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In the Mojave Desert and the surrounding areas, one man has vowed to kill all those who harm the weak, helpless animals. Seth Parker, a former military sniper, sets out on a mission to take out as many hunters as he can. But then one of his kills is brought to the attention of Bureau of Land Management agent Frank Flynn.
Himself a retired military sniper, Frank Flynn is the perfect man to hunt down the rogue soldier. The problem is that he sympathizes with Parker. Flynn doesn’t like hunters any more than Parker does. Still, Parker is killing humans, and it’s wrong, no matter how much Flynn hates those he takes out.
As the case drags on, with the killer always one step ahead of Flynn, Parker begins to lose sight of his mission, and anyone who gets in his way becomes a target—not just those who hunt for sport.
I would have enjoyed Shadows of Death more if it hadn’t been so preachy. I don’t particularly care for poachers or men who hunt solely for sport, either, but neither do I enjoy being preached at about how wrong it is—and that’s exactly what happens here. At least Flynn doesn’t have a problem with those who have to hunt for food—and if he’d been a little less condescending toward those who hunt, I might have even liked him. Most of the time, though, he comes off sounding like a smartass rather than a champion for a good cause.
I’ll also admit that I did sometimes sympathize with Parker, too. The men he goes after have all committed some of the most heinous acts against animals, and, a few times, the thought of it had me seeing red.
Despite my complaints, though, Shadows of Death—with its psychotic killer who has no doubt whatsoever that he’s doing the right thing—is still a suspenseful mystery that will keep you reading to find out how it will all come together in the end. For that reason, I’ll probably pick up another one of David Sundstrand’s Desert Sky mysteries, but, at the same time, it’ll keep my fingers crossed that the next one won’t be as preachy.
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