Slipping into Shadow [Large Print] [Hardcover]

This is the eighteenth and, at the moment, last novel written by Craig Thomas. It's a little sad to think that he's done with his writting carrer. But at least he went out with a pretty good novel, featuring his character Patrick Hyde, no less. Although his novels written in the 90's were missing a little something from his cold war era novels, this one was one of his better post-cold war efforts.

Where we last left Patrick Hyde, he had moved back home to Australia with his girlfriend Ros. Ros is becoming sucessful with her business, and Hyde is helping out Australian Intelligence involving a drugs ring and Burma. When things get rough he goes back to England to see if his old boss Kenneth Aubrey can help him out. But Aubrey has his own problems, and just maybe their problems are connected. Craig also brought back some sub-plots from his previous novel, A Different War, particularly those involving British MP Marion Pyott and David Winterborne. Like in A Different War, there's a lot of political/economical things going on that can be hard to follow at times, because it's somewhat boring, but it all eventually makes sense.

In the end, it's a pretty good Craig novel. Hyde is always fun to follow on his adventures, and we even get some quick appearances from Godwin and Cass, characters from previous novels, even if they were mere cameos. I also found Marion's story easier to follow this time around than in A Different War. The novel of course includes the recurring "man hunt" plot device which Craig has used masterfully in many of his books.

I'd love to see Craig publish more novels, whether it's what Hyde and Aubrey are up to these days (if Aubrey hasn't died yet, he must be getting up there), or even setting the novels in the past, which I think would be a great route to go with and could open up so many possibilites. But if that day never comes, then we still have eighteen novels from Craig Thomas to revisit from time to time. Thanks Craig, and see ya 'round...

One of Craig Thomas' better books with, compared with his other recent releases. It is not too far fetched and set in Burma which is quite interesting. I'd recommend the Firefox books and Winter Hawk to start though, if you have not read his other books.

First off, I've been a huge fan of Craig Thomas, especially his Mitchell Gant and Patrick Hyde characters. In the U.S., Mitchell Gant has been a little bigger I'm assuming because he's an American character whereas Hyde is an Australian working from the U.K. Gant has inspired the Firefox movie (and I think a few rip-offs that use the same story but different name...sad). Its a shame Hyde hasn't gotten the same publicity. I would love to see a Colin Farrel or someone like him get a chance to play Hyde in a movie...

Still Hyde to me is a much more developed and relatable, if not likeable character. And a few years went by after reading Playing with Cobras, The Last Raven, and some others, I was happy to see there was a book out there that I hadn't read yet that would continue the story of Hyde. The book was Slipping into Shadows.

After reading it, I have to say I was a little disappointed. Craig Thomas' writing is still at a high standard, and the story was maybe more intriguing to me than some of the others, but I think I felt let down in Hyde himself. It's a good book, well-worth the read especially if you are familiar with the characters and I would recommend it...but.....

**** MINOR SPOILER AHEAD ****

Generally, I felt that Hyde was kinda like a lame duck for a large part of the story. His actions didn't seem to move the story forward much of the time. It's as if things were happening to him and he was reacting rather than instigating many of the events. In the beginning he seems beat down by the world and almost resolved to failure. His girlfriend Ros is a much bigger part of the story, and not just as a damsel in distress thankfully. But including her to such a high extent pulled a lot of the focus away from Hyde. Not to give anything away, but if this truly is the last book in the Hyde saga, I'm disappointed that this is how he will Slip into the Shadows...