Shadow Behind the Rainbow by Otis Randolf

Title: Shadow Behind the Rainbow

Series: Shadows and Rainbows 01

Author: Otis Randolf

Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense

Length: Novel (197pgs)

Publisher: Omniversal Publishing (20th September 2011)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4 ½Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: On a quest for self-acceptance, one man will journey over the rainbow to discover a toxic mix of obsession and murder. Denard Lewis clings to alcohol and his professional reputation as a shrewd PR sports agent in an effort to ignore the truth about his sexuality. Denard’s plight, however, is magnified when he becomes entangled in a dysfunctional triangle with his high-profile basketball client who is determined to have him, and another man suspected in a double homicide. Finding inner peace may be a matter of life and death.

Warning: Some readers may be offended by some context of this book e.g. Church involved child abuse, multiple sex partners, dubious consent, drug use and violence in a sexual setting.  

Review: Okay, wow, I am at a loss for words to describe this book… okay, let me try. This book isn’t just about Denard, although he is the primary figure in this book.  This book also touches on the lives of the men around Denard and their reactions to him; love, hate and obsession. There are some m/f scenes throughout the book with secondary characters involved.

At first, I couldn’t get a handle on the story-line or the plot but the more I read the more I began to figure it out.  It doesn’t stay focused on Denard; it skips to other people who play a part in Denard’s life whether directly or indirectly.   And at first that isn’t obvious, so you sit there thinking ‘what the hell’.  but it becomes apparent after a while. We have some flashbacks that give more depth and information to the story and clears up a bit of the confusion that you feel.

You get pulled into this book as you want to find out more about what you have learnt and then more mysteries appear and more questions. You feel a lot of different emotions for all these characters and they range from love to hate to loathing to indifference to wanting to murder a couple of them and these emotions go up and down all throughout the book. This is not a light read or an easy read but it’s a brilliant read because while you have the mystery and suspense and murder, you have Denard who is struggling with alcohol and his sexuality while being pulled by his emotions in different directions to different men.

My recommendation is this… this is a must read book but don’t expect an easy read of it or a happy ending and Otis Randolf, I hope the next book is out soon because really, I need to know what happens.