How do you defeat an enemy that’s inside your head?Heath Kavanaugh lost years of his life working for a covert agency that ended up being the enemy. Knowing they put something inside his head–constant, incomprehensible whispers–is driving him crazy.He needs answers, but they’re nowhere to be found.What he definitely doesn’t need is to fall hard for his Linear teammate’s younger sister, … need is to fall hard for his Linear teammate’s younger sister, Jacquelyn–the adorable linguistics doctoral student who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Especially when Heath’s attention puts her directly in the path of a danger he thought was gone for good. To stop it, they’ll have to figure out what’s in his head. And hope it doesn’t destroy them all.
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Action, danger, and threats, mind manipulations and international crimes, sweet yet passionate romance with your best friend’s baby sister – Shadow have it all, and it is wrapped into an entertaining and fast-moving tale that holds your attention.
The oldest and most ardent Crouch fans (waving my hand vigorously) might recognize some of the base storyline from a novella, Covert Intents, that she first published 2015. There was a scene that triggered the recognition for me, yet it just whet my appetite towards the story, to find out how the story was expanded, changed, and brought into the Linear Tactical setting, and into a full-length novel. Certainly, it didn’t disappoint!
The Linear Tactical series with its ardent stories that at the same time spooked you and enamored you have become one of my all-time favorite series that I can’t get enough of. There is the tight brotherhood, the humor, and banter between them, the palpable love and loyalty they have for each other and their loved ones, and the passion they have towards everything they put their minds into, not the least to protect those in their circle of their ‘family’. Yes, the stories can be read as standalone books, yet I would recommend to read them in order, as some of the plotlines do continue throughout the series, and you can get so much more out of the story knowing the background to the events and to the team members. Like, for example, the mind-manipulation to Heath Kavanaugh’s brain.
While I got a thrill out of the mysterious manipulation tactics (that started in Ghost) and finding out the reasons and culprits behind them, I am happy to see that the relief for those who suffered the consequences of the crimes is here, and the particular storyline seemed to be wrapped up in Shadow.
Both Heath and Lyn were lovable characters, so effortless to connect with. I loved the way they saw each other, how they brought the best out of each other, and the protective yet understanding way Heath reacted to Lyn’s health problems. I loved Lyn’s sharp mind, both of their ability to get languages, and her strong will that she was finally able to express to her male-dominated family as well. Lyn and her personality, her drive for independence and acceptance from her family, reign the tale when it came to the protagonists, as Heath and the insights to his background were staying more in the shadows of the strong heroine.
Intense situations, secrets, betrayals, menace, and peril are tangibly part of the tale that engaged, engrossed, and charmed my mind.
~ Four Spoons with a teaspoon on the side
Sometimes good things happen in the shadows and sometimes bad things are found…love can be found there but it also can be lost. Family, whether blood or not, brings the great shadows together to push the bad shadows out…Loved it!!
Absolutely Addicted to this series!
Help, I’m being held captive by author Janie Crouch’s Linear Tactical series, and have been since reading book 1, Cyclone. On second thought, don’t send help, because I’m thoroughly enjoying every action filled, sensually passionate, heart warming, irresistible, page turning moment. Shadow, book six, features a brains and brawn hero and a shy, genius, plus size heroine and plenty of exciting plot twists that kept me reading non-stop to the end. Now on to book 7!
Heath Kavanaugh works for Linear Tactical. But he has these noises in his head that were put there by a special ops group he was part of. He is very alpha but relatable. He goes undercover to help an FBI agent stop the sales of a highly controversial biomedical chip. He goes in as a janitor. He knows his best friend’s baby sister is there but not in that department. He then meets Lyn, who is a linguist working out of the bio department. He is drawn to her nerdy, book loving sexyness.
There is intrige, espionage, and secrets. Lyn, who has a heart condition and has very over protective brothers and father, helps Heath solve the mysteries that he has lived with forever. Their love was fast and fierce. The way Heath cared for her and worried about her heart was soo swoon worthy!
I love how Janie Crouch creates a world that you feel like you are part of. You are invested with the characters she creates. We fall in love with them and cry and laugh along with them.
Janie Crouch…Keep writing awesome characters!
Shadow is my new favorite in the Linear Tactical Series. I absolutely love Heath and Lyn. I enjoyed the easy conversation and chemistry between them and their developing relationship. I thought Janie’s choice of giving Lyn the quirky obsession of learning cuss words in foreign languages was brilliant and amusing. I laughed every time she used one! I also thought Janie did a wonderful job on the scenes dealing with the ramifications of Heath and Lyn finding out each other’s true identity and Gavin’s reaction when he found out what was going on. Also, including Noah (from her Bree & Tanner Harlequin series) was a nice bonus and she gave us a teasing snippet of his lady love…I really hope he will get his own book and HEA. There were also several surprises and shocking turn of events along that way that will keep you on the edge of your seat; I love when a book does that! You think you know the direction the story is headed and then ‘wham!’ you get taken by surprise. As with the other Linear Tactical books, you get a fantastic array of characters that will draw you in and keep you engaged in the story, as well as a well-written storyline full of nail-biting suspense, action, laughs, drama, a complex conspiracy plot revealed, and romance. And a bonus on this one, we get the answers to the mystery of Project Crypt. As with Janie’s other books, I was unable to put this one down.
