Garner lives on the New Jersey coast with her 14-year-old daughter, Temple, and is trying to recover from being abandoned by her latest significant other. Temple has been reunited with her long absent father and Garner is suffering from the onset of a mid-life crisis.

Deciding to give up writing, she is focusing her attention on a multitude of "projects." One project is renovating her inherited home in Spring Lake in order to sell it. It was in Spring Lake nearly thirty years before that Garner and her best friend Lara Spangler became "blood best friends" in a midnight ceremony. A week later Garner's father sent her off to boarding school and Lara Spangler was killed by her father.

The crime had been incredibly grotesque. Gordon Spangler murdered his wife, three children and his mother. A bizarre note containing his confession was found at the scene. He had explained to townspeople that they were leaving town for a while so it was six weeks later before the bodies were found. Gordon was long gone. There were "sightings of him through the years similar to the "Elvis" ones.

Spangler reenters Garner's life by way of a telephone call from T.J. Sterling, an author who has fallen from glory to being one of the most notorious sleaze writers. Sterling, trading on charm and friendship, has a history of ingratiating himself with target celebrities, and then telling all. Betrayed, many of them sued and his reputation became established. Garner is thus wary when he proposes dinner and lures her there with the promise that he has found the infamous Gordon Spangler.

In trade for the information Sterling wants Garner to intervene with her editors to help reestablish him as a credible writing force. He tells her only that Spangler is in Virginia. Garner wants to tell the FBI but promises to give him three weeks to set things up. But by the time the deadline expires Garner is attending Sterling's funeral. The police are calling it suicide but Garner suspects Spangler and the hunt is on. It gets more serious when an attempt is made on her life.

Although this is clearly not the first Quinn book, the author does an excellent job creating multi-dimensional and memorable characters for the first time reader. This is done effortlessly and with a great deal of humor. The pace is fast and the dialogue is believable and moves the plot along in a logical and lyrical manner.

But what makes Shadow Walk such a good read are the numerous twists and turns as one carefully crafted perception after another evaporates.

--Thea Davis