Nightshade by Stephen Leather

Stephen Leather writes: The fourth Jack Nightingale supernatural detective series was always going to be difficult to write, as it was always intended to be a trilogy! And anyone who has read the first three will understand that while the third book tied up all the loose ends, it did make moving forward very difficult. Anyway, I gave it my best shot and I do think it’s a terrific story, mixing the supernatural with the real world in two cases that keep Nightingale on his toes. I do think Nightingale would make a great TV series and have asked my agent to push it hard over the next few months. Off all the characters I’ve created I think Nightingale is best-suited for the silver screen. Fingers crossed! -- from his website


I hope this doesn't mean there will be an end to the Nightingale books. There are always mysteries around the corner. However in Nightshade, there is little in the way of demons and hell but the story is still a great thriller that I finished in a week.

A farmer, nice guy in every way, walks into a school and shoots a bunch of kids, but it is not random shooting, he was picking certain students and knew which classrooms they would be in. When the brother asks Jack Nightingale to investigate the reason behind the shooting, Jack runs headlong into a sordid affair that stretches far and wide. Meanwhile a girl dies at the hands of a rapist and wakes up with words from Jesus to all who would listen.

This is a typical well written Stephen Leather novel and as he says above this series would make a nice movie, still I wanna read his Nightingale books. Nightshade is a great thriller and it doesn't tie up all the loose ends, there's still Mrs Steadman and Proserpine's warning about her.

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