James Grady: Shadows on Sidewalks

Writer James Traven, returns home to care for his elderly mother and is soon pulled into the dangerous orbit of Lana LaBuff. This orbit though is not one of her making and James is a large part of what happens next.

There’s a scheme at hand devised by Lana’s gay husband and his lover so the married couple can divorce without stirring up problems with his mother Dee. Queen Dee runs everything in the county.

James is not a conventional hero, and Lana is not simply a damsel or femme fatale. Their connection is uneasy, charged, even complicated by loneliness.

There’s a strong sense of impending collision in their unlikely romance. A dangerous one at that. But James has someone watching his back. Cody, former marine, gun shop owner and man of mystery.

At times there is a staccato rhythm to the writing. It keeps you off-balance and nicely illustrates the tension within James. It outlines his feelings of being back home, of being a person who has changed, in an environment that hasn’t.

Shadows on Sidewalks is modern noir about situations as old as time. Recommended read.