Heath/Shadow stayed in the background and mostly worked overseas for Linear Tactical, with kidnapping and ransom cases and that suited his needs just fine until recently. Starting at a young age he was recruited by the government into a covert agency that ended up being a fraud. Instead it was an unsanctioned agency doing experimentations to turn people into super soldiers by any means necessary with harrowing consequences. Heath was one of the subjects in this program called Project Crypt but instead of using mind control or other similar unspeakable horrors on him, they put gibberish – constant indecipherable whispering – in his mind. Tracking down his one final lead hoping for answers ends in despair when someone decides to clean house and his lead becomes a dead end. Now with no direction and no new leads, he returns state-side to Linear Tactical and tries to fit back into a normal routine and push the nonsense in his head to the back of his mind.
When the FBI shows up needing off the books help, Heath jumps at the chance to get back into the game. Taking on an undercover assignment is exactly what he needs to keep the whispers at bay, or so he hopes. The cover he is assigned is a far reach from what he thought it would be or what he would have chosen for himself. As a janitor at the university, however, he will have untethered access to all the places he needs to find out who is selling government secrets before they get into the wrong hands. Easy in, easy out…or at least that was the plan until the complication of Lyn Norris hit his radar. She was a distraction he did not have time for, but he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame and just could not get enough of the shy, quirky, brilliant linguistics doctoral student with curves in all the right places. When she becomes a target, Heath will risk everything to save her.
*I received an ARC from the author and I am voluntarily providing my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own.
Love this whole series!! Love Heath who has been trying to find answers to all the information stuffed into his head by project crypt. He is crazy smart, with a predisposition for languages knowing many fluently and others to get by. Lyn is a doctoral linguistics major. Although her family (gavins) calls her Jackie and thinks she has different major entirely. They meet not knowing exactly who they are. She being Gavin’s little sister and him being Gavin’s best friend and fellow LT employee/agent. So funny how that happened. And then she is drawn into danger because of her language smarts and figuring out the gibberish in heaths head. Loved the story. Can’t wait for peytons book.
I love books by Janie Crouch! She knows how to grab everyone’s attention with her writing. Shadow is another amazing book from Janie’s Linear Tactical series. The characters are great, the writing is spot on. I love one line in the book where Heath tells Lyn,” Honey, trust me, I could bench press those perfect curves of yours a dozen times over without breaking a sweat.” Everyone needs to read this book. It’s another great one. I got this book as an arc for my honest review.
I enjoyed this book’s storyline. I really liked the action in this story. The dialogue in this story made me laugh . I really liked the hot & steamy scenes. I really liked Heath’s character. I really liked Lyn’s character. I felt sorry for Lyn. I really liked the ending.
I enjoyed listening to this audiobook and how Tom Campbell brought the characters to life. He kept the voices separate. As for the story, Jacquelyn was a wonderfully strong woman, though she had kept the truth of her education a secret from her family. Heath was so protective and caring toward Jacquelyn from the beginning, as they had a strong attraction, even to the point that he was willing to deal with her brothers. This was my first in this series, and with the little explanations of the other characters, it did not matter. I recommend this story, and I look forward to more from this author.
I received a copy of this audiobook as a gift, and this is my unsolicited review.
The Linear Tactical series is high octane / high romance and Shadow is no different. Heath and Lyn send sparks flying, even as they try to keep their distance and evade the bad guys chasing them. Crouch is a master of romantic suspense.
Heath Kavanaugh was working undercover for the FBI. It wasn’t a glamorous position but as a janitor at Wyoming Commonwealth University he might be able to find out who was selling government secrets at the university. If he was successful, he could stop the sale of this information. It would be very dangerous if it got into the wrong hands. Doing this job while there was constant murmuring in his head wasn’t easy, but he pushed through anyway. He’d been trying to get answers about the noise in his head from the man running Project Crypt, without success. He did find one good thing while at the university. Lyn Norris. She was a very intelligent, shy woman who was working on her doctorate in linguistics. He had no idea she was his best friend’s sister. Lyn liked being with Heath and that he didn’t treat her like she might break, the way her father and brothers did. She was actually a very strong woman and wanted to prove it to them.
Heath knew this was a bad time to start a relationship but he couldn’t let Lyn go. She was the first woman he’d ever connected with that way. For such a smart woman she wasn’t very good at reading people. She didn’t see herself as attractive or good enough for Heath. But he thought she was perfect. Even when he learned who she really was and knew his friend would not take this relationship well, he wouldn’t let her go.
The ending was great! I loved how everything came together. There were plenty of secrets, action, twists, humour, and danger that will make you want to keep reading – well after bedtime.
I received an ARC of Shadow which I am voluntarily reviewing.
