Shade
by John B. Olson
Nashville: B & H Publishing, 2008, 408 pp., softcover.

I met John Olson at the 2009 American Christian Fiction Writer's conference and that renewed my interest in reading more of his novels. I acquired Shade and was instantly engrossed in the supernaturally-flavored tale.

Brilliant but socially inept grad student Haily Maniates finds her life in shambles after she's attacked one night and then rescued by a huge homeless man who disappears. Her tale seems unbelievable and doctors diagnose her as a schizophrenic, insisting that she be medicated. With gypsy vampires, strained relationships and danger all around, Shade is not the book to read late at night if you're easily frightened. I loved it, and highly recommend it to fans of Dean Koontz and Ted Dekker. It's not as dark at Dekker's recent work, and the Christianity is more obvious, making it one of the top Christian suspense novels I've read in the past few years.

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