The Shadow Man by @Helen_Fields #CrimeFiction #NetGalley #TheShadowMan #TuesdayBookBlog

Author: Helen Fields

Due to be published (Kindle, Audio and Paperback) February 2021

Category: Police Procedural, Crime Fiction, Psychological, Book Review

Elspeth, Meggy and Xavier are locked in a flat. They don’t know where they are, and they don’t know why they’re there. They only know that the shadow man has taken them, and he won’t let them go.

Desperate to escape, the three of them must find a way out of their living hell, even if it means uncovering a very dark truth.

Because the shadow man isn’t a nightmare. He’s all too real.

The Shadow Man is a collector of people, an abductor, watching his victims and planning while learning their routines, until it’s time to make his move. In the opening sequence his plan goes fatally wrong causing him to be careless with his next victim.

Forensic psychologist Dr Connie Woolwine and Detective Inspector Brodie Baarda from Met Ops are assisting the Police Scotland, Edinburgh based division, after the disappearance of prominent businessman’s wife. The investigation into Elspeth Dunwoody’s disappearance leads Connie and Baarda to link their case to further abductions that follow no pattern. And why have there been no ransom demands?

There are no obvious connections between Elspeth, Meggy and Xavier but they are all imprisoned together and have no idea why they are prisoners or what fate awaits them. The Shadow Man has a twisted agenda…and a twisted mind, as we find out while following his thought processes as to why he chooses his victims. Terrifyingly irrational, he suffers from a little known condition which makes him unpredictable, gross and at the same time pitiful.

She gazed at him through the soreness of dehydrated, tear blanched eyes. Scrawny, with sallow skin that would reject sunlight and sunken eyes sat atop twin brown half moons of insomnia and malnutrition, his hands shook as he wondered around, picking up one object and setting down another, murmuring to himself constantly.

‘Didn’t get shoes,’ he said, slapping his own face hard.

Connie and Brodie make a great partnership. They are total opposites in their attitudes. Connie is an interesting character with her brusque and very self assertive personality. She was left with achromatopsia after a head injury in her teens which gives her a contrasting view of the world to Brodie. His character is quieter and more subtle than Connie’s and appears to be someone who can be trusted instinctively.

The story follows the investigation, with chapters from the perspectives of the captives whose plight is shocking, as well as giving insights into mind of the Shadow Man.

Characters are developed well, all have back stories and/or issues to flesh them out. Connie especially. She goes her own way with determination regardless of the risks. The Shadow Man is fast paced with all the Gs—gripping, gruesome and gritty—with unexpected twists and likeable protagonists.

Pre-order links ~ Amazon UK | Amazon US | Waterstones | Hive

About the Author

A former barrister, Helen Fields practised for thirteen years in both family and criminal law. Having extensively prosecuted and defended, she is an avid believer in the right to a fair trial, and in the invaluable role that juries play in the British legal system. She currently commutes between Hampshire, Scotland and California, where she lives with her husband and three children. 

Author links ~ Website | Facebook | Twitter