Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Line in the Shadow
AUTHOR: Clancy Nacht & Thursday Euclid
PUBLISHER: Eine Kleine Press
LENGTH: 188 Pages
RELEASE DATE: December 31, 2017
BLURB:
Following a massive blow to the CIA’s intelligence apparatus, burned-out special agent Rex Carver is recalled to the US where he must face the ghosts of his ended marriage. After a sexy hook-up with a local musician named Ike Graves, Rex rescues the man from a violent mugging by killing the assailant.
When it turns out the mugger was also CIA, what seems like a random act of violence appears to have a deeper meaning. What would make Ike a target? Was Ike a sanctioned hit, or are there rogue elements within the CIA? Is there something more to Ike than meets the eye, or is someone inside the Company using Rex’s growing affection for Ike to target Rex himself?
REVIEW:
For the most part, I enjoyed this story. The CIA element was very well done and having read The Phisher King by these two authors, another CIA/FBI type suspense, I’m guessing that this is where these authors excel.
Rex Carver is a CIA agent who has been in the game too long. Unfortunately, it’s all he knows. He found a brief respite while he was married to a woman he was madly in love with, but she left him to reunite with the biological father of her daughter, tearing the young girl away from Rex, and denying him the only thing he had in his life beside his work. Recalled from overseas when some secret CIA shit hits the fan, Rex is left flounder, unsure what on earth he’s meant to do with his time. Rex made a brilliant “secret agent” character. He wasn’t some gagetized twenty year old who seemed like he should still be in school; instead he had the capable, James Bond type suaveness going on.
Ike…I had issues with Ike. Well, no. I think my issue is that I felt absolutely no connection between Ike and Rex, and since I met Rex first (and loved the guy) I decided to blame Ike. Ike just felt a bit wishy washy. He didn’t seem to have any page presence, and I could just picture him leaning out his window, batting his lashes and calling – “save me Rex”. The best thing about Ike was his niece. Kaylee was one of those child characters who didn’t seen to quite fit her supposed age, but she was written with such glorious spunk, that I had no problem with her.
Aside from the lack of zing between our main men, my only complaint was that I felt lost a few times. I wasn’t always sure if time had suddenly passed, and if it had, how much and WTH just happened? It felt a little disjointed to begin with, but I either got use to the authors’ writing style, or its jumpiness improved towards the end.
But let’s focus on the positives. The plot was awesome. I loved it. There was enough detail in the bad-agent-murder-spy-plot that you could appreciate the authors’ skill at pulling all the elements together. But at the same time, it didn’t go into so much detail that I felt like I was reading a CIA conspiracy theory manual.
I’d definitely read more by these authors. I do enjoy a well planned out secret agent plot.
RATING: 
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