Let's Read "A Silent Shadow" - Jett's Special Tool

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Let's Read "A Silent Shadow" - Jett's Special Tool

Kinu Nishimura: Apr 24, 2008; SICK LOOT!

Hello. Let's read a book.

Allow me to tell you all a story. I, forums poster alcharagia, love mystery novels, and it was because of that love that I one day found this book entering my life. You see, my girlfriend had a coworker by the name of Dave, and he wrote novels. He claimed, in fact, that he wrote mystery novels. My girlfriend accepted a free copy of the book and said, "ah, yeah, [alcharagia] will probably read it, she loves mystery books, she's really enthusiastic about them!" When she got home that day she informed me that I should read it, and that I should try to come up with constructive criticism and not be too harsh since he was nice about it.

The book's blurb posted:

As a psychic who is often pulled in to find clues to unsolved cases, Jethro "Jett" Montgomery knows the feeling and the sound of true evil. Living in a world of perpetual darkness, he has only his touch to guide him in finding answers. When the evil reaches out and touches his life again, Jett knows it is only his gift that will stop a killer who is willing to do anything to garner his attention including killing a loved one. It is not long before Jett finds himself in a twisted game that involves lies, deceit, and a great many secrets. In order to stop another series of tragic events that could lead to not only the deaths of other loved ones, but also the deaths of thousands of people, Jett must race to unravel the clues to the killer's manifest destiny and prevent one of the worst acts of carnage that the world has seen since the 9/11 tragedy.

I ran out of ideas for that pretty quickly, so instead, I want people to suffer this book the same way I did. Suffer? I don't know if that's the right word, even. There's a lot I don't understand anymore, since I'm not an ace detective like Jethro "Jett" Montgomery. This book is almost five hundred pages long. Please enjoy the tale of Jett Montgomery to the fullest, and try to solve the mystery of this psychic suspense romance mystery novel.

quote:

Quotes from readers!

"CERTIFIED EROTIC" - forums poster POOL IS CLOSED

"I think my brain is clawing at the inside of my skull, desperate for release." - another guy

"I'll follow [Cory Bumstead] anywhere" - a third person

"'great groaning?' this is too much" - a fourth being

"jett" - me

The book's Amazon page.
A Silent Shadow on its publisher's website.

# ? Feb 9, 2018 07:39

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 29, 2024 08:39

Kinu Nishimura: Apr 24, 2008; SICK LOOT!

Reserved because that's what the cool kids do

# ? Feb 9, 2018 07:39

Kinu Nishimura: Apr 24, 2008; SICK LOOT!

Dedication posted:

To my wife Corrine without whom I could not have completed this book. Your help with editing, and proofreading was invaluable.

Thank you, Corrine Barnett. I appreciate your work as well.

This image denotes the start of a new chapter. There are fifty-five chapters in this book.

Chapter One posted:

He couldn�t get the smell out of his nose and it was starting to give him a headache.

His co-passenger, smelled strongly of perfume, specifically that of Forever Orchid by Mary Kay. It was a fragrance that was more than familiar to him from the times his sister had used the same fragrance during his stay with her upon returning from Tokyo. However, this seating companion was either more than just an adoring fan of the fragrance or was a saleswoman for the company as the stench was making the cabin feel more like a fashion show than a passenger jet.

This is our protagonist, Jethro Montgomery, please, call him Jett, that's what everyone calls him. You're going to have to wait until the second chapter to find out what he is actually supposed to look like.

quote:

This was his third trip away from home this month and the fatigue that he felt became more prominent as the hours passed. It was only a four-hour flight, but it felt like it took eons to get there. Wheeler said it was important, but to him anything was important if they had found a body and there were clues they could not understand associated with it. In those cases it was always up to him to come to the rescue.

He was beginning to feel like a wet nurse rather than an actual freelance psychic, due to the fact that it was always another corpse, another bag of tricks, and another murderer they wanted him to locate. Things were far more profitable for him back home with his martial arts school. His students were, by far, better pupils than the army of blue-uniformed flatfoots that he waded through on a yearly basis. The call could come from anywhere from Los Angeles to bum-gently caress Egypt. It could say they had a case they wanted him to solve and that they drastically needed his help. This time it was St. Charles County again and it meant working with Detective Tom Wheeler. If his heart were beating in time with moment the funeral dirge would never cease.

