This was a really fun read.  It’s the first book in a trilogy, and her debut book, and is deserving of the award she won for it, the Reader’s Favorite in 2019.

In this universe there is a Star Federation that works to uphold peace in the galaxy.  Lance Ashburn is a Fleet Commander who is hunting for an Alpha Class bounty hunter who assassinated one of his soldiers.  But the Shadow is no ordinary bounty hunter and he knows it.  And when he finally comes face to face, the Shadow isn’t what he expected at all.

The original Shadow lies in a hospital slowly dying.  To get the money needed for his medical care, his sister, Lissa, becomes the Shadow; and she’s very, very good at it.  Both Lance and Lissa are partnered with a sentient alien creature called an arkin. 

Lissa and Lance run afoul of a nasty agency called the Seventh Sun. The Seventh Sun is neo-andromedan­; a genetically modified human race that hates all other humans.  Their history tells of a particularly bad war before the neo-andromedans pulled back.  The humans and many other races have a deep-seated hatred and fear of them.  This makes Lissa’s life particularly interesting as she is neo-andromedan but her physical evidence is slight and most don’t make that connection.  Lissa is in sympathy with the humans, she has ample reason to hate them, as well.  And they are searching for the Shadow; the original, male one, and they have no reason to keep his harmless sister alive.  Lissa may be the only one who can keep Lance and his crew alive.  But she has a vested interest in preventing Lance from completely destroying the neo-andromedans base.

This was a fine story, well-told and the book itself was a pleasure to hold and read.  It was well-formatted and edited; there was nothing that disturbed the reading pace for this reader.  I’ll be watching out for an opportunity to pick up the rest of this story.  ~~ Catherine Book

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