Found Shadows, by P.T. Hylton, starts off with a bang. Books tend to hook me when they begin with an engaging, creepy, and mysterious prologue that leads to a time jump into our main story. Specific, I know, but it tells me that the author has already planned the payoff for me later, and is trying to spring that trap on me in as creative a manner as possible.

Once we get to the present, we meet our main character, Eric Partin. Eric was kidnapped when he was twelve years old, kept for weeks on end with nothing much really happening except for some strange tests, and then released with no answers or explanations. He goes on to live a relatively normal life, but is never able to shake those inexplicable events. When some strange happenings bring those past events racing to catch up with Eric, he's forced to return to his hometown of Wakefield to get the bottom of it.

Hylton's concept of the fade, which most of this book revolves around, is refreshingly original. We get a chance to see how different characters and different personality types handle this supernatural ability in a variety of ways. Seeing this, the author has created a lore that is explored thoroughly in Found Shadows, but hints at a multitude of other ways that this ability could pervade life both in and outside of Wakefield.
As a rule, concept is only as good as characters, and Hylton gives us a cast we can root for or against as the situation dictates. Eric is likeable and relatable, especially as he deals with normal transition in life, and is then thrust into extraordinary events. In the author's note when we read that we'll get to see what happens next with him, it just feels right. Baughman, our FBI agent who can't let a cold case go is all too easy to empathize with. Perhaps the story the reader will want to continue with the most is Becky, with the events she goes through and the teases present in the afterward. Our villain, Merle, is a bad dude, who somehow never comes off quite as threatening as he should given his actions throughout. If I had to guess at a reason for this, it could be because I wanted to find out more about his backstory and reasoning. Admittedly this is something that could be resolved in a sequel.

Something else about Hylton's work that caught my attention is the way he has carved a little piece of Appalachia out to make room for something of a shared universe. I'm an absolute sucker for stories that span not only multiple books, but even multiple series within an author's work. Wakefield/Rook Mountain make up Hylton's very own Castle Rock type getaway. Finding this out, I've now got my eye out for his Deadlock Series. If it's as alluring as Found Shadows, I'm sold.

I received a copy of this book from the author for review consideration.