The Shadow Cartel by Layton Green

Thomas & Mercer, 2015

ISBN-13:  9781477827819

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook.

Dominic Grey makes things happen. He works for a professor who conducts investigations of religious events for both private individuals and police agencies around the world. Dominic is the man on the ground. and it has been too long since he’s had an investigation. He has been spending his downtime teaching jiu jitsu to teenagers, just to keep himself from going stir-crazy. He finally gets a call. It is Nya; it has been over a year since he has spoken to her—collateral damage caused by a Zimbabwean religious investigation Grey had headed up. Things had gotten messy; he had not expected to hear from her again. Now, Nya needs his help. Her father’s goddaughter, Sekai, recently died from a hit of ecstasy at a party in a South Beach nightclub. When Grey looks into it, he finds that drug dealers in Miami are being ritualistically murdered.  He soon stumbles into a nest of witchcraft involving a knife-wielding blue Indian woman. The mystery deepens from there.

The Shadow Cartel is a great read that delves into the world of ritualistic murder and the religions that use it. I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and grabbed me from the first chapter. I especially liked how the author wove in the horrific history of The Peoples Temple in Guyana, which was headed by Reverend Jim Jones. This gave the book an air of realism and authenticity that invested me in the story. The tone of mystery was very good as each religion’s involvement was uncovered. As a result, the suspense builds well and kept me going. The characters have distinct voices and it was fun to discover bits of their past as they were revealed. The plot is full of twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. The descriptions were full without going overboard. There is nothing in the story that was particularly disturbing or offensive; and the writing flows well. I have not read any of this author’s other work, but, The Shadow Cartel is a fun read. Recommended for adult readers.

Reviewed by Aaron Fletcher