Shayne Kelly

Author General Warning: The Candlelight Vigils series contains material that may be hazardous to your comfort levels. A sense of humor is required to read the series. Note: Numerous book reviews and ratings can be found on additional book sites.

About the author, after six years as a Houston Police Officer and twenty-six years as a DEA Agent, Shayne Kelly retired. Shayne Kelly traveled across the globe conducting multiple criminal investigations. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Criminal Justice and a Master’s in Criminal Justice Management.

Shayne Kelly is the author of the Candlelight Vigils Series. At present, the Series includes Candlelight Vigils: Book One: The Foundation; Candlelight Vigils: Book Two: Over the Horizon; Candlelight Vigils: Book Three: Thoughts and Prayers; Candlelight Vigils: Book Four: Offense; Candlelight Vigils: Book Five: Out of an Abundance of Caution: Candlelight Vigils: Book Six: Cloaked Actions and Candlelight Vigils: Book Seven: Fighting Water.

Book One is written in a manner resembling government reports. The remainder of the books transition to novel form.

The reader is suggested to start the Candlelight Vigils Series from Book One. You could skip Book One and move to Book Two, but you will struggle with the characters' reactions and have some difficulty in understanding the “bad guys” and the continuous plots.

The Candlelight Vigils plots are global in nature. Terrorists’ activities that have frequently occurred overseas are detailed from the past, and with each new book release, they slowly draw closer to the present. The terrorist attacks overseas are examined and allow the reader to decide if the slow creep of these extremists and accompanying mindset are a burgeoning cauldron of internal threats within the homeland.

It is not regularly known that DEA is a member of the Intelligence Community. When a person scans the Candlelight Vigils books, they most likely assume that narcotics are the focus of the books. This is far from the truth. The presence of narcotics triggers the DEA agents to open an investigation. Allowing the agents to investigate terror groups, cartels, and corrupt government officials.

An influential book that raised my interest in international investigations is a non-fictional book titled Wilderness of Mirrors written by David C. Martin, published in 1980. Most likely, the author is unaware of this new Candlelight Vigils series and has neither approved nor disapproved of the series. In the book about spies, and I am recalling from memory, David Martin defines intelligence cases as laboring within a Wilderness of Mirrors, where one must recognize, and I am paraphrasing, that truths are lies and lies are truths, and the reflections leave you dazzled and confused. This is true to this day.

Before entering the DEA, another prominent non-fiction book that I consumed detailing effective strategies to combat the terror related to transnational crime is The Underground Empire: Where Crime and Governments Embrace written by James Mills. It taught me that one must always strive to reach the highest levels of the criminal group. Act globally. Do not be pressured to act locally.

Years ago, one of my investigations was chronicled in the non-fictional book The Merger: The Conglomeration of International Crime by Jeffrey Robinson. The case was a “spin off” of a much larger investigation, but of relevance. Interesting because it revealed the orderly dispatch of assassins from Cali, Colombia to the United States to murder a Russian. Corroborating that the countries' borders are meaningless to transnational crime organizations.

I hope you enjoy the books.