Shadow of Innocence

by Ric Wasley

Book Overview

The Newport Folk Festival provides a groovy backdrop for this drug-and-sixties-music-soaked mystery, featuring partners in love and danger, Mick and Bridget, hopping on their motorcycles and into... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0692316140
• ISBN13: 9780692316146
• Release Date: October 2014
• Publisher: Tell-Tale Publishing Group, LLC
• Length: 338 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Fast-paced and evocative...thoroughly satisfying

Set in and around the Newport Folk Festival in the late sixties, Ric Wasley's Shadow of Innocence plunges the reader into that rich era, revealing both its allure and its naivety. The music, the flower children, the drugs and liberal sexuality are all depicted without a hint of nostalgia, and indeed they form but the backdrop to a tale of violence and corruption that contrasts sharply with the carefree atmosphere of the period. The two protagonists come from tough backgrounds: Mick is a Vietnam vet and son of a cop, Bridget the daughter of an IRA family. These two tough cookies call on lessons from their pasts as they struggle to solve the mysterious murder of an upper class New England debutante. Meanwhile, those who want the murder laid on the head of an innocent man pursue them with shocking brutality. The fast-paced plot is full of gut-wrenching twists and turns, but it is the cast of characters that linger in the mind: the perverse members of society's upper echelons, the thuggish hit men, the lost souls, hippy and little rich girls alike, and above all hard-headed Mick and resilient Bridget, whose deep affection for each other is unexpectedly touching. Shadow of Innocence is a thoroughly satisfying read.

Shadow of Innocence is far from innocent!

Ric Wasley is brilliant...witty, intelligent, and funny. As a talented musician himself, he has lived thru the 60's and knows exactly what he's talking about. He brings those times back to life! Wasley is right on target with details of his people and places (Boston, Newport, and Cape Cod....his old stomping grounds), and his imagination runs wild with the steamy action and suspenseful murder plot that twists and turns till your head spins. Outstanding writing...exciting reading...always something unexpected! You have to read it yourself to see what I mean...you won't be disappointed! Also, looking forward to another of his McCarthy mystery series...SCRIMSHAW...coming in 2008. Mick and Irish spitfire girlfriend Bridget will surely be in more danger, as trouble seems to follow them wherever life takes them...another great adventure of this gifted author, who makes the McCarthys seem like your good friends!

I was there and that's the way it was!

I attended the NFF for several years back in the early seventies and I can tell you that Wasley has the feel of it down just right. I even knew people who lived in Newport and the whole relationship of the town to the festival people was just the way it is in the book. But now, I'm more of a fan of mysteries than folk music, so none of that would matter if this weren't a rockin' good murder mystery with an unsympathetic victim and two really hot detectives. I ordered this book because of my fond memories of the festival, but I enjoyed it-and passed it on-for the sake of Mike and Bridgit.

Charming amatuer sleuths. Great setting. Ultra cool.

We're in Newport, home of the famous jazz festival. But this is 1968, the early days, when the festival was more a happening than an event. It was "be there, or be square", and Ric Wasley's "Shadow of Innocence", is definitely not square. Everything's cool, man, as with the summer festival as a backdrop, smart-aleck amateur sleuth Mick and clever girlfriend Bridget seek to take things easy and at the same time clear Mick's Viet Nam buddy's brother of murder charges. Just as it should be in a murder mystery, powerful forces are at work behind the scenes. Nothing is the way it seems on the surface, and the outlook for the brother quickly darkens. Mick's bike, a 650CC BSA, gets plenty of play as sinister forces close in. When Mick and Bridget get going and the Irish brogue flows like ale in a Dublin Inn, what killer would stand a chance? If you enjoy mystery, there's plenty to go around, action too, and if you're into sixties music the scenes will resonate all the more. A definite buy.