Shadow and Light is a novel about a photographer who loses her eight-year-old daughter in a tragic accident then chances across an opportunity to help another parent save her own daughter.With her marriage strained and her business on the verge of failure, the novel’s protagonist, thirty-four-year-old Maggie Miller, seeks emotional refuge from the death of her daughter in the solitary activity of … of taking pictures of families at rest stops on the Florida Turnpike. When she finds she has inadvertently taken a picture of a missing child, Maggie’s near-obsessional quest to find the missing girl further imperils her marriage, her business and, to the concern of those closest to her, her already-fragile psyche. Her decisions and the actions that follow her search could save or endanger the child’s life, and Maggie realizes she has been attempting to do what she could not do for her own child. In the process of facing the subjectivity of perception and the fallibility of human nature, she brings herself to the first stirrings of self-forgiveness, acceptance, and growth.
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I finished this book over two weeks ago and still, it remains in my head. Koris knows how to write a story that captivated me immediately and she tells it with such raw emotions that I could truly feel the heartache of Maggie who lost her eight-year-old daughter. Something Maggie at times blames herself for.
A gut-wrenching novel that shows the heartache, anguish, and guilt parents go through when experiencing the loss of a child. Their marriage is also put to the test. Maggie wants to talk to her husband about their daughter and lean on him for support. He has no words and is angered by her grief. Will their marriage survive?
But this is not only a book about grief. It is a suspense thriller that involves a kidnapped child. Maggie believed she captured a picture of the girl and is determined to find out the truth at any cost. Even when the police turned her away, believing she was a grieving mother who was seeing things. Anxious to see what Maggie will discover, I could not turn the pages fast enough. What unfolded was a battle of “he said”, “she said”. Maggie needed to find a way to know who was telling the truth. What she discovers is mind-blowing.
This book was beautifully written. Koris is a brilliant writer who pays attention to detail and paints an amazing story with her words.
Shadow and Light is an emotionally fast-paced story that will have you guessing about the motives of most of the characters until the end. Carol Koris wound thought-provoking questions within a mystery that will startle you.
Maggie Miller lost her only daughter, Lilly, in an accident, and her world is falling apart. Her husband doesn’t communicate with her about their loss, and her photography business is suffering in her absence. Maggie finds some solace in taking random pictures of people, and she stumbles across a girl in one of her shots who resembles a missing girl. Weaving her way through the police and the girl’s parents, Maggie finds that the girl’s disappearance may be more than a simple kidnapping. Is Maggie’s obsession with the missing girl a symptom of her grief, or has she stumbled upon something bigger? Will she choose to move forward with her own investigation and risk her marriage and possibly her life?
Shadow and Light was a thrilling story that had me holding my children just a little tighter. I recommend it for young adults and experienced readers, due to some mature descriptions.
I received this book as a gift in a giveaway.
Carol Koris has created a wonderful, emotion packed story that is impossible to put down. She masterfully crafts a story so filled with a roller coaster of emotions that the reader is completely immersed and invested in what is happening. Her words vividly evoke the feelings of loss, despair, uncertainty, and aloneness. Just as the reader feels they have gotten control of the emotions, Koris inserts a deftly crafted twist that starts the emotional ride all over again.
From the beginning, I was sucked into the events unfolding before my eyes. It did not take much to be able to envision the actions playing out on the page-as if watching in real life. The characters were real-they could easily be you, or me. I felt Maggie’s pain, her loss, her inability to accept that she would not see her child again. I felt her confusion as all her supports systems seemed to fall away and she was marooned in a sea of despair all alone. Then, as she begins to search for the missing child, her determination is so strong, but, I was there with her when she began to doubt, to question her own innate feelings. I also knew the reality of her husband’s feelings- how hard he struggled to maintain control, and to try to regain the ‘normal’ that was loss with the death of their child. I mourned for the divide he felt growing between he and Maggie- his lack of ability to know how to address the fact that all his life seemed to be slipping away from him. Maggie’s indecision in the face of all the people telling her that she was wrong and only reacting out of her own grief as she tried to tell them what she has discovered left me frustrated and unsure, just as she felt.
If you like a psychological roller coaster ride, with a twisty turning mystery involved then this is a book you will love. I read the entire book in about 8 hours- not able to stop until I finished it at 3 am!
I gave this book 5 stars only because there are not more than 5 available!! I eagerly await her next literary endeavor.
