Book Review: "The Shadow Artist" by James Grayson

"The Shadow Artist" by James Grayson was published June 21, 2015 so it's already available to purchase. It can be on your Kindle with a couple of minutes!

I picked up this book specifically because Alex Winter, the main character, was an accomplished artist along with being a CIA agent. It piqued my interest when the description of this book said Alex had an eidetic memory and she was skilled in advanced tradecraft. What could be better in a spy novel? As an artist myself I couldn't wait for the details the author would add about Alex's artistic talent.

Here's the basic premise of the book. Alex Winter is in London on assignment for the CIA when in the middle of her mission her father shows up. The problem with that is that her father supposedly died nearly twenty years ago when he was also on a mission for the CIA. Now Alex suspects he's been using his superior tradecraft skills to hideout all this time. Alex's mission is now blown but she decides to track down her father and try to unravel just what her mission really was. There is a missing billion dollars and Alex will have to navigate high finance and international espionage to try and unravel the truth. Maybe by successfully following the threads she'll save herself find her father.

I was disappointed to find that I just could not connect with the main character, Alex. I usually have no trouble caring about the main character so I was surprised to find myself not drawn into the book. I wish I could have become invested in this spy thriller as the premise sounded so great. Many other reviewers loved this book and I just may be wrong in not loving it. But I found myself annoyed as the book switched from character to character and because I was uninterested, I couldn't remember what that character did a few chapters ago.

I can only give this book a three out of five star rating. The writing was good and as I said above, the premise and theme of the book had promise. I also liked the main character, I just wish I had found it easier to care about Alex Winter. It may just be me. I sure hope anyone reading James Grayson's book enjoys such a promising spy novel.

Best,

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