The Shadow Collector: Natalya & Owen by Bonnie Randall is LIVE & we have fun facts & an excerpt!

The Shadow Collector: Natalya & Owen by Bonnie Randall <— THE HOUSE THAT HAUNTS THEM ALL!! It’s the start of a series, and the author is celebrating by sponsoring today’s post and newsletter!

The Shadow Collector, the first novel in Bonnie Randall’s Shadow Valley series, cracks the door open to …

…a house that stands between them—one Natalya cannot remember, one Owen will never forget. Once upon a time, Owen watched a little girl appear and then vanish upon its checkerboard floor. Natalya holds no conscious recollection of the place, yet muscle memory can unerringly propel her through its endless halls.

Owen has been summoned back there by a street seer who knows what he once saw—and who predicts a bloodbath of murder if Owen does not go home. Natalya has been called psychically too—her own ability, awakening when an enigmatic note arrives at her door, one that confirms what she’s always hoped was just lore: that she, a retrocognitive, was born into a cult of others just like her.

Now face-to-face in the house that haunts them, Natalya and Owen are two strangers racing to unravel how their histories are combined—for a question is embedded within Natalya’s strange note: Where did all the children go? Who was once in this house with them? And how many are prepared to kill just to keep them all secret?

Fun Facts About The Shadow Collector

1.) Want small town secrets? Every member of The Shadow Collector’s big, complex cast is concealing at least one truth—and there’s no bigger secret-keeper than the house that haunts them all. Hulking over the local graveyard, (and looking more like a cathedral than a house), Haslom Hall is the mysterious backdrop to all of Natalya Nikoslav’s dreams…and is the unforgotten locale of Owen Brophy’s every nightmare.

2.) Natalya can access Haslom Hall via what she calls ‘Shadows’, a psychic ability that sets her apart from “Fivers”—the name she’s given all those who are trapped within the limitations of the five known (or accepted) senses. What Natalya’s Shadows reveal in Haslom Hall shocks her: first, phantom peonies, her symbolic flower of love, are everywhere. Why? Who are they for? And what is she to make of all the clues stacking up that strongly indicate she has found family? But who’s related to who? And who—or what—has kept them apart?

3.) Told via Dual POV, The Shadow Collector’s alternating narrative was no doubt inspired by the author’s years of practicing clinical social work, where she learned that there are many accurate sides to every one story. As such, the layers and twists in this thriller reveal not only the underlying mystery, but also the depth of each character…and the richness of the relationships they have with each other. You’ll root for the love story woven into this plot—but be equally invested in the deep friendships and bonds present too.

4.) And, when you close the cover, you’ll be satisfied that at least two of the characters have their HEA—but you, like them, will nevertheless still want the answer to the question that stalks them: “Where did all the children go?”

EXCERPT

Take A Peek Inside The Shadow Collector

“I felt you in Haslom Hell.”

Owen’s voice, over her shoulder. Cautiously, she turned. “You…” She cleared her throat. “You overestimate yourself, Fiver.”

His jaw ticked. “Did you track me into Haslom Hell?”

“D-did you get the ledger?”

He snapped the bound volume up, snapped it down. “Answer me, Natalya.”

“Why are you asking?” Best defense, go offense.

“Because I felt you in Haslom Hall.”

She stuck her chin out. “What do you think you felt?”

“I don’t think I felt. I know I felt.”

“What was it?” she whispered, but as their eyes locked, she already knew.

“Pink flowers,” he said. “I saw them, felt them, on my face. On my body.”

Peonies. How, why could he see—feel—her peonies?

“They were you,” he said. “Where were you?”

Was this what he looked like when he arrested someone? Uncompromising? Unforgiving? “I…”

“Where, Natalya? When you promised me you would not go back there because Vince Haslom’s ghost almost choked you to death in that bloodbath office—where were you?”

“I…was just scared,” she whispered. “Scared you’d get hurt.”

He pitched the ledgers to the floor. “Come here.”

The growl raised the hair on her arms.

“Come here, Natalya.”

The intensity stole her breath. Her feet floated to him.

He jerked her to his chest and the way his heart thundered…

“The minute I understood why you’re so sad, I swore I would never be the reason,” he said.

Shadows swarmed, peonies and… —LIES—

Lies. She tried pushing away. “I was just worried. Scared. You know I’m a sissy—”

“You’re no sissy, Tsarina.” He searched her face “How have you survived? How has your heart stayed so selfless, so loving, when you’ve been so hurt?”

—LIAR—said the Shadows, yet she was knee-deep in peonies. “Owen—”

“Did you know I want to break Prince Charming’s jaw?”

“Um…” She squinted. “What?”

“Your prissy Prince Charming. I’d break his arms if he tried to hold you all night.”

She gasped, then laughed, couldn’t help it. “Owen, there is no Prince Charming. There is no one. I…” Her smile dwindled. “Have no one.”

“You have me.” He claimed her mouth.

A Song List? Say No More!

Music informs my fiction Every.Day, and this novel—like my others, and my current works-in-progress (Books 2, 3, and 4 of this series)—has a playlist that’s every bit as intense, as eerie, and sometimes as heartbreaking as the atmosphere caught within its pages.

Here are the tracks that set the mood for The Shadow Collector: