In Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, Darth Sidious is about to implement his plan to take over the galaxy by instituting the blockade of Naboo. However, one of his Neimoidian cohorts has disappeared. Hath Monchar (who also appears in Cloak of Deception) has grave misgivings about an alliance with the Sith, so he sets out for Coruscant to report what he knows. Being a Neimoidan, he'll report it all right... for a price. A smuggler and information broker by name of Lorn Pavan buys it.

At the same time, Anoon Bondara is about to send his padawan, Darsha Assant on her final test before becoming a Jedi Knight. (These two also appear in Cloak of Deception.) Darth Sidious suspects treachery on the part of Hath Monchar, however, and sends Darth Maul to hunt him down and kill him, as well as anyone who has come in contact with the Neimoidian. The paths of Lorn Pavan, Anoon Bondara, and Darsha Assant will cross that of Darth Maul, and you can guess the outcome.

Michael Reaves does an excellent job of keeping the reader in suspense even though the outcome is essentially known from the outset. He even provides some interesting twists and turns and also provides cameos by both Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. We get some interesting insights into Darth Maul and Darth Sidious as well.

The only drawback is that, since the book leads directly into The Phantom Menace, there really is no big surprise at how it ends. Still, a must-read for anyone who wants insight into psyche of Darth Maul. (Incidentally, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter was published about six months before Cloak of Deception. To ensure continuity between the two books, James Luceno was given the name and background of Hath Monchar. He also decided to include Anoon Bondara and Darsha Ashant in a scene in Cloak of Deception as well. As a result, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter could be considered a sequel to Cloak of Deception.) Final rating: ***1/2 (based on a 0-4 star rating).