Don’t miss the new, devastatingly good thriller from Helen Fields, One for Sorrow. Coming February 2022 and available to pre-order now!
The Shadow Man is a twisty crime thriller that will leave you gasping for more. It’s the first standalone book from the bestselling author of the Perfect series, Helen Fields.
He collects his victims. But he doesn’t keep them safe… collects his victims. But he doesn’t keep them safe…
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.
And he’s watching.
Helen Fields is back with a heart-pounding new book, perfect for fans of Cara Hunter and Stuart MacBride.
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The shadow man is collecting his victims and up to now nobody has ever known of his existence. But then he picks the wrong woman and everything he worked for is in jeopardy. Great story, I thoroughly enjoyed reading, dark and twisted.
A truly atmospheric novel that will chill readers to the bone. The plot moves quickly and is told from multiple perspectives, giving readers insight into one deeply disturbing mind. Not for the slight of heart as the narrative is quite descriptive in nature. Dark, gritty, and downright elusive. Everything this genre should be. Loved it.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheShadowMan which was read and reviewed voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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5 plus stars for me ! I wish I could give it 10.
Helen Fields you have outdone yourself with The Shadow Man
The Shadow Man, is a dark creepy compulsive read that keeps the lights on and you jumping at every noise.
Elspeth, Meggie and Xavier have all been captured and held in a small room by The Shadow Man who’s description is creepy enough thank you.
That’s after a murder he committed.
Ambience is so well done I felt the cobwebs, smelled the decay and heard all the noises.
I am truly hoping there is a sequel to Connie and Baarda the investigators.
To the top of your unread pile you should put The Shadow Man
If you have not read The Perfect Series by Helen Field you soon will after reading The Shadow Man.
Hope I sleep tonight.
Thanks to Net Galley and Avon Books UK, Avon for a mind boggling read.
This was one of the best psychological thrillers that I have ever read. It was gruesome and macabre and so full of twists that I read the whole book and kept getting surprised. The villain was from a horror story and the victims were true innocents who did not deserve their treatment at his hands. Connie, the psychologist on loan to the Edinburgh Police Station is intuitive and so smart that she scared me at times. Detective Baarda was smart but he was not as strong a character as Connie. The strong female protagonist was a perfect foil for the very crafty and evil kidnapper. The story moved along at a very fast pace with new characters introduced intermittently to add to the story. I read numerous books at the same time,and this was the book that kept drawing me to its pages. I just really wanted to know what was going to happen next to little Meggy, Elspeth and Xavier. Each of these victims has difficulties before they are kidnapped, so their backstories were just as interesting as the main tale. All in all, this book was well worth reading and I was sad to see it end. I really want to read more about Connie and her talent to read people and situations and Baarda and his relationships. Fans of suspense thrillers will really enjoy this book!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Three people are locked in a flat. They don’t know where they are … and they don’t know why they were taken. What they do know is someone called The Shadow Man has taken them … and unless they can escape, he will never let them go.
The Shadow Man is a mentally deranged man who frequently changes his name. He experiences severe delusional episodes in which he abducts and murders people he’s targeted. If he doesn’t kill them outright, he collects them.
Connie Woolwine is a Forensic Psychologist consulting with DI Baarda of Scotland to profile and catch this serial killer who seems to be able to kill and escape capture, leaving no clues behind. Woolwine and Baarda are absolutely sure that all these crimes are connected .. but how .. and why?
The backstory of the killer is amazingly creepy … understandably so as his history is related. It’s fast-paced with suspense starting on the very first page and holding steady until the unexpected explosive conclusion. The characters are solidly drawn. I was drawn into how well Woolwine and Baarda worked together. Hopefully, this is not the last we see of them.
