I really enjoyed this book at first- it was a unique idea that I hadn't encountered before, and I liked the eeriness of the build. Some of the clues dropped seemed to point to something Lovecraftian, and I was looking forward to finding out how everything unraveled.

However, the tone shift towards the end was just too much. It started seeming less horror and more... action sci-fi. There also just seemed to be too many handy coincidences put in place to wrap things up. I found myself skimming through the last fourth or so of the book.

Still, I did like the author's writing style, and can appreciate the uniqueness of his ideas. I wouldn't mind trying another book of his.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

If you aren't familiar with shadow flicker, imagine a fan blade spinning with a bright light behind it. Now imagine that fan is up to 500 feet tall and it's between the windows of your house and the evening sun. That constant whir and light-dark-light pattern would be enough to drive anyone insane.

Fictionally based on the true-life phenomenon of shadow flicker, the story follows investigator Oscar as he travels to Kidney Island on behalf of the Aerospace company to see if there really are ill effects on the residents from the turbines. After highly enjoying the author's winter-based novel, Snowball, I was thrilled to pick up Shadow Flicker.

Horror frequently targets the small town and Kidney Island is no different. There are a ton of strange happenings on the island as both people and animals act erratically. At first, the symptoms of the shadow flicker fall into the expected territory—sleepiness from the hum, headaches from the flashing light, animals disturbed by the turbines. Then the true oddness is discovered. A child thought to be lost in the water is seen again, but only in the flicker. Time actually stops for one of the island's residents. Oscar is treated like the outsider he is and slowly sinks into the oddness and delirium affecting the area and its inhabitants.

As with Snowball, this takes about another bizarre turn with its slow burn. More and more of the characters' backgrounds start to creep to the surface. Where you think the novel will lead, is not where it takes you.I didn't dislike the ending but it definitely took it in a direction that I was not expecting.

Only Gregory Bastianelli can write a book as engrossing and page turning as Shadow Flicker! I couldn't put this book down and read in 2 days - great beach read...but I'd stay out of the ocean!!

I really enjoyed reading this book. First time reading Gregory Bastianelli. I enjoyed the plot, the characters, and the pacing. Kind of a cross genre book too, with science fiction, horror, and thriller aspects. Can't wait for the next book from Gregory Bastianelli. #ShadowFlicker #NetGalley

Before I give you my thoughts of Shadow Flicker, I must say that I have never found a book that's been published by Flame Tree Press to not be my 'cup of tea'. Judging by the front cover and the blurb, I was raring to get started reading. A book that's a blend of genres, horror, mystery, sci-fi and supernatural it was a book I enjoyed to the fullest.
A small island, wind turbines and a strange outsider sent to investigate complaints from the island community. This is a slow burner that slowly puts everything in place , sets the strong foundations which makes for a creepy and ominous tale.
Oscar is the outsider who is sent to the island to investigate the complaints about the wind turbines. He interviews the residents who have complained and gets to hear some stories that are increasingly bizarre. These stories are, according to the residents, due to shadow flicker and the noise that comes from the wind turbines. Are these wind turbines really causing these crazy things, or are the members of the Island community experiencing mental illnesses?
This really is a book with a fresh and unique plot. Gregory Bastianelli has done some fantastic world building to make the reader feel like they are transported to Kidney Island with the strange things that are going on.
His characters are all so different with their own personalities so there is no confusion as they are introduced into the story. This made it such an easy book to just ignore the world around me and keep flipping the pages for as long as I could. As I got into the second half of the book the action ramped up along with the strangeness. The pace of it had me almost wearing the kindle out as I read so fast to find out what happened next.
Such a unique book that has a great mix of genres throughout that I can't pin it to one or two. It's different and a fabulous read. I so enjoyed it.

Having read SNOWBALL by the author i was eager to dive into this latest offering. It was a story I really got stuck in to and enjoyed. The tension seemed to rise with every turn of the huge turbines. From a quiet and unsettling start as we are drip fed the plot we are taken on a terrifying journey. A journey into the disturbed and fearful minds of the residents affected by the giants fans rotation. Focusing on three different residents perspectives of the turbines we learn how they and their lives are impacted on a hourly basis. As the investigation deepens we are introduced to more nefarious reasons for the issues which are the ones that form the nucleus of the story. I don’t want to add too much on this part of the book as it will spoil it for you the reader. Suffice to say it was a great addition to the tale of Kidney Island. I certainly wont look at a wind turbine in the same benign way in future.