Book Review: Shadow and Light by author, Carol Koris
Shadow and Light will wring out your emotions until nothing is left, with its intent to tug at the heartstrings along with a twist of the mysterious that will have you turning the pages vehemently.
This is the story of one mother’s journey through the stages of profound loss of the very one she can’t possibly live without. With heart-stopping fear, sadness, and yes, hope, love and tenderness, Ms. Koris has crafted a narrative of true emotion that gives the reader exactly what she meant for them to experience~ a journey down the heartrending path as to just how far one will go to save the life of a child, while simultaneously mourning the loss of their own.
Shadow and Light is an ‘edge of your seat’ read that keeps you engrossed throughout each and every characters offering to the story as they pull you into their lives with their most unique and telling way as to the delicate balance between grief and love.
I thank Ms. Koris for bringing this breathtaking story to life, one I know will stay with me for a very long time, and one I most highly recommend.
5 Stars
#ShadowAndLight
#CarolKoris
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Wild Sage Book Blog
This book is a compelling read. The subject is tragically sad with a mystery intertwined. Lots of insight into how people manage their grief. I could not stop reading this book. The mystery was interesting to try to figure out. I would recommend this book to anyone. I might even nee$ to read it again to see what I may have missed the first time.
Shadow and Light is an amazing book!
Carol Koris’ beautiful writing style and vivid descriptions pulled me into the story on the first page. She has the gift of making the reader experience every feeling the protagonist goes through. The book is at times very emotional (understandably, given the tragic events), which adds to the reading pleasure.
I would recommend Shadow and Light to everyone who is looking for a fast-paced, well-written book about loss, love, and hope.
Shadows and light….a photographer’s medium they use to create their works of art. Shadows and light….also how sometimes life experiences can be. Shadows and light….something secret or something known. “Shadow and Light” the perfect title for this book I couldn’t put down once I started it. Ms. Koris has taken all those possibilities of what shadows and light can be and combined them into a novel that captured me from the very tragic beginning. This is the story of Maggie Miller and how her life changes in the blink of an eye when she loses her eight-year-old daughter from a terrible accident. My heart broke for Maggie. “The ache followed her like a shadow, larger sometimes than others, but always a part of her. …..she realized that shadows don’t really disappear in the dark; you just can’t see them.”
Maggie is devasted from the loss of her daughter, Lilly. She finds comfort in taking photos of random people from the “shadows” of her car. She captures the image of a little girl who resembles her beloved Lilly and also resembles a missing little girl. If this is actually the missing girl, what should Maggie do with this information and who will believe her? This is where the mystery and suspense begins. I was dropped right into the pages and couldn’t come out. Ms. Koris has a writing talent that took me through the gamut of emotions with Maggie. This book is filled with “hold my breath” moments as well as the anquish of a mother’s loss. Ms. Koris creates characters in this story with realisic emotions, struggles, and soul searching challenges. The writing is vivid and superb! I became invested in Maggie’s search for truth, justice and acceptance of what the shadows and light of life gave her. I could feel how Ms. Koris’s heart was poured into the story through her characters.
This book is a page-turning, hard-to-put-down read. I want to thank Ms. Koris for the honor of reading such a thrilling, compelling, and suspense filled novel. All opinions and thoughts in this review are my heartfelt own. I definitely recommend this five star for me read.
This story has a lot going on in it and starts with an accident. Maggie loses her daughter and while dealing with the loss accidentally gets involved in a missing child case, a prominent lawyer is looking for his kidnapped daughter. Maggie takes random pictures and unexpectedly takes pictures of the lawers daughter which gets her to wonder what should she do? This is a good debut story with language and innuendo.
Could Maggie have prevented her daughter Lilly’s death if she wouldn’t have been in the darkroom at that moment or would she have been somewhere else in her home at that moment? As Maggie‘s husband Brian tries to cover up his emotions from Lilly’s death will he be able to save his and Maggie’s marriage?
I read this book into Settings it pulled me in from the very beginning it carried me through all the way to the end it was a fast paced read for me.
I recommend this book to everyone and anyone who has or has not lost a child. The Author Carol Koris writes with such intensity you will feel the characters grief and emotional pain throughout the story.
I am a new Carol Koris fan and can’t wait to read more of her books!
I give this book a definite 5 Star Review!
“Shadow and Light” by Carol Koris is about a professional photographer who is grieving the tragic loss of her only child. She finds out she photographed a child that was kidnapped, so she makes it her mission to find the little girls that was kidnapped because she want to return her to her parents. This book is full of suspense and twists and turns. I loved this book because it kept me on the edge of my seat. This is a hard to put down book and I highly recommend it.