Janie Crouch is one of my favorite authors that I’m so happy to have discovered when I got the chance to review Cyclone which was the first in this series. She’s an amazing author, her stories are so vivid and full of action, suspense, romance and sexy alpha men and their strong heroine counterparts. Shadow is no different Heath “Shadow” Kavanaugh will stop at nothing to take down Crypt and get the gibberish out of his mind. However it looks like he might never find his answers, that is until a case comes his way and brings him not only the beautiful, curvaceous Lyn and the chance of finding actual answers. Lyn has gone to great lengths to hide her college career from her family because they are way overprotective of her and her health. Well an FBI case may have brought Heath and Lyn together but a potential family member could keep them apart……….REDWOOD. But Lyn can take her brother and Heath because she’s stronger than either of them realizes. But what happens when the bad guys steal her away, will she survive to help Shadow or will the Calvary arrive too late. Janie has created such a wonderful world and I can’t wait to see where this series goes in her upcoming book. Like all the other books in this series you won’t be disappointed when you read it.
Heath Kavanaugh never expected a linguistics scholar to be the answer to the riot of gibberish going on inside his head. Lyn Norris certainly wasn’t expecting that the janitor at school would turn out to be someone who might be interested in her. So much for assumptions. Janie Crouch loaded up Shadow with a slew of bad guys, lots of fast paced action and two terrific main characters. The Linear Tactical team is present in full force and the last of Project Crypt is dealt with. Highly entertaining book to read.
While I have loved all the Linear Tactical books, SHADOW might well be my favorite.
I have been a sucker for all the LT heroes, and Heath Kavanaugh (aka Shadow) is no exception. However, I think it’s the heroine in this story who really spoke to me. Maybe being shy and a tad on the brainy side (nothing like Lyn’s brilliance!), I could totally relate to the character and how she noticed the sexy, heroic “janitor” and didn’t look down her nose at him. A pretty accurate portrayal of a shy character and how she interacts with the world. Plus, her physical issues were written realistically, and led up to a poignant moment near the end. And for Heath to see her kindness and appreciate her intelligence and humor and extra curves is a real fantasy brought to life.
As always, there’s a great, twisty mystery with some very bad guys, some exciting action scenes, the development of a sweet, sexy relationship, and a very satisfying resolution. I knew Lyn was going to figure out the mystery, and I knew Heath was going to move heaven and earth to save her (in more ways than one). Any guy as hot as Heath who will willingly carry a murse (man-purse) to protect the woman he loves is a keeper. <3
Can't wait for the next LT book! There's such a rich, well-developed community of characters in this series. I'm looking forward to several characters getting their own stories in future books.
This series is SOOO my new addiction. Once I start reading I just can’t stop. As I’m sitting here typing this I’m dying to dive into the next book.
Loved Shadows story. It was full of suspense, action and jaw dropping moments.
This is another captivating book in the Linear Tactical series. Loved the characters.
Shadow by Janie Crouch is Book 6 in Linear Tactical series. This book features
Heath Kavanaugh aka Shadow and Jacquelyn (Lyn) Norris as the main characters. They were just phenomenal to read in this story. The plot was great and it was awesome to see other books/characters in the series make an appearance and also the connection to Bree and Tanner in this book.
Without giving anything away, Heath and Lyn make a great couple. Their path to one another is paved with sinister conspiracies & precarious situations that are mixed with drama, angst, twists, turns, steamy moments, lots of feels and romantic moments that lead to a great ending. Phenomenal Read!!!
My Rating: 4.5 stars ********
I loved this book and this series. Each book gets better. I could not put down. The chemistry was so good. I liked the suspense and how these two were together.
Shadow is book six in Janie Crouch’s exciting Linear Tactical series. Center of this story is Heath, an operative we have met in past books and the little sister of one of his best friends and teammates.
Heath is a very interesting character. We go in knowing he’s got issues in his head from programming that happened amidst a top-secret mission years ago, but we’re unclear on how much danger is still flying around until he’s knee deep into this mission.
Lyn sure doesn’t need another overprotective man in her life, but watching the attraction burn between the two of them when they are clueless as to who the other one is was a lot of fun.
I enjoyed Heath and Lyn’s story and recommend it to anyone looking for an action packed punch of intrigue with a strong group of background characters that play a large part in the story line. The entire series has been great, so you can’t go wrong with any of the six books already out.
Shadow by Janie Crouch is the 6th book in this series. They are each stand alone books but I love a great series. This book is about Heath and Lyn. Heath has nonstop voices uttering nonsense in his head. Lyn is the girl from a house of testosterone. Her father and her brothers are all military/law enforcement and she wants nothing to do with that lifestyle in her love life. Heath is the perfect guy for her. He is part of the janitorial staff at her college where she is working on her dissertation. She is a student teacher and is very shy. How does she end up part of a big scary mess? Heath works for Linear Tactical. He is asked to help out the FBI with a delicate case. He goes undercover at the college as one of the invisible janitors that the students and teachers aren’t even aware of. It’s the perfect cover. Until Lyn runs into trouble. This is a fast paced story of love, duty, family, and exciting twists and turns. I loved this book and highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to get drawn into a story and non stop reading until the book is finished! I read this book in 3 sittings only because I started so late each night. Excellent book by an excellent author!