This book started off really well, I enjoyed the premise of the book and the setting. I thorough enjoyed the Connie and Baarda chapters too even if Connie came across a little annoying at first she does grow on you. However I feel a little disappointed by this book, I feel like it was missing something and I can’t quite put my finger on what. I guess it’s because I wasn’t trying to work out who the murderer was for most of the book. But overall I’m glad I read it, this was extremely dark but just be prepared for a slow steady read rather than a fast paced read.

A refreshingly clever read from Helen Fields. Not part of the ‘Perfect’ series but with a few cross over characters. Connie Woolwine is the protagonist an interesting strong woman with an intricate and detailed past. I didn’t think it could be done but move over Luc and Ava I have a new favourite.

I felt there was a lot more of Helen Fields, behind Connie and for the first time as I read the book I heard it in Helen’s voice. That hasn’t happened before with any of the ‘Perfect’ books.

I love Helen Field’s use of Edinburgh as a supporting role, it is delicious and it is definitely something I look forward to with her books.

I have been recommending the book to readers who I know will enjoy the writing and also that is a little less gory than Helen’s other titles. So it gives them a chance to enjoy the writing as much as I do.

I enjoy learning more about the backstory of the killer. It always makes me think more when I hear horrendous news headlines. I want to dive into the why and the how. Perhaps why I love crime fiction so much.

Another element of my reading experience was having my best friends name in the book. Meggy won a competition on social media and it was odd to keep seeing her name as I read. Luckily the fictional young character had the true essence of the real-life version.

A strong female protagonist has great writing and a killer plot. Set against the backdrop of Edinburgh. What more could a reader want? FIVE STARS

What a gripping thriller.

This was a very disturbing but good read.

Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish and could not get enough of.

This is a must read for anyone who enjoys a good thriller!!
Absolutely loved the characters, the plot, the tension -  impossible to put it down.
Certainly recommended!

A great read with an unusual storyline. Quite creepy and tense, It would make a great film. The ending was also very well thought out. I recommend this book and will be looking out for other titles by Helen Fields in future.

Thanks to Netgalley for my e-arc copy for an honest review! I requested this book because of the look of the cover. Very dark and creepy looking specially for a Thriller/Mystery book. The Shadow Man is my first book that I read from Helen Fields and it certainly won't be my last. I heard that there will be another book following Dr. Connie Woolwine and Detective Brodie Baarda which I am excited about!

Loved the main character of Connie who is a forensic psychologist that is brought to the case to help out the local Scotland police. I loved her detective/partner relationship with Baarda. The killer/kidnapper is also a great character. You can just feel how disgusting it must be to have him so close to you. Gave me chills!!!

It did get a little slow in the middle that's why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. I did like how it was super intense at the end. It had a great and surprising ending!

Amazing book that I throughly enjoyed and can’t wait to read more from this author. I really enjoyed the authors writing style and how the book was told. It kept me intrigued from the very start

Great book from this fantastic author would 100% recommend. Read within a couple of days which I rarely do with books these days.

I found this story to be emotional and well written. Through most of it, I'd have characterized it as a page-turner and not having much excess in the way of overwriting. Thoroughly enjoyed this one, but the ending may perhaps be stretched a little long. If this is a series, I'll definitely read the next.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley for a copy of the ARC.

The Shadow Man by Helen Fields

9780008379315

384 Pages
Publisher: Avon Books UK
Release Date: February 4, 2021

Fiction, General Fiction (Adult), Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Kidnapping, Murder

Angela, Elspeth, Meggie and Xavier never expected to be victims. They came from different families and circumstances, but that did not matter to Fergus. He wanted a family and would stop at nothing to get one. Detective Inspector Brodie Baarda and Dr. Constance Woolwine are working the case in Edinburgh, Scotland. They are racing against the clock because they do not know when the next victim will go missing.

This is a fast-paced book, the characters are well developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. I absolutely loved the story. In fact, I stayed up all night because I could not put it down. I just had to know what was going to happen next. If you read murder mysteries, you will enjoy this book but don’t plan on doing anything except reading until you are finished. Fair warning!

