The Shadowed Mind by Julie Cave
The Shadowed Mind by Julie Cave
Although, The Shadowed Mind is the second in The Dinah Harris Mystery triology series, it was more than adequate as a stand-alone story by itself. If I was missing anything important by not reading the first in the series before reading this one, I couldn’t tell.
All of the plots and subplots revolved around the topics of eugenics, euthanasia, evolution vs. creation and ultimately the value of human life. What could have been a boring litany of detailed lectures was excellently crafted into an extremely interesting mystery. Even some of the subplots had their own mystery attached to them.
Because there were several different subplots, lots of different issues revolving around the main topic of eugenics were able to be addressed including: race, the mentally and physically challenged, drug abusers, alcoholism, and related legislation.
The main plot was about Dinah Harris, a recovering alcoholic and ex-FBI profiler trying to track down a serial killer that picked his victims from whom he deemed not worthy to live. Although there were not a lot of details describing the murders there was enough to make me feel uncomfortable. That, along with including the killer’s disturbing thoughts, and some disturbing historical facts around eugenics make this book not suitable for a young audience. Even for older teenagers, I wouldn’t allow this to be read without a thoughtful discussion after wards.
For adults however, it was definitely entertaining. Julie Cave did a masterful job of keeping you in suspense. Most of the plot twists were truly surprising and made you want to keep on reading until the end.
The author also did a masterful job of proving irrefutably the link between the lack of belief in creationism to evolution and ultimately to eugenics. As a Christian, the references to God, His Word, Jesus Christ, creation, forgiveness and salvation were refreshing and realistic.
This book is best for Christian adults who would like to solidify their beliefs on the value of human life and are interested in being educated on eugenics in a truly entertaining way.
To purchase your own copy of this book go here: The Shadowed Mind (A Dinah Harris Mystery)
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from New Leaf Publishing Group’s blogging for books program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 225: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”