This is book 4 in the Marc Dane series. A very good thriller, with parallels to the current 'covid' plandemic - "Nothing Spreads Faster Than Fear", especially when this fear is promoted by high ranking medical 'experts', the mainstream media and the government. ( )

I have wanted to read a James Swallow book for a while and as much as I don't like to jump into the middle of series, I decided to start with Shadow, which is book 4 of the Marc Dane series. I can say with conviction that you can most definitely read Shadow as a standalone thriller but I'm even more eager to read the previous books now as there is such an amazing dynamic between the main characters, Marc and Lucy.

Marc Dane is a former MI6 data guy who has been thrust into the action, and there isn't half some action in Shadow as a worldwide hunt begins to stop a deadly bioweapon from releasing a killer virus. I found the idea of a bioprinter that can create deadly viruses at the touch of a button very scary indeed and would like to think it's science fiction but a quick google tells me otherwise. It's amazing to think that bioprinting could be used for transplants in the future but as with anything that is created to benefit people there is always the risk that someone will manipulate it for their own ends. A theoretical Dr Evil could hold the whole world to ransom; thanks for the nightmares, James Swallow!

There is an awful lot going on in Shadow and I got myself a bit mixed up at times over who was who, but I couldn't stop reading as I needed to find out what was going to happen next. I loved the character of Marc Dane, especially as he can quote the original Star Wars trilogy from memory, and I thought of him as a kind of geeky James Bond. The geek in me also loved that Star Wars was mentioned on page 77 as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was released in 1977. I love little details, or coincidences, like this.

Shadow is a full-throttle, high-octane, action-packed thriller; I am now chomping at the bit to read more Marc Dane and Lucy Keyes books.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. ( )