Helen Fields latest work is exciting and full of suspense. This interesting story is a must read. As far as the writing style and narration is concerned, it is absolutely fantastic. The way author has wevaed the story with the mastery of writing style and narration, it is truly commendable. Overall, it was a great experience. I highly recommend this work and give it full 5 stars for the writing, narration and overall presentation. Happy Reading.

It’s been a while since I’ve read anything by Helen Fields, whose ‘Perfect’ series I was addicted to for a while. As has happened with other series I’ve enjoyed though, I couldn’t stay caught up and – eventually – stopped reading them. It was nice, then, to see a new book with new characters. And what interesting character they were.

Dr. Connie Woolwine is a profiler who can only see the world in black, white, and shades of grey. She makes up for this by using her other senses to understand what is going on in the mind of a killer. DI Baarda specialising in finding kidnap victims, preferably alive. They make a great team – although Connie is definitely the dominant character. I liked them both – a lot – and do hope this is the only outing for them.

I also loved the story. I liked that is was different from other crime fiction I’ve read recently in that it didn’t revolve around women being brutally murdered. Here, the victims are all different, as is the reason they are taken. And the killers reasons are nice and complex, meaning he’s hard for Connie to figure out. There are no easy answers for her, which makes for a tense read.

I also liked that the killer was a fully-formed character too. He wasn’t one dimensional. It was good getting to know and understand him, even if I didn’t have much sympathy for his behaviour. So often, they are just ‘evil’ and psychotic without much of a reason why.

These are all things I’ve enjoyed in other Helen Fields’ novels. She really is a great writer and a great storyteller. It was really nice being back in a world and with characters she created. Maybe time to tackle that back-catalogue?

Wow this was riviting!! I coukd hardly putvut down! Macabre ✔, scary ✔, amazing characters ✔ I litterally coukd hardly ask for mire in a thriller. The twists and turns kept me biting my nails late into the night. Fantastic book. I highly recommend if you like a thriller with a dash of horror.

As always I loved the writing and pace of this book. There was never a point where I was bored or disengaged.

I thought I knew where the story right from the start, but the author manages to add some really interesting elements, to shake up the plot and make it stand out from all the other crime thrillers on the market.

I particularly liked the character who couldn't see colour, I thought that was really interesting.

The ending was pretty intense but kept me hooked right till the last page.

A really good psychological thriller. Strong characters and has that ‘can’t put it down’ charm. I was hooked from the get-go and look forward to reading more by this author. Strong 4/5.

High tension thriller, with non stop action and a gripping storyline. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Really good, believable characters.

I recently read my first Helen Fields' book and realized that this is an author that I need to read her other publications. I am so glad I grabbed The Shadow Man. The book opens with an abduction and it grabbed me and did not let go. With three victims abducted and being held in a house somewhere, the story is a race to find them and set them free. Will the police find the Shadow Man before there are anymore victims?

I did a read listen with this book and it was creepy. The Shadow Man has something called Cotard's Syndrome and I had never heard of it before. I actually went online to read more about it. It was a great fit to this story. The story has several POVs, The Shadow Man, An American Forensic Psychologist Connie Woolwine who is consulting on the case, and the various victims. They all mesh perfectly together to give us a full understanding of what is going on. This is one of those books that I just went along for the ride. It was a gripping thriller that I could not put down until I turned the last page. If you enjoy a chilling, thriller with a rather strange perpetrator, then you need to pick this one up and if you can get your hands on the audiobook, even better. Robin Laing and Cathleen McCarron are definitely narrators that I will watch for!

I just want to start by saying WOW!

I felt like the premise for this book was on the same tune with a lot of other crime thriller novels, but this novel surprised me. I tend to love novels that have detective and psychologist combo because I find the human mind extremely interesting especially when it leads the rare occasion of crime coming from the mental ill.

Helen Fields created characters that provided a driven and interesting dynamic with Connie and Baarda on the search for the Shadow Man. The Shadow Man picks out a diverse group of people that he takes to fulfill his needs by kidnapping Elspeth, Maggie, and Xavier.

Field wrote a suspenseful, dangerous, and frustrating novel that kept me attached to the book page-by-page. I recommend this book to many people and can’t wait to pick up more novels by this author.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon books for the early copy!