Sorry i copied a different review onto this page

I started reading this with a conspiracy theory thriller vibe, but then it shifted into a surreal, eerie, mystery. One which threatened to expose many secrets on the island. Now, I wouldn’t call this book fast-paced, but it didn’t need to be. It gently creates tension and before I knew it, it felt palpable palpable. I was hooked and couldn’t put it down.

The effect of the moving shadows from the wind turbines’ huge blades, and the constant humming sound that came with it, was different for each person and even the livestock on the small island. From headaches and sleeplessness, to effectively losing one’s mind. With complaints from the residents, the owners of the wind farm want an investigators from their insurers to visit the island and find out what’s happening, all while denying any responsibility.

I liked many of the characters. Those from Aerosource were immediately pigeon holed as suspicious, evasive, bad guys. Oscar and Melody were my main favourites; both strong , inquisitive, flawed, and very likeable. Other characters played their parts well and were credible.

Overall, this book kept me up way too late, and I’ve overdosed on Brazilian coffee. This was an enjoyable read which held my attention, and which I am happy to recommend to readers of mystery novels. I gave Shadow Flicker, by Gregory Bastianelli, four stars.

No, really, everything’s fine. Just. Fine.

Those were not words spoken in the novel Shadow Flicker by Gregory Bastianelli. They certainly could have been, though.

Oscar Basaran is an insurance investigator. His company’s client is being sued for causing harm to some islanders with windmills. On the plus side, the windmills are producing clean power for not only the island but also some of mainland Maine. But people living in the shadow of the windmills are reporting health problems, trouble sleeping through the noise, and strange behavior by animals.

Basaran travels to the island and interviews the neighbors who filed the complaint. An elderly couple has found that their cows are no longer producing much milk. The milk they are producing tastes odd, too. Another family is worried about an aged father who lives with them. He is showing sudden signs of dementia, including eating dandelions and making wine out of seaweed. A third family lost a child the year before. Drowning is suspected but no body was ever found. Between the grief and the constant headaches generated by the windmills, the husband cannot take it any more and moves into the only town on the island.

Taken individually any of these could be easily dismissed. If some chemical got onto the farmer’s field it could affect the quality of the milk. Elderly people do get dementia. Grief does tear families apart. It also can have physical symptoms.There are some other unanswered questions, but the investigation does not seem to be revealing anything that could be a liability issue for the company.

Still, something strange is going on. Seagulls sometimes flock over the windmills and seem to dance through the air, almost as if they are dodging the shadows being cast. Almost everyone, even Basaran, is deeply affected by the shifting shadows, the “shadow flicker,” which covers the area every morning. The sound is not terribly loud, but it is constant and intense and affects both sleep and concentration. Strangest of all, sometimes in the flicker a small boy appears, one who is the perfect likeness of the child who drowned the year before.

Shadow Flicker is a slow burning story where the temperature rises with each chapter. More and more of the characters’ backstories get revealed as the novel develops. The child whose father was not his father. The loving spouse who was busily loving another person’s spouse. The economic pressure facing all of the families. Between infidelity and poverty, who has time to deal with an apparition?

This is an island of secrets. Secret lives. Secret loves. Secret experiments. Before he realizes it, Basaran is caught in the web of all of these secrets. Getting out of that web may prove to be impossible.

This is a book that could easily fit into several genres. It is a little bit sci-fi, a little bit fantasy, a little bit mystery, and a little bit thriller. It is also entirely well done.

This novel is built on an intriguing concept with the use of wind turbines anchoring it into the modern world. Plenty of twists and wonderful weirdness.
I did have trouble getting into it, though. The plot lacked paced during the first half and it felt like there were a few too many characters. Or maybe they weren't differentiated enough. The women in particular felt interchangeable.
After the midway point, the action speeds up and it's much better, but by then it had failed to really hook me.
This is definitely a book to consider, and I'm sure it will find some big fans (no pun intended!).

No, really, everything’s fine. Just. Fine. 

Those were not words spoken in the novel Shadow Flicker by Gregory Bastianelli. They certainly could have been, though. 