Jett practices martial arts and owns a martial arts school. Please remember this fact, it's important later. (For those who know anything about kendo, it's specifically kendo, as the book will later insist.)

quote:

Feeling on his lap he almost picked up the I-Pod he brought with him to play some Schubert to clear his mind. That idea was quickly erased when a slight ping came from the intercom. This meant the captain would begin pointing out historical landmarks to the tourists aboard as they made their descent to land at Lambert International at St. Louis.

�Good afternoon,� the friendly voice spoke from the box above their heads, �and thank you for flying with us today. We will make the approach to the terminal shortly. We thank you for your patience as we will be in a holding pattern for the next fifteen minutes. Please take note of the �Fasten Your Seat Belt� sign and turn off all electronic equipment. The time is 6:30 pm CST and it is a brisk thirty-two degrees outside. The conditions are perfect for a nice Christmas holiday.�

As the captain rattled off the statistics for the area and went into more pleasantries Jett allowed his mind to drift as he heard the wind howl outside like a bellowing beast. The sounds of millions of snowflakes pelted against the window, very much like another day not so long ago that had changed his life forever.

It was in the middle of winter and he was sixteen. He had a hot date with a �57 cherry red mustang that he called �Denise�.

The book uses three centered asterisks to denote a scene transition.

quote:

�Come on, man! Punch it!� Cory screamed, �The cops are right behind us!�

�I know, man! poo poo!� Jett hollered back.

Cory Bumstead had been his best friend since they were kids and on this night on December, 23rd 1998 they took it upon themselves to test drive Cory�s father�s �57 Mustang. They went for a joyride down to the Capitol to the local nickel arcade. At sixteen neither one had their driver�s permit yet, but �Denise� had been calling to them with her beautiful wax job and shiny wheels, just begging to be driven. She wanted them to drive her. She needed them to drive her.

They did drive her.

Cory managed to sneak into the house long enough to snag the keys only to see his father�s upper bedroom window come to life after Jett had turned her over and began to back her out of the driveway. No sooner had they made it to the outskirts of town that flashing blue and red lights and the wailing of sirens were right behind them.

Corey�s dad[sic] had called the police.

�drat, Jett!� Cory screamed again, running his fingers through his now greasy blonde hair. �Push it to the floor!�

�I am!� Jett screamed back, �I�m already doing a hundred!�

Jett felt Cory thrust his foot on top of his and slammed the accelerator down even more making Denise turn into a speeding hulk of metal fury. The roads were icy, especially on the old logging road. The worst part, Cory�s dad had forgotton to install the chains on Denise to keep her from ending up in a ditch.

The police cruisers were behind them trying to keep chase with them. The police car nudged them with the idea of causing the car to spin or possibly even crash to the line of trees along the ornate road.

�Stop the car!� A voice shouted over the police loudspeaker, �Decelerate immediately and pull off to the roadside!�

Jett�s brown eyes gleamed and a slight smirk crossed his lips. �Hang on!� He shouted as a cowboy yell came from his lips.

Jett hit the brakes and spun the car sideways hoping that his timing would make the pursuing cop cars either veer off into the ditch or simply slow down. He may not have his license, but in his mind that did not matter all that much since he spent his days driving a combine back on the farm. Denise really wasn�t all that much different than the combine just smaller and faster.

Within a few seconds he understood his mistake.

With a flash of car headlights and then a thunderous crunching of metal his head fell forward and smacked the steering wheel as Denise pushed forward into a ditch where she turned over onto her top. Then everything went black.

After that everything stayed black and remained that way.

When he woke up the doctor told him how lucky he was if the car had spun the other way, he would have been killed instantly from the oncoming blow of a police car. However, the rest of the story had not been so bright. He no longer had a best friend as they were still scraping him off of the passenger side. Cory died at the first impact. The other two blows from police cars turned the once beautiful Denise into a charred wreck for the scrap yard and made him blind. According to the doctors he would never see again.

It was a small penance to pay. If it had meant saving Cory he would have given a lot more.

quote:

His mind jolted back to reality as he felt the plane begin to dip to make its descent to the landing pad. It made his stomach instantly jump into his head. He hated flying. It wasn�t the flying so much as it was the take-off and landing that bothered him. He would have some choice words for Tom Wheeler when he got on the ground. That was if he got on the ground.

He had only one lingering thought as he grabbed the armrests of his lounger as the plane dipped even further down. Why didn�t I take the train?

The first chapter is not very long. Later chapters are entirely too long.

# ? Feb 9, 2018 07:40