Shadow's Forge 2: Trials on Tour

Geoff Richards, Ty Synclair, Jordan Cantrell, Jon Wiles, and Brian Cummings make up the highly successful band ShadowsForge and they have a reputation of being the British Bad Boys of Rock. Their after performance exploits have been relatively indiscriminate and many. Unfortunately, one of the members may have had a wild night with someone else’s woman and now said someone is gunning for them all. This does not stop their continuation of the Ethereal Edge Tour in Great Britain, but it does mean added security needs.

Two others also join them on tour. Young Diane Starling is still recovering from a tragic loss when she takes on the job as new seamstress of Shadow's Forge. The second woman is Valerie Leonard, a journalist intent upon writing a biography of the band.

Under the tension of threat, the band continues to make merry as the show goes on. They proceed much as they have done before though Ty limits sharing his extracurricular activities solely with his devoted wife since their meeting and Geoff has seemingly begun to look towards settling down.

The menace never seems to be very far away and it becomes clear that their security measures may not be enough.

Readers will thoroughly enjoy the second story in the Shadow's Forge series. All may not be well for these beloved scoundrels but one certainly enjoys getting to know the band members a bit better and watching the hilarity of their larks.

Front man and lead vocalist for the group, Geoff had happily embraced unrestrained lascivious behavior as a norm. The entertainment for us comes when a woman has caught his eye and he has been challenged to hop through a very high hoop so to speak in order to have a chance at her affections. Much to our amusement he accepts and tries to keep his resolve.

With the way that the story is written there is actually some ambiguity on who is the heroine of the piece. Readers will be enlightened in due time but actual romance isn’t truly the focus of this book. In fact, some may feel that the situation remains too unfinished.

The mystery man who is suiting actions to words in his threats and the incidents that befall the rockers keep us glued to the pages. Pacing is kept at a fair clip even as we find stretches of comic relief.

TRIALS ON TOUR is a cleverly written account of a 1980’s type of rock band with all of the over-the-top behavior, egos, and licentiousness. If you have ever wondered what it would be like to be around such a famous group then this is a fun way to live the experience vicariously.

March 2007