Oscar Basaran is an insurance investigator. His company’s client is being sued for causing harm to some islanders with windmills. On the plus side, the windmills are producing clean power for not only the island but also some of mainland Maine. But people living in the shadow of the windmills are reporting health problems, trouble sleeping through the noise, and strange behavior by animals.

Basaran travels to the island and interviews the neighbors who filed the complaint. An elderly couple has found that their cows are no longer producing much milk. The milk they are producing tastes odd, too. Another family is worried about an aged father who lives with them. He is showing sudden signs of dementia, including eating dandelions and making wine out of seaweed. A third family lost a child the year before. Drowning is suspected but no body was ever found. Between the grief and the constant headaches generated by the windmills, the husband cannot take it any more and moves into the only town on the island.

Taken individually any of these could be easily dismissed. If some chemical got onto the farmer’s field it could affect the quality of the milk. Elderly people do get dementia. Grief does tear families apart. It also can have physical symptoms.There are some other unanswered questions, but the investigation does not seem to be revealing anything that could be a liability issue for the company.

Still, something strange is going on. Seagulls sometimes flock over the windmills and seem to dance through the air, almost as if they are dodging the shadows being cast. Almost everyone, even Basaran, is deeply affected by the shifting shadows, the “shadow flicker,” which covers the area every morning. The sound is not terribly loud, but it is constant and intense and affects both sleep and concentration. Strangest of all, sometimes in the flicker a small boy appears, one who is the perfect likeness of the child who drowned the year before.

Shadow Flicker is a slow burning story where the temperature rises with each chapter. More and more of the characters’ backstories get revealed as the novel develops. The child whose father was not his father. The loving spouse who was busily loving another person’s spouse. The economic pressure facing all of the families. Between infidelity and poverty, who has time to deal with an apparition?

This is an island of secrets. Secret lives. Secret loves. Secret experiments. Before he realizes it, Basaran is caught in the web of all of these secrets. Getting out of that web may prove to be impossible.

This is a book that could easily fit into several genres. It is a little bit sci-fi, a little bit fantasy, a little bit mystery, and a little bit thriller. It is also entirely well done.

When Evil Turns The Blades

I love books that take me to places I might want to go on vacation. The island where this story takes place reminds me a bit of Martha's Vineyard and some of the ordinary people I met there. Of course, aside from big fish stories, I never heard anything to stretch the boundaries of my imagination like this.

The characters were fleshed out well enough that, despite their flaws, I felt a lot of sympathy for them. They had very real problems aside from the elements of horror. Caring about them made me want to know what was really going on and what would happen to them.

Shadow Flicker begins ominously and gets steadily creepier. I enjoy it when authors incorporate unusual, historical, even esoteric concepts into their stories. Gregory Bastianelli has enough knowledge of the subjects he chose to successfully weave them together to make a highly original story.

I don't want to give any spoilers, and I really liked the book, but I would have liked a few more chapters. I still have questions and I hope there's a sequel planned.

Thanks to the author, Flame Tree Press, and NetGalley, I read a free advanced reader's copy of Shadow Flicker. I appreciate the opportunity, but my review is uninfluenced by the gift. I highly recommend this book!

The synopsis for this sounded really great and I couldn't wait to start reading. Only...it started off okay. It wasn't my favorite writing style, the main character felt slightly off to me and the treatment of women by the men in this book was...not the best. That and our main character hung up on his ex and everything we see about that was...not written the best. I was curious enough to see what was going on with these wind turbines and why they were causing the crazy things that were happening to keep reading...only I got to the end of the book and it just took a left turn and kind of forgot about that. The whole last act was...odd. And didn't make a lot of sense and yeah it lost me in the end. After I finished reading I had so many questions about why stuff even happened and yeah it was odd. It didn't work for me at all and by the time I was in the last act I just wanted it to be over.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book

Insurance investigator Oscar Basaran has been hired by an innovative technology corporation called Aerosource to investigate the claims from several people on Kidney island (fictional name) off the coast of Maine who filed a lawsuit against the corporation. Aerospace built three huge wind turbines nearby three of the families included in the lawsuit claiming they are having serious side effects from these turbines including sleeplessness, headaches, inability to concentrate plus several other complaints that are quite bizarre. Marriages are also falling apart due to the unsettling effects from the turbines.

Oscar thinks this will be a an easy case to wrap up within few days after researching his findings and writing his report while enjoying some quiet time for himself on the island. The locals don't take too kindly to off-islanders so the job doesn't go quite as easy as Oscar had hoped but he is used to dealing with difficult people in his profession although he never expected some of the strangest stories and theories about the "Shadow Flicker" effects having on the people and animals living closest to the gigantic windmills until he rents a vacated house in the turbine vicinity and then he begins to feel some of the side effects himself but still can't bring himself to believe some of the other preposterous stories told to him. What Oscar discovers while still being an unbeliever brings him in contact with some very nefarious people and he will then be put in a fight for his sanity as well as his life while there's a good possibility that Oscar may never make it back home again.

This was a wonderful creepy, slow building yet continuously eerie story that I thoroughly enjoyed. There was plenty of horror, supernatural and chills and thrills especially in the second half of the book which really speeds up and I just couldn't read fast enough to find out what would happen next. All the characters were well fleshed out especially Oscar, a flawed man with personal issues himself yet never letting them interfere with his work or his compassion for others. This job on the island will test his mental and physical health beyond boundaries that he never thought he was capable of overcoming while only wanting to leave Kidney island and never looking back, although that might not be possible for this insurance investigator. Gregory Bastianelli does a wonderful job as a writer creating a uniquely different type of horror story that the reader will be left shaking their heads and will really enjoy that they will not be able to predict any of the outcomes in this book since It was so well-written and plotted out. Pay attention to every character because they will all play another part in the last thirty-percent of the story. That element alone deserves a 10 for cleverness! I am a fan of this author and I highly recommend this stunner of a book as well as his other book "Snowball" which I have never forgotten.

I want to thank the publisher "Flame Tree Press" and Netgalley for continually putting out great horror books year after year. Any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this fantastic story a rating of 4 1/2 CRAZY AND SURREAL 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!!


Title: Shadow Flicker
Author: Gregory Bastianelli
Publisher: Flame Tree Press
Publication Date: March 29, 2022

The blurb of this book had me curious when I came across it on NetGalley so I was chuffed when I was accepted to review it. The idea of writing a story about wind turbines was unique, and Gregory Bastianelli did a great job at making it interesting. The world building was magnificent. Each character had distinct personalities where even though there were a lot of characters so I didn’t get lost with who was who. The story became more action packed (and somehow weirder) towards the ending which had me flying through the pages. It was a good read!

When I read Snowball by Gregory Bastianelli, I knew that I was going to have to read more from him. That novel was scary and intense as one of the best horror novels I read that year. I was happy to get a copy of Shadow Flicker and was hoping for the same level of horror in this book as I had encountered in Snowball.



Kidney Island had always been a quiet place. The small island off the coast of Maine was not perfect by any measure. The economy of the island was not strong and its residents often found themselves struggling to get by. It was not always an easy life but it was a good one based in family and tradition. Then the town made a deal with a major energy company to put in windmills in exchange for cheap electricity for the island it seemed like a win-win for the island and the company. Then the windmills went up and the flicker began.



The locals say there is something in the flicker. Strange things began to happen once the windmills were put up. People and animals act strange. A young boy disappeared. And that is only the beginning. Investigator Oscar Basaran is sent to Kidney Island to document the effects of the flicker for an insurance company looking to gauge their liability in a pending lawsuit. He arrives on the island thinking to find the flickering of the windmills to be a minor annoyance. Instead, he begins to believe the strange stories being told by the residents of the island. There is something odd happening on Kidney Island and he is at a loss to find another explanation. He just does not know how he will tell his story to the rest of the world once he leaves the island. If he is ever able to leave the island alive.



Shadow Flicker starts off strong. The windmills were menacing and there was some very strange things going on. Oscar provided the perfect foil to the bizarre happenings as an outsider who was skeptical yet open to new ideas. The atmosphere in the novel was heavy and the reader can almost feel something growing and waiting to explode. The main criticism that I have for most of the book is that Bastianelli spends a lot of time on things that just do not seem to matter to the plot (like Oscar’s ex-boyfriend and the woman he left Oscar for) so that there were segments in the story that made me wonder why they were there. There were some parts that I had to slog through and slowed the story a bit but that was ok. I was really digging the book and wanted to push through to see what the secret of the flicker really was. Bastianelli drops hints throughout but not enough to truly guess where the story is heading. Then, about three quarters of the way through, Bastianelli unveils the secret that lies behind (within) the flicker in a tense and explosive scene. . .



. . . And then, honestly, I felt cheated. The novel takes a sharp u-turn that just makes no real sense with the rest of the story. It almost felt as if a short story was force-fed into the end of the novel to give it some sort of conclusion but it was one that must made me wonder why I spent the time to read the first part of the novel when it had nothing to do with the ending. I really wanted to like this novel but I just cannot get the end of the novel reconciled with the beginning. Everything about the novel just changes at the drop of a hat and most of what happened before had no relevance to what was happening now. Instead of an ending that would live up to the promise of tension that had been mounting, I found myself struggling to finish the novel as I could not (and still cannot) figure out how the last quarter of the book relates to the first three-quarters of the novel in more than just having characters with the same names. I really wanted to like this novel. After all, Snowball was a terrific read and the beginning of this novel had me ready for more. But in the end, I just could not and I had to limp through the last part of the novel searching for the mojo that had gone missing and would not be found again. Shadow Flicker has a strong premise and the promise of a strong opening to the novel but falls flat with an ending that would have been best left in the shadow. I will definitely give Bastianelli a read again based on Snowball and the first part of this novel, but Shadow Flicker ultimately fell prey to an end that I just could not get to work for me no matter how hard I tried.



I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. Shadow Flicker is scheduled to be released on March 29, 2022.

An original, well written horror story, which is sure to scare you or creep you out at the very least! Very well written, with characters written in perfection for this twisted tale! Unique, fun, and chilling to the bone at times! Highly, highly recommend!

This book grabbed me from the start! It had a creepy atmosphere that fit the storyline very well. Must read!

Life has not been kind to some of the residents living on a small island off the coast of Maine. If they had not been struggling under a burden of debt they probably would never have chosen to sell off parcels of their land when Aerosource wanted to put up wind turbines and build an access road.
What's done is done and now those who live closest to the turbines suffer the consequences. Aside from the headaches, lack of sleep, and strange effects on the animals, there is something much worse than these bothersome symptoms that will occur when the blades of those turbines begin to spin backwards.
Now, a few of the residents have filed a claim against the company and an outsider has arrived to investigate. He doesn't believe much of what he is told at first, until it's too late.
Shadow Flicker is an intriguing, character driven story with one foot in Eco Horror and the other in Sci-Fi. I loved the descriptions of the island and getting to know it's residents. It is a story of love and desperation and well as greed and fear. The horror creeps up slowly until suddenly it comes crashing in like high tide nearer the end.

This is a pretty darn good, and very original, horror story set on a small island off the coast of Maine. Many folks in the farming community of Kidney Island sold off part of their land to a corporation who then built wind turbines there, providing the residents with money in the bank and free electricity. Great huh? Not so much as it turns out. The flicker and hum generated by the wind turbines is making life hell for a lot of folks on the island. Headaches, sleeplessness being the least of the complaints. Then a chap from the insurance company for the corporation who built the turbines arrives on the island to see what all the fuss about. It doesn't take long for him to experience the effects of the shadow flicker and after a few days events turn very sinister indeed.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a little long perhaps (IMO) but still worth a read.

3.5 stars

Shadow Flicker, by author Gregory Bastianelli, is a psychological horror novel with many different "avenues" to follow. Our main character, Oscar, is sent from his insurance agency to listen to and record the complaints of residents on an island, about windmill turbines. Symptoms include a "shadow flicker" (from when the sun hits the blades), headaches, sleeplessness, apathy, and even some ... more difficult to substantiate . . . complaints.

The characterization and atmosphere of the life of the people on this small island was great. I could tell who was the center of each chapter just from a glimpse of their thoughts. However, the plot got a little farfetched (and convenient, in one case) for my tastes towards the end, and the middle was bogged down by issues that really didn't help further the plot along, in my mind. If this had been a novella, with some of these non-essential parts cut out, I feel it would have been a lot stronger overall.

I did receive an arc from NetGalley though, so it's possible many of these things were scaled back in the final edits. I do enjoy the author's writing style, and loved another novel I read by him not long ago. I found this book to be a real page-turner, up until it started to get a bit repetitious. The overall ending was NOT something I saw coming, and did have me staying up to see the final outcome.

Overall, a great idea that could have benefitted from being cut back a bit. Still a very worth while read, in my opinion.

Recommended.