Dark, twisty and tense! These are just three words to describe this story but there is also so much more depth to this book. It’s safe to say that if you read this book at night you might want to sleep with the lights on. Along with double/triple checking your windows and doors are locked!

The points of view from the killer gave this book a definite edge and made things even more intense. The pacing was strong and kept momentum throughout. Seeing perspectives from the killer, investigators or the kidnap victims allowed a much more rounded feel too. Transition from one perspective to the other was done very well. There was tension throughout with threat from the killer at a high, helping to unnerve at all times. .

Chilling at times, this book kept me on edge and I raced through this book in no time.

When I first heard about The Shadow Man, I knew I had to read it. The synopsis alone hooks you in, and I was desperate to find out what was happening. I’m so glad that I listened to my gut instinct, because this book really packs a punch.

The book gets off to a fantastic start. The opening scenes are brutal, but they prepare you and set you up for what is to come, and has you immediately unable to put the book down. Helen Fields has created a truly terrifying killer with this story, and a unique case to sink your teeth into. We follow the story from multiple different characters, and each one is just as interesting as the others. The story still manages to flow nicely, and really grips you. The case itself is so interesting, as it seems that there is absolutely no connection or pattern to the victims at all, making the detectives work a lot harder than it already would be. I loved following the investigation, and watching how they managed to find all of the pieces to the puzzle, and make them fit.

There are so many interesting character in the story, all of which are very different. Connie was a personal favourite of mine. She’s sarcastic, she doesn’t really care what people think of her, and she’s very realistic in her thoughts. There is no sugar coating with Connie, and I like that! I enjoyed the methods she used to work, which accommodated her disability. They were a little on the strange/unorthodox side, and the reaction of others to her methods is hilarious, but it is great that she has managed to find a way that works for her, and she’s rolling with it, regardless of how it may look to others. She’s there to get the job done, and that is exactly what she does. I also really like Baarda as a character too. I actually felt sorry for him for what he is clearly going through at home. He seems like such a genuinely nice guy, who just has one of those jobs that takes up too much time, and that’s not his fault. I loved watching Connie and Baarda working together, they make such a great team and compliment each other perfectly. Getting to know them both along the journey of the story was also really enjoyable.

I want to take a minute to talk about the monster of the story… Fergus. Honestly? I felt a little sorry for him, because no-one should have to go through that sort of illness. He is clearly struggling, mentally and physically, and it’s something I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy. BUT, that doesn’t excuse what he has done. Regardless of your physical and mental health, the way he has/is behaving is inexcusable. His character is actually quite complex, and extremely interesting, and the author has done a fantastic job.

I never expected such an explosive ending. Those last few chapters were so intense and full of action, I couldn’t stop reading. I think it was the perfect way to end the story, and to tie everything up.

Overall, The Shadow Man is an extremely dark, gripping thriller, that is probably not for the faint hearted. I have seen that a few reviewers have said that they just couldn’t handle how gruesome this was at times, but if like me, that’s exactly what you’re looking for in a thriller, then I would highly recommend picking up this book! Personally, I loved it, and it had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

A huge thank you to Avon Books, and NetGalley for my copy, in exchange for an honest review.

I give The Shadow Man a 4.5 star rating!

First off like always I want to say a huge thank you to the publisher Avon Books UK, the author Helen Fields , and to NetGalley for letting me read and request it, because of them it seems like I've now found a new author to read . And man am I glad that I did request because its the perfect story to read on a stormy day like I did, with the thunder and rain coming down and just me and my dogs alone at home , all the time reading this one my kindle , even when the power kept going on and off I didn't want to stop. In fact I post to some of my bookish group chats that I was loving it and a few even replayed back saying they was added it to their TBRs. As for the story it was told in away that made it seem even darker and creeper and it flood perfectly together. It had all the elements that I love in a thriller which is : dark and twisted , creepy, a twisted serial killer, as well as a compelling story line that pulls you in from the very start and won't let go to the every end. And even though this is my first book by this author I can see why others like her work because after reading just this one books of hers I want to check out others and see if their just as good