When I read the prologue I thought my heart was breaking. The author conveyed such pain in that brief chapter. I thought the whole book was going to be like that, but surprisingly, a mystery ensued. I loved the way the author portrayed all the characters and I really enjoyed the story. The ending between the main character and her husband was very realistic. I hope to read other books by this author
I felt myself drawn to this book by the cover I saw online. It is haunting in a way that it looks ethereal. The image proved to be true, I discovered, as I was pulled into this heart wrenching but incredibly well written story! It is a story of a parent’s worst nightmare and the unrelenting grief and guilt that is inevitable. It is so deeply described that one could only surmise that the author must have a close personal experience. The effect of a tragedy like this on a marriage is very well portrayed and you feel the struggle as you go through the process with them.
But there is more to this story. As a photographer, Maggie (the mother) has been looking at life through a camera for years. So, it is not surprising that she returns to her camera lens to see life in a different light outside of her grief. Or, was it her grief that had her sitting in her car for hours snapping pictures of random people at a service area near her home? Did she really see a lost girl that day through her lens or was she hoping to find her own “lost” daughter?
Loss and grief are front and center in this masterfully written thriller. In Shadow and Light, author Carol Koris artfully depicts the heartbreak that follows the death of a child, while deftly crafting an edge-of-the-seat mystery filled with unexpected turns. I highly recommend this page-turner.
Great storyline , though the beginning is very sad and heart breaking , what comes from the rest of the story is hopeful and intriguing .It makes you think about Fate and the hand it plays in everyday life ,and to what extent would you be willing to save a life .
If Maggie wouldn’t have been in her dark room, could she have prevented the accident that took her daughter’s life?
Maggie is a photographer and in deep depression since her daughter’s death which she blames on herself.
To cope with her loss, she goes to rest stops on the Florida Turnpike and takes photos of families.
A photo she had taken one day could be something that may help or hinder a family whose daughter was kidnapped. Could this really be the same girl? No one believes her.
Maggie had an obsession about the girl who had been kidnapped and insisted that it was her and that she needed to help find her.
Ms. Koris’s writing is pull-you-in and enjoyable even though the book’s content is heartbreaking. You can feel Maggie’s gut wrenching pain as she grieves. You can also feel her husband’s frustration as he tries to help her cope.
Along with the grief we have a mystery to solve and another decision for Maggie to make. Whose story should she believe about the kidnapping?
SHADOW AND LIGHT is very well written with a high level of interest because of the subject matter and the author’s writing style.
SHADOW AND LIGHT has an excellent twist that took the theme from domestic problems and loss to suspense.
It is an excellent book for those who enjoy mystery and those who enjoy twists and turns.
You will need some tissues for the tender and sad moments that happen. 5/5
This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
This was my first read by this new author to me and I am so happy I got the opportunity to read this book. What a heart wrenching, page turner, hard to put down book. Maggie, a photographer and her husband, Brian, a pilot, lost their sweet little daughter due to an accident. Throughout their grieving you feel like you are right there with them experiencing the ups and downs of a tragedy and how it can pull a family apart. Maggie’s biggest joy is taking photos and then finds out one of the photos she has may be that of an abducted child. She is determined at any cost to find this child so no parent has to go thru the loss she did. There are lots of twists and turns to this captivating story so you will have to read this to find out if Maggie was able to help another family. Can Maggie and Brian come back from disaster and rebuild their marriage. I highly recommend this book.
My Review
Carol Halik Koris
#Telemachuspress
This was a well-written story..
The author did an amazing job I loved this story it kept me intrigued to the very last page.. I wanted to know how the story ended..
Maggie is in her darkroom where she develops her film she is a photographer takes many photos.. her daughter Lilly wants to go outside and play not waiting for her mom to come out of her darkroom..
When an accident happens that destroys Maggie’s life… causing distance between her and her husband. Brian is a airplane pilot..
Gone more now than before.
While Maggie can no longer do her job. shes sitting at a gas station take pictures Love’s capturing people’s Expressions on their faces when they’re not noticing..
Time away from her Life .
Is what she’s trying.
But Ends up with Photos of many faces among them . A young child whose been kidnapped.
The Truth of the This Child
Will Definitely. Not be what one might think.
This was a Book I Really Enjoyed.