Many thanks to the author / Avo Books UK / Netgalley for the digital copy of this pulse-pounding crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
A 30 some year old man who thinks he is dying goes on a kidnapping spree to find his perfect family and leaves them locked up in an old farmhouse. The reader cringes as a woman is forced to vow marriage to him in an old wedding dress. He stinks, his teeth are falling out, and his character is quite nightmarish. I admired the determination of the 12 year old girl as she became more of the adult and tried to help them escape. He also kidnaps a handicapped man in place of the brother that he lost at a young age. Once he determines that his “new wife” has been cheating on her real husband, he takes it personally and decides they all need to be together in a final resting place. As the police look for where he may have took them, they live through the biggest nightmare yet and the reader cannot help but imagining the horror they all live through. Great suspense filled story line, even greater, likeable characters, and the chance at finding real happiness at the end. I really enjoyed this book, although it felt kind of sluggish at times.
This book was completely different from what I expected almost from the first page. It has so many different twists and turns, including its ending.
I’m always up for a psychological thriller and this story was one of those that you can easily read but has so many layers upon layers that need to be discovered and discussed.
Told in the main characters pov, even the villain one, I enjoyed each one of the monologues and how they lived and felt the moments when they were locked together.
Mental health illness is not something that you can see, most of the times it’s Hidden in Plain View but goes deep into one’s soul.
It’s a gripping and interesting story that many readers will surely enjoy it as I did.
Fergus Arris is a very sick man, he’s dying and doesn’t want to do that alone. So, he collects a family for himself; a wife, a daughter and even a brother. To achieve this he first stalks and then kidnaps his chosen victims.
When Elspeth Dunwood, daughter of a well-connected family disappears on the streets of Edinburgh, DI Baarda a kidnap specialist from the Met teams up with American forensic psychologist Connie Woolwinne to find her. When more people are abducted in the following weeks, they assume that they must be connected as it’s not habitual for people to be kidnapped in Scotland’s capital. When Connie finally delivers a fitting profile, those in charge just don’t buy it. Time runs out very fast for the victims, can they be saved in time?
My main criticism is about the premise itself. I just don’t find it logical that the Scottish police, who’s completely independent of the English one, as far as I know, would immediately turn to London and ask for a kidnap expert when they’re not even certain what has happened to the woman. At that moment they can still assume that she disappeared on purpose. On top of that, asking an American profiler at that stage is not very realistic. The quips about the differences between US and UK differences are a bit lame. I think that there would be equally big differences and jokes about Scottish versus English accents and idioms.
I certainly didn’t connect to the American psychologist at first. She was unnecessarily rude and opinionated, even condescending at times when a normal and educated person would be polite instead of sarcastic. As I can be sarcastic at times, I still know when not to as well. Someone who’s that good in reading people’s expressions would not react like that. Some of her actions are at least questionable (connecting with the corpse of a dead woman?). She is an achromat and can’t see colours apart from black and white and shades thereof and feels as if she lives in a different world than the rest of us. Something that makes her connect with the abductor more easily.
DI Baarda is only present as a police detective and we learn but little about his private life or background story.
My favourite character is Meggie though. She’s exceptionable clever for a 12-year-old and very courageous. Some will condemn Elspeth for complying with the abductor but I don’t think she could do anything else. She was alone with the creep for weeks before he took Meggie and you see how she changes once she has company. It’s nice to see the relationship develop between those two.
If you can overcome the premise, especially the second half of the story is suspenseful and compelling. It takes a long time though before all the elements come together and the stories take off. In the first half of the book, the focus is mainly on Fergus and his delusions or how he collects ‘his family’. The other storyline is about the investigation into the disappearances. In the second half, there’s more action on all levels (the captives and the hunt for Fergus). This is a cross-over between a psychological thriller and a police procedural. And it does work well that way.
I know that this story is meant as standalone but it could easily work well as first in a series.
I received a free ARC from Netgalley and Avon Books UK; this is my honest, unbiased review of it.
4.5*
Gore score
I loved the perfect series so I was keen to read this book, which I really enjoyed.
The shadow man has collected 3 victims Meggie, Xavier and Elspeth
They don’t know where they are or why.
I like the cover, quite eye catching.
The main character is Connie is a brash American forensic psychologist who has her own dark past. I Like the relationship developing between her and Baarda.
Of the characters I felt a bit sorry for Fergus the villain of the story initially.
Elspeth was a bit of a wimp, but when she had some one to be responsible for she stepped up. Meggie is feisty I like her attitude.
Oh what a clever twist just when I was thinking this part isn’t working for me!!!!! An explanation followed by my immediate re connection.
