DARK, CREEPY and INTRIGUING! What more can you ask from a true crime/thriller book?
Just grab the book with both hands and start reading.

Normally a fan of Helen Fields I struggled with this one. The opening was incredibly distressing & I found myself dreading more of the same as the book went on. I thought the relationship between the 3 captives compelling and sympathetic but I can't say it was a book I 'enjoyed'.

Are you ready to get inside the mind of a killer?

I was really excited to read this book but sadly I just couldn't get in to it at all and unfortunately didn't make it to the end.

I can highly recommend this book and although I read it as a stand alone I do hope it's the start of a new series. It's set in Edinburgh and is a mix of Crime/Psychological Thriller with a bit of horror mixed in. (Well I found it quite horrific in places.) The writing is brilliant as you would expect and I was blown away by some of the descriptions.. It held my attention from the first page to the last.

I really enjoyed this book all the way through. It had a really good plot, great main characters and really keeps you hooked on the plot. I would highly recommend this book.

Helen Fields never disappoints and with this book she’s delivered again. A departure from the Perfect series but still set in Edinburgh and with a couple of the same characters. It’s one of the freakiest villains I’ve ever read. And definitely do not read the first chapter while in bed!

Spine-chilling, nightmarish and another 5 star read by Helen Fields!

‘The Shadow Man’ is in town abducting women, children and men. He has many names and many faces, but one thing is for sure; whoever has seen him says he looks like death.

What are his reasons for these abductions?
Is he a monster? Is he mad? Is he bad? Is he a psychopathic serial killer? Or something much much worse?
Dare to enter the mind of a deranged killer? Be my guest!

Thanks to the author, Avon Books and the NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy.

This is a different kind of thriller/horror book.
An American profiler and psychologist is called in to help aid when a high profile abduction of Elspeth occurs after a murder of a similiar woman. Along with Detective Baarda she and he follow the abductions of a 12 year old child and of a parapalegic man. Trying to figure out the end game is all they can try to do and the twist and the turns of the case is absolutely horrifying. Fergus abducts them all to try to create the family he never had, not long after his introduction the reader can realize that he is not only physically but also mentally sick. He is so sick and twisted it's not even funny.
This book follows the investigation and also gives an insight into Fergus's mind, and what an adventure that was. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers as this is one that you are hooked from the beginning to see what other crazy thoughts are going to occur.
I really enjoyed the different perspectives and I loved Connie. She looked at the world in a different view and because of that different perspective she was able to understand Fergus and what he was actually capable of. This type of book is like someone's worst nightmare because Fergus literally the boogeyman he comes and takes his victims and then he tries to basically make them play house with him all the while the victims are terrified. Such a good book! I definitely recommend it!

Excellent.
A thoroughly enjoyable thriller with just the right amount of twistedness and gore this time but tension by the bucketful.
I loved Helen's last one but I felt this was even better.
Interesting side to Connie the profiler who has her own problems to deal with. Her back story is fascinating and fabulously portrayed.
Read this in one weekend and really struggled to put it down.
Many thanks.

Just finished readin The Shadow Man by Helen Fields. When multiple people begin disappearing in Scotland Connie, a psychologist, is called in to help investigate and deliver a profile on the potential abductor. While I was curious to see how this book would end and if Elspeth, Meggy, and Xavier would make it out alive, it was very wordy and took me quite a while to get through. I feel like a lot of the beginning could have been cut out so the story flowed a little faster. Overall it mostly kept my attention and the last 10% was definitely the best. Thanks @avon_books and @netgalley for the advance copy!

Another brilliant read from Helen Fields. Gripping from the first page this is a gritty and disturbing story of ‘the shadow man’ and his many, victims spanning decades. Suspense and drama had me willing Elspeth, Maggie and Xavier on so that they can get back to their families as undamaged as an ordeal like this can leave them. Highly recommended. With thanks to netgalley for an arc in return for my honest feedback.

Thank you for the advance copy. This book is very much an edge of your seat book and I'm certain it will be hugely popular amongst our library readers. It's a dark exciting thriller and although the writing is very good and descriptive, it doesn't stop the book being a real page turner. I will be recommending this book for our library book club.

”Life has a way of making things complicated”.

