle a simple doubt derived from a clue of a suspicious detail dealing with an apparent drug overdose, into an affluence of evidence using both sophisticated information-based computer investigation techniques coupled with old fashioned police instincts. Absolutely brilliantly thought out, the book takes on a life of its own as it exemplifies the minutia of details based on apparently exhaustive research Cohen puts into his writing.

Moreover, Theodore Jerome Cohen uses his crime-solving mystery genre of storytelling to bring to the public’s attention adversaries in society as the root cause for plausible extraordinary occurrences. In Night Shadows, the emerging trend in child abuse, notwithstanding the Internet’s explosive growth of social media, becomes the catalyst to logical anti-social situations – including murder.

Gripping from the first page, the case in Night Shadows develops with the books structural underpinnings and plot machinations so advanced that even the most savvy of mystery readers will “raise an eyebrow” to the skill used by Cohen.

The dramatic action really starts during the climax when Detective Louis Martelli races to the scene of a suspected murder in progress by putting his rotating red light on the dash and “the pedal to the metal” of his Crown Vic only to quickly slam on the breaks – stuck in NYC traffic. I must admit this is a great juxtaposition of time sequences, building up the urgency along with the challenges in the readers mind in a credible scenario; a tribute to the master storytelling techniques of Cohen’s writing skill.

Ideally suited for a block-buster movie adaptation, as many of Cohen’s novels are, this also can serve well as a companion book for a cross-country flight or a snowy evening’s read. Night Shadows will undoubtedly become one of the best books any reader can pick up and a challenge to put down. As I have read all of the previous books in the Louis Martelli series, Night Shadows stands on its own as a distinct literary work, yet easily assimilated into the mindset of previous episodes without any loss of newness and without a hint of tautology.

Available in electronic format only, there is no reason to wait to read what I guarantee you will love and find yourself praying your battery holds out until the book is finished. Be sure to sit close to an electrical outlet just in case.

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