It looks like this could become a series, I do hope so
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I have some mixed feelings one this one. DI Baarda, an MIT detective in London and Dr. Connie Woolwine a psychologist from from America are called to Scotland to investigate the kidnapping of a member of a prominent Scottish family. Then a teenager is kidnapped. I like the relationship between Baarda and Connie. Connie is a brash American and Baarda, at first isn’t sure how to take her. But they end up trusting in each other. What I didn’t like was the story of the kidnapper. I got why he kidnapped the victims, he was clearly ill and all of that was explained, but his delusions left me not interested and not wanting to read. Meggie and Elspeth leaned on each other and their storylines help my interest. I felt like Xavier’s story sort of ended, maybe to quickly. Also, and this is me personally, but Connie is America, so she wouldn’t be happy that she wore her “trainers”, or reach down to take off her “trainers”. The ending was something I wouldn’t have thought of happening so it was a bit of a shocker. Thank you NetGalley, Helen Fields and Avon.
“The world you inhabit is not the same as everyone else’s. Mine is even less so.”
Dr. Connie Woolwine, American forensics psychologist, has been brought in to offer her expert opinion in the disappearances happening around Edinburgh. The missing persons don’t appear to have any commonality, and have the police scrambling for direction and answers. London detective, Brodie Baarda, has been assigned to liaison with Dr. Woolwine, and together, they follow the bread crumbs left behind each crime scene until they track down a serial killer with a chilling proclivity towards an unfathomable collection…
Holy Serial Killers Batman was this story creepy and gave this reader nightmares! The tale is gritty, fast paced and guaranteed to keep you turning the pages! I triple dog dare ya to read!
**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **
I loved this. Wow! The descriptively disturbing story was creatively told and pulled me right in.
The American profiler brought another layer to this already good plot. I found her so interesting. She was clever, very American and sarcastic. I could see her being someone I would like to hang out with. I couldn’t get enough. The story got better with each chapter. It was interesting, creepy and suspenseful. I was transported right into the story. Great job.
I would highly recommend this for my mystery, thriller-suspense friends. You won’t be sorry.
Thank you Avon books via Netgalley for this audiobook. I’ve voluntarily given my review.
What a gripping on the edge of your seat book. Once I started reading this book I couldn’t put it down. Connie tells it like it is. She doesn’t sugar coat things and that probably rubs people the wrong way but I like it. Connie teams up with DI Baarda to find a missing woman. The case takes on one bizarre turn after another. The story telling goes back and forth between the kidnapper, Connie and the victims in the book. I liked the book, it was refreshing to read about Connie and DI Baarda. You learn about Connie’s past a little in this book which is what shaped her to become the person she is now. The kidnapper was very interesting to read about. I hope there are more books with Connie and DI Baarda in the future.
*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily giving my honest opinion*
400 pages
4 and 1 / 2 stars
American forensic psychologist Dr. Connie Woolwine and London Detective Brodie Baarda are investigating the disappearances – and deaths – of missing people in Edinburgh. Connie has an annoying potty mouth.
The reader knows the identity of the perpetrator from the get go. He is very ill, but determined to fulfill his “mission.” While at first his abductions are carefully planned, as his illness and psychopathology progress, he takes more chances.
More people disappear and the tension in the story increases. Meanwhile, the captives make a horrific discovery. Their fear grows. Connie decides to make a personal appeal to the kidnapper. Will it work? Or, will the madman come after her?
This book is very well written and plotted. The transitions are also well done. The novel is a nail-biter for sure. I had to stay up late to read what happened to the unfortunate kidnapped souls. While it is true that there is much discussion of the kidnapper’s psychology, I found that part particularly interesting. There are more things under heaven and earth…The story is rather gruesome in places, but I think it is only to illustrate the severity of the kidnapper’s illness.I have read many of Helen Fields’ other books, but I think that this one stands out. More please, Ms. Fields. (I agree with another reviewer who said that a standout and very well fleshed out character is Meggy.)
I want to thank NetGalley and Avon Books UK/Avon for forwarding to me a copy of this very fine book for me to read, enjoy and review.