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In The Victim's Shadow by Victoria Schwimley

On My Kindle BR's review of In The Victim's Shadow by Victoria Schwimley

Amber Winters was a kind and caring person. As a ballerina, she captivated audiences; however, when she became pregnant with Katherine, she left the world of ballet to raise her daughter and entered the world of modeling with Katherine in tow. One evening, after a modeling session with a five- year old Katherine, the two stopped by a convenience store on their way home for some ice cream. Caught up in a conversation with Katherine, Amber did not realize that the store was being robbed and collided with the robber as he was hurrying away from the store. The robber pulled a gun out and shot Amber in front of Katherine and fled the scene.


27 years later, Katherine is a successful attorney who seems to have it all: beauty, intelligence, money, and a close relationship to her proud father. Katherine is content to spend quiet evenings at home, or go out to dinner with her best friend, John. Having worked hard to become a successful lawyer, Katherine remains unmarried and childless because she has not found the time for love, and certainly does not see how she can manage having a child while continuing to pursue her successful career.

One evening, after having dinner with John, Katherine runs in to a tenant of the building that she lives in, Chad. While waiting for the elevator to ascend to his floor, Chad suggests that they go out on a date; however, Katherine dismisses him. Katherine's initial dismissal of Chad evolves into annoyance when it becomes apparent that their "chance" meetings have been orchestrated by him. To make matters even more complicated, Chad's erratic behavior becomes threatening as the friendship between Katherine and John develops into love.

book review, eBook, romance, suspense, thriller, mystery

Schwimley did an excellent job of developing the characters, and I really enjoyed the day-to-day activities that made the story's setting realistic. The relationships in the book came across as genuine, and I really enjoyed reading the exchanges between the various characters in the story. I do not read romance books often, but I did enjoy Schwimley's writing; the romance scenes were realistic rather than dramatic and overwrought, and the characters were intelligent and charming.

There were a couple of elements in the book that disappointed me: first, the revelation of the connection between Katherine and Chad happened really early in the book; I would have liked to have seen a few more clues dropped before the connection was revealed near the end of the book. However, I realize that this is more of a romance than a mystery/suspense/thriller and it makes sense that these elements took a backseat to the romantic elements in the story.

Second, I really couldn't connect with the story's main protagonist, Katherine. Schwimley did a great job of developing her as a character; I really wanted to like her, but I still thought that she came off as a spoiled and pampered "ice queen." However, I liked Katherine's friend and paralegal, Beth; she was warm, vivacious, friendly, and down-to-earth.

Even with these minor glitches, In the Victim's Shadow by Victoria Schwimley is an enjoyable read. If you like authors like Nora Roberts or Sandra Brown, I recommend that you give In the Victim's Shadow a shot. The female characters are intelligent, strong, and sometimes misguided; there is enough suspense to make you want to keep reading to find out what happens next, and enough romance to help keep you warm on a cold night.

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To find out more about Victoria Schwimley and In the Victim's Shadow, check out her website that shows off her other publications, recommends other indie authors, refers readers to free and discount eBooks, and shares reviews of her books.  You can also visit Victoria's blog in which she shares her thoughts on being an indie author, book reviews, and book trailers for upcoming books.
