Author: Paul McCusker
Julie Harris plays the charming socialite one fateful night in January, 1941. The party is last minute, as she and her husband, Stewart, have nothing else happening, and all the members of Stewart’s club make an appearance. Not feeling well after Stewart made her a drink, Julie goes to bed early, before the party is over. Stewart assures her he will send the stragglers home, then he will go to the club for a few hours. Julie begs him not to go.
The next morning, Julie’s mother struggles to wake Julie up. Stewart’s car had slid off the road, killing him instantly. Julie struggles to accept the bad news. But that isn’t the worst of it. Stewart is hardly cold in his grave when Julie learns that she is so deeply in debt she’ll be forced to sell the mansion she lives in. And not only that, but Stewart was unfaithful . . . and she apparently is the only one who didn’t know. His mistress died in the car accident too.
Searching for truth about her late husband, Julie travels to London – not a very pleasant place to be in the early stages of World War II. Posing as an aide for the U.S. embassy, Julie attempts to infiltrate a radical Fascist group which somehow has ties to her late husband’s past.
Now Julie is living a life with glittering parties and nightly bombings. Treachery is covered by fake smiles and nice words. Is there anyone Julie can trust?
A SEASON OF SHADOWS is full of rich descriptions and little dialogue, which to me slowed the story down considerably. Julie seems to be very confused about everything, not understanding how her financial standing is so bad, not understanding about Stewart’s weakness for women, and then trying to make sense of war-time Europe. I also found Julie sarcastic and hateful quite a few times, especially to those she should be able to trust.
Mr. McCusker has expertly woven in a simple faith message into the pages of A SEASON OF SHADOWS, intermixed with the rich descriptions. I would have liked to have been able to relate to and understand the characters more, but the description can’t be beat. I really can’t say I enjoyed A SEASON OF SHADOWS, but then again it isn’t the worst book I’ve ever read either. It’s kind of a middle-grounder, not outstanding, or terrible. There is a list of recommended reading included at the back if you want to study the actual war-time facts mentioned in this book. $12.99. 336 pages.
Reviewed by Laura V. Hilton
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