Walking in the Shadows by Cassandra Giovanni

Seconds seem like a lifetime when the life you lived is slowly drained out of you by those who care not what you felt, hoped, or dreamed. When the darkness comes it is all-consuming; there is no light and there is no pain. It is the never-ending loss of hope that now consumes me as I die in his arms.
This is Abigail Martin’s nightmare. After her parents become the first victims of a serial killer obsessed with the vampire saga, "Crimson Reign," Abigail does the only thing that she thinks will save her from her parent’s fate–she becomes some one else. As Vera MacIntrye, she falls in love with the very handsome Tad Knightley, and then walks into her first day at her new school to see him standing at the front of the classroom. He’s every teenage girls fantasy, but as he writes “Mr. Knightley: AP British Literature” across the white board Vera realizes the one person who filled the gaping hole in her heart will soon rip it wide open again.

Vera struggles to adjust to being a ‘normal’ teenager with very adult responsibilities like paying the rent, buying groceries and making sure that lights stay on, while being drawn time and time again back to her off-limits teacher. What’s worse is he is drawn to her too, and their worlds refuse to stay apart when Tad finds Vera screaming in terror in the parking lot after the winter formal. The murderer has struck again and is getting closer to the next target–Vera. Tad will do whatever he can to save her, even if it means losing his dream job, but will it be enough when the murderer is closer than anyone ever thought?

Book description from Goodreads.com.

My Review 

                                    I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

   Wow!  Talk about a crazy and amazing book.  It definitely kept me guessing and the ending was truly not what I expected.

   Abigail is only a senior in high school but has found herself running from a nightmare.  Her parents were murdered by a serial killer that is obsessed with a series of vampire books called Crimson Reign.  Her parents were murdered when the Crimson Reign movie was released and in order to protect herself she changes her name to Vera and moves to a new town.  While she is there she meets a wonderful man named Tad Knightley, a student from the local college, and they fall in love.  The only problem is that she doesn't tell him that she is still in high school.  All is fine until he graduates and gets a job as a teacher at her school.  As if that wasn't enough to deal with it is also time for a new Crimson Reign movie to be released and Vera fears the killer will strike again.  Vera also feel that the killer may be getting closer to finding her. 

   This book is full of twists and turns and kept me on the edge of my seat.  I am  not a huge fan of horror or thrillers that are too intense so it was great that this book had the romance between Vera and Tad as well as a lot of humorous parts to keep it from being too much. 

   I loved the romance between Vera and Tad.  Vera is such a sweet girl and you can't help feel for her and her situation.  Tad is exactly what she needs.  While I in no way condone any personal relationship between a teacher and a student I was able to overlook their relationship because when they met he was not her teacher and she is already an adult and a senior in high school.  I also loved that Tad's last name is Knightley so he is referred to as Mr. Knightley; as in the character from Pride and Prejudice.  That made him all the more endearing to me.

  I hate when I know who the 'bad guy' is from the beginning of the book!  In this story the author did a great job of not letting too much slip as far as who the killer was.  Because of this I was constantly waiting for the killer to jump from the shadows and shatter Vera's world again.  I did not even begin to suspect who the killer might be until the end of the book and even then the motive was a complete surprise.

  If you want to read a great suspenseful book that isn't too gory or intense this is definitely the book for you.  It contains no gore or over the top violence but just enough intensity to get your heart pumping.

Parent's Guide:  This book contains mild swearing and the theme is not appropriate for younger teens.  There is a person that is murdered in the book and the serial killer is after Vera so it is a bit intense.  Definitely a PG-13 book based on the general story line.