Rachel, an anthropologist, is worried about her twin brother. He hasn't contacted her and she assumes the worst. He was flying over the jungle of South America. A jungle, that Rachel knows can be very deadly.

Concern drives her to fly to South America in search of her brother. What she finds is adventure, excitement, terror and death and the jungle is not the only thing she needs to fear. In this exciting book, ancient mysteries combine with modern treachery.

This is one of the best stories I've read in a long time. While a tad slow in the beginning, Marcotte quickly picks up the pace. Marcotte's setting for this story is nothing less than incredible. Obviously a great deal of knowledge and research was done to develop his South American setting. Marcotte is masterful at entwining deadly animals, indians and intrigue into the story line. The setting is not only a great deal of fun, but thankfully is not so overdone as to turn this book into a fantasy.

Marcotte's characters are also well done. His villains are thoroughly evil and his good guys are just human enough for the reader to relate and just incredible enough to make the story exciting. That is, Marcotte's character's are just enough "larger than life" to keep the story interesting. Besides, how many "normal" people would go where these adventurers go?

Marcotte does a fantastic job of developing the plot. He takes the reader along on a delightful journey slowly, delicately building a complex plot. The complexity of the story is amazing. Unfortunately, Marcotte seems to suffer from a problem that many good authors have. While not as bad as many I've read (including Stephen King and Michael Crichton), Marcotte brings the reader almost to climax, but then suffers from premature plot ending. Plots should wrap up at a pace commesurate with the build up. Fortunately, Marcotte's ending is plausible; unfortunately, it is a little convenient. In convenient, quick endings, readers are often left wondering if the author became bored with story and just wanted to end it. On the other hand, in all fairness it is hard to unravel the complexity of a plot like the one in this book without putting the reader to sleep. The characters are so deeply entwined that perhaps this ending is the most appropriate. Don't let this foible deter you, its a little aggravating, but certainly does not detract from a thoroughly good read.

This story is outstanding. Do not hesitate to read it if you like adventure, archeology, history, or just plain fun reading. Marcotte has shown a strong talent for writing. If his future books are as good as this one, he's sure to garner a tremendous fan base.

Gold in the Shadow will be available through bookstores near the end of June. I checked around and found that Barnes and Noble is already carrying the listing. I give this story a nine (9).