This is my first Helen Fields book, so I didn’t know what to expect from this book. She is popular with her series and this is her first standalone book.

The story is intriguing to me to know more depth towards the truth. From the beginning, it had me hooked and kept my attention. As the story unfolds, we came to know about two main characters, Connie and Fergus.

Connie, the American forensic psychologist, is excellent in her work. She is the most compelling character in this book who can’t see colors and profile the kidnapper. Fergus, the kidnapper, is scary. He is an interesting character even though he’s a bad guy here. He is diagnosed with a mental illness called Cotard syndrome and leads to no fear in doing anything as he thinks he’s invisible and dying even though he is not. Fergus chose each person for a reason. They are playing their role to Fergus.

The story has been told in a nice storyline; only I feel a little confused with the point of view. I think it is better to have two points of view only, from Fergus and Connie. A few last chapters made me speed my reading because I want to know the ending. I am satisfied with the end! Plot twist also in here!

This is a standalone novel but I'm hoping there's a sequel because I like to read more about Connie and DI Baarda.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This standalone book absolutely shocked, amazed and captivated me from the very first page. A complex storyline with intriguing characters it will compel you to read deep into the night. A must for all thriller lovers and my thanks go to Netgalley, Avon books and the fabulous Helen Fields for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Are you ready to delve into the mind of a killer? You better be prepared... not everyone makes it out alive!

Helen Fields ability to write captivating and thrilling books just gets better and better!

The Shadow Man is her first standalone novel since writing the Perfect series. Whilst we are given two brand, spanking new characters this story actually takes place in the same constabulary as her previous novels and features the monstrous Superintendent Overbeck (Overlord!) and even the same chief medical examiner Alisa! For the fans of the Perfect series (like me) this just makes it even better!

The two new characters we are treated to in this book are brilliantly written and paired up. Similarly to Turner and Callanach, Connie is your strong female lead. Supremely intelligent when it comes to profiling, strong willed and is certainly no wallflower. But, for all of her ‘Rocky’ outbursts she is absolutely fabulous, a breath of fresh air to an otherwise male dominated sector and I very much hope she makes another appearance soon.

This book had me hooked from the get-go. It’s a creepy, pulse-racing read that is so tense I found myself holding my breath. Had Connie not followed her gut/instinct rather than wait for clues I do think Fields might’ve struggled to rein this plot into line. But theory chasing aside this book is absolutely brilliant!

Thanks so much to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read The Shadow Man by Helen Fields. I loved this book, from the moment I picked it up, until the end. This is a stand alone, written by one of my favourite writers.
Talk about creepy! This is probably one of the best books I have read all year. Shadow Man is a perfect title for this book, as the killer really is in the shadows. This sick individual does horrific things, to get what he thinks is his "Perfect Family!" Helen Fields brings serial killer to a whole new level and Fergus Arris fits the bill. He sure kept American Profiler/Forensic Psychologist Connie Woodwine and DI Brodie Baarda on their toes!

I wish I could give this latest book from Helen Fields 6 stars. It is brilliant. From the first sentence I knew it was going to be excellent and I wasn’t disappointed. This is a stand alone book after the brilliant Perfect series. It is a gritty tale introducing DI Baarda and criminal psychologist Constance Woolwine. Connie is a great character, feisty and straight talking and hopefully this will be the start of a new series. Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the opportunity to review this brilliant novel.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This was a great thriller, with a great storyline and good characters. Wasn't the best I have read but saying that I enjoyed it.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an unbiased review.
Having read all the DI Callanach books to date and become a fan of them, I was perhaps a little apprehensive about this publication as it would introduce totally new characters from Ms Fields.
I needn't have worried, this standalone publication was a superbly written book and I have no hesitation in giving it five stars.
Dare I hope for more to follow for these characters ?

American profiler and forensic psychologist Connie Woodwine and DI Brodie Baarda from the Met Ops Team are assisting the Edinburgh based Police Scotland team following the disappearance of Elspeth Dunwoody, this is followed by further disappearances and this the hunt is on for ‘The Shadow Man’.

Wow. That start! Talk about perch on the edge of your seat, hardly daring to breathe as the nightmare unfolds. 0 to 60 in a nanosecond! I think it’s fