You
probably are familiar with Matthew Scott Hansen in at least some
capacity. He is a former screenwriter, among other occupations, and
has co-written three topical nonfiction works in the current
events/popular culture field. THE SHADOWKILLER is his first of what
hopefully will be a long list of fictional titles. Hansen, to put
it succinctly, has the right stuff.

At its heart, THE SHADOWKILLER is the story of a Bigfoot creature
running dangerously but cleverly amok in upstate Washington. The
creature has a reason --- Hansen keeps it deliberately but
wonderfully vague --- and is out for revenge. The author could have
just told a horrific story about this angry, terrifying, incredibly
strong and quick legendary beast who is prowling around kicking
butt (and eating it. Yes, eating. Did I forget to mention that?),
taking names (well, not exactly, but it has rudimentary psychic
powers, too) and just generally scaring the heck out of readers.
And Hansen does that, make no mistake about it. He wisely lets his
audience know, almost from the beginning, what is causing the
mysterious disappearances of a logger, some hikers, a champion
biker, and just plain folks from the environs of rural Snohomish
County.

Hansen does not scrimp on the descriptions either, and as a result
THE SHADOWKILLER is not the type of novel you'll want to read over
a 12-inch meatball sub. He also has brought a number of great,
memorable characters along for the ride --- some you will
recognize, others you won't. One is Ty Greenwood, a former software
king who earned the "former" in that title when he encountered a
Bigfoot creature and became obsessed with it, even while no one
believed him. Another is Ben Campbell, a venerable character actor
whose heritage and early encounter with a Bigfoot creature provides
him with an important and fateful link with what is about to
occur.

There is Mac Schneider, a county sheriff who realizes and accepts
the truth about the dangerous creature, a mindset at odds with his
superiors, who prefer that a more conventional explanation of the
series of sudden and mysterious disappearances of the citizenry be
found. And there is Kris Walker, a television news reporter who
provides Schneider --- and a number of others --- with a lust
interest, proving that, should Hansen tire of writing thrillers, he
easily could make a living penning erotica.

Surprises abound as THE SHADOWKILLER thunders to an explosive
ending. It is great, gory and erotic fun, with a tinge of irony and
a subtle hint of morality thrown in for good measure. I loved every
page of it!