In the Shadow of the Past

Shadow Series, Book 1

By: J.E. Leak

Narrated by: Abby Craden

She fell for the wrong woman...now it's going to cost her.

In the shadowy world of 1940s New York City, a sultry spy falls for the one woman she shouldn't. When reporter Jenny Ryan’s father is murdered, her burning need for justice drives her to take on a ruthless tycoon. But her plan goes awry when she falls for the criminal’s alluring mistress, OSS agent Kathryn Hammond.

Kathryn is more than just a popular nightclub singer with a glamorous façade. She’s an undercover spy, trapped stateside in a dead-end assignment while the war rages on in Europe. Frustrated and resentful, her emotions get her into trouble when Jenny steals her heart. As their forbidden desire blooms, they find themselves caught in a web of danger and intrigue.

Will their passion endanger their lives and unravel everything they’ve worked for, or will their love be the very thing that saves them?

In the Shadow of the Past is the first book in the sapphic historical fiction Shadow series. If you enjoy slow burns, secrets, and spies, you won't want to miss this noir-inspired tale of love and redemption.

Listen to In the Shadow of the Past and get lost in the intrigue!

©2021 J.E. Leak (P)2023 J.E. Leak

Amazing story

Nice story line. Can’t wait for the next book in the series. A great read. Thank you.

Elegant, skillful slow burn

It's a beautiful, slow-burn love story with buildups and payoffs. Narrator Abby Craden, long may she reign, delivers a 10/10. Tender, sexy, heartbreaking, funny, flawless.

J.E. Leak knows exactly what she is doing with this genre, the whole Shadow series is excellent. Genuinely funny with just the right amount of tension and intrigue to stay interesting. The character development and world building feel organic, the pacing and structure are on point, and I loved falling in love with it all.

Hurry with part 2 & 3!!!

I was so excited to have a new Abby Craden audiobook to listen to! She’s been gone from the WLW world for far too long. This one won’t disappoint!

The characters: OSS spy Kat (tall, dark-haired blue-eyed beauty with a brilliant strategic mind and a difficult past)
And newspaper columnists Jenny (short, blond-haired, green-eyed innocent with a proclivity to attract trouble and a wide eyed optimism) …. My absolute favorite type of duo!!! iykyk 😉

The story is filled with intrigue and secrets making it have a bit more focus on the OSS spy stuff than the romance but the romance doesn’t disappoint. Additionally, I loved the focus on love for country and patriotism.

This is definitely a slow, slow burn on the romance side, that doesn’t culminate in this book.

I could tell about halfway through that this was setting up a series of books which I am super excited about. I love that there was no consummation in the first book because it allows the connection and romance to breath and grow deep strong roots.

As for Abby Craden… what can I say? She’s a brilliant artist and an absolute gift to this genera and hopeless romantic lesbians everywhere. She played the voices perfectly (per usual). If she doesn’t narrate the next two books, it will be a tragedy.

I can’t wait for the next audiobook (although I will be buying it when it comes out) but I need to know what happens next, so I bought the next book on kindle. I’ll just have to put up with the sound of my own inner voice for the time being.

Happy reading!!!

Love it!

I wish there were more lesbian books out there like this! It’s a fantastic series! A must get!

Incredible!

I'm not crazy about stories that take place long before my time, but this story, this author, this always fantastic narrator made it so very hard to stop listening.

Only Book 1 and 2 are available, on Audible, for now and I wanted to make them last as long as possible but it's so hard when a book is so good.
The characters, the story, everything about it was incredible.

My heart went out to Jenny. You see her imagination begin as a snowflake, very quickly gather more snow, only to end up as the biggest snowball ever created. I couldn't help but feel bad for her.
I hope that if I ever feel a panic attack begin, I can think of her and tell myself not to be like Jenny. Poor Jenny.

Now to start Book 2.

Wonderful!

It's been awhile since I was so engrossed in an audio book! I love era stories and this one did not disappoint. I will have to say though, Jenny got on my nerves in a few spots, but other than that, it was great. Can't wait for the next installment. For now, ill read the book.

Historical Story of the World of Espionage

World War Two was upon the entire globe and patriots were ready to fight and serve. This is the story of two women who went to war and fully embraced their jobs in the shadowy world of espionage. The remarkable Abby Craden provides fascinating insights into this story.

Love this! Can’t wait to listen to the rest of them

Great story. Love that we can now get some great day and lesbian stories. Been with my wife 30 years years, and so happy that we can have stories to hear. Listen to and enjoy why people people we can relate to!
And Abby Craden!! , what can we say about her!!

I found this series because of following her on Facebook. My goal in life is to listen to every single thing that she has ever narrated! I love her so much. Sometimes I’m listening to three of her narrations at a time! Get a little confused, but I’m addicted! She’s so great. Thank you for your great story and for having her narrate it!

Disaster-Lesbians in WW2.

*Loved* this book. Feels authentic to the time period without exaggerating some things like sexism to make it more dramatic.
Some of the polic procedural interactions seem... made up(?), though. They just didn't feel right.
As for the reader's performance, I'm not sure if it was her, or the authour's work, but she did so much better in this than in Aurora's Angel. She didn't sound like she was trying to rush through it. She made Katherine sound really sexy and Jenny sound sweet, so I really enjoyed it.

I loved everything

I knew before I started listening that I would enjoy this audiobook thoroughly. The atmosphere and the characters are perfect for Abby Craden’s narration style. I loved the book when I read it in December 2021 and was looking forward to hearing Kat and Jenny come to life. I wasn’t disappointed. Abby Craden nails Kat’s sultriness and hidden vulnerability and she gives Jenny the perfect amount of determination and youthful ingenuity the character requires. The contrast is ideal, both in the way the characters are written and in the narration. The chemistry between Jenny and Kat is terrific and even more palpable in audio. The audiobook version of the next book (which I loved as well) is waiting for me and I will do my best to make time for it very soon.