The Secret Witness

Shepard & Gray, Book 1

By: Victor Methos

Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon

From the bestselling author of A Killer’s Wife comes the thrilling first installment in the Shepard & Gray series, featuring a young sheriff who teams up with a former prosecutor to stop a copycat killer.

This is Reaper speaking.

So begins an anonymous letter published in a Utah newspaper after a young couple is viciously murdered. Tooele County sheriff Elizabeth Gray leads the investigation into the double homicide, which is eerily reminiscent of a string of brutal killings years ago. When the letter leads detectives to yet another body, Gray calls on an old friend for help.

Former prosecutor Solomon Shepard is still struggling to recover from the deadly courtroom attack that ended his career. He’s been keeping a safe distance from the action, teaching criminology seminars about serial murders and psychopathology—until Gray asks for his help on the Reaper case.

As the body count mounts, Shepard and Gray race to unravel the deranged design of a copycat killer—and find themselves in a face-off with an enemy they never saw coming.

©2022 Victor Methos (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Gripping from the beginning, this audiobook features a well-crafted story delivered by Timothy Andrés Pabon using an ideal mix of fear, remorse, and personal animosity to define characters and scenes. A whodunit at its core, this is also an exceptional psychological thriller that benefits from Pabon's performance, particularly his ability with nuanced dialogue.… Pabon combines a low-key delivery with well-chosen intensity, making this an audiobook that listeners will not want to turn off." (AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award Winner)

"A red-hot suspenser aimed at readers for whom a single serial killer just isn’t enough." (Kirkus Reviews)

Weak procedural

You must suspend all knowledge you have about courtroom proceedings, to employment removal, to relationships between prosecutors and parents of accused individuals to find this book believable.
The reading was well done, however.

Victor Methos Does Not Disappoint

Very good story, narrated well. It didn't really keep me guessing, but enjoyed the story.

A Chilling Page-turner

Victor Methos, my absolute favorite author, delivers another bone chilling, shocking tale that leaves you numb. The narration was superb!

Outstanding Book

This was an absolute page turner.
Solomon was once a brilliant attorney, Billie is the sheriff, just like her father. Billies Father worked with Solomon on the Reaper case, but were never able to catch him. Now, almost 20 years later the Reaper is back. Billie enlist the help of Solomon to catch the killer that has eluded him. But is it really the Reaper? After all this time?

great story

I loved the story but could not handle the narration. every character was made to sound either very old or just obnoxiously whiny.

Kept my interest

I don’t think this was Victor Methos’ best work, but it wasn’t bad. I didn’t the like action scene toward the end—save that for the screenplay.

Narrator is clearly a good actor, but maybe a little too much acting for my taste.

Always a good choice

This author is consistent in delivering good solid crime, some mystery and often creepy bad guys. I've listened to MANY of his books and have not been bored nor disappointed once.

I recommend this Audible book my Timothy Andres Pabon

I've read several of Victor Methos books. In my opinion his books are always interesting and worth reading. The Secret Witness is a great series starter with a good balance law enforcement and courtroom drama. The main characters Billie Gray, a no-nonsense sheriff and Solomn Shepard, a former prosecutor nearly murdered during a court hearing. A lot of history is between these two and this city are developed to keep the reader turning the pages. If you enjoy listening while you travel, I do recommend the Audible book performed by Timothy Andres Pabon. -Mr.Bill

Good mix of thriller, procedural, relationships

Not your usual serial killer mystery. There's no gore porn where every indignity done to victims is slavered over and salaciously described. There's no mismatched partners who fail in love and everybody gets a happy ending. There's the barest hint that a second book could be written but without huge signposts or cliffhangers. A strong story with believable characters. Nice little twist at the end. The narrator was pretty good, though to many of his characters sounded like Brevis & Butthead, that open mouthed but somehow nasally voice. Almost every young adult and some women, too.

I’m so glad this is a series!

I really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh and sometimes it made me cringe but the characters were fantastic and I am very glad that the main duo in this book are getting a series! I look forward to more books!