Review of THREE DEADLY SHADOWS by Teel James Glenn

BooksForABuck.com, June 2015

Jon Shadows doesn't put up with a lot of bull. When he and his date run into a murder in process, Shadows does his best to help the victim but is content to turn things over to the police. When the killers come after him and his beautiful girlfriend, that's when it becomes personal. But why are they gunning for Shadows when he's just in New Orleans on a tourist visit? Back in New York, a simple bail bond case escalates into a brutal confrontation when Shadows confronts a wife-beating neo-Nazi. And then, in his most dangerous case yet, Shadows vows to find the truth about the death of one of his fellow Marines, even if it means taking on the richest man in the world.

Author Teel James Glenn (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of heroic fiction by Glenn) has been a leading light in the neo-pulp field, creating modern stories set in the golden age of pulp (the depression and the World War 2 era). One of Glenn's great heroes is the mysterious Dr. Shadows who, with the aid of a mystical herbal rub, has become nearly superhuman as he battles Imperial Japan's expansionism as well as thugs and mobsters at home. In THREE DEADLY SHADOWS, Glenn gives the pulp genre another take, following the adventures of Jon Shadows, son of Dr. Shadows and one of Imperial Japan's most deadly ninja assassins. Set in the modern era, Jon Shadows confronts modern problems--including those that stem from his mixed-race heritage.

Being son of a mystically powerful crime-fighting legend and top assassin isn't always easy. Jon Shadows had an impossible legacy to live up to and he spent much of his live running from that legacy... finding his own path at the bottom of a bottle. Tough love from his deadly mother and extreme hardening in the U.S. Marines gave Shadows a second chance. He knows he isn't his father but that doesn't mean he can't help out the little guy, the victim, and the helpless. Maybe there are more shades of gray than in the days his father struck out at America's enemies, but Shadows, after all, live for the gray. Resolved to follow in his father's footsteps, Jon takes over the Shadows Foundation for Justice and seeks to fight crime and evil in the comtemporary world.

In several tours of duty with the Marines, Shadows fought against terrorists and religious fanatics abroad. When he finds racists and fanatics here at home, he's willing to take the batle to them.

I've enjoyed Glenn's original Dr. Shadows stories and I'm glad to see the Shadows tradition in the 21st century. For me, Jon Shadows is a fitting follow-on to the original. His battles with his inner demons and struggles to fill the huge footprint left by his fatehr resonated with me, as does his willingness to fight for his friends, his fellow Marines, and other victims of injustice. Anyone who enjoys pulp-style stories will want to see the direction pulp is moving... and I think Glenn nails it.

THREE DEADLY SHADOWS is no longer available from BooksForABuck.com. Check out other books by Teel James Glenn. Four Stars

Reviewed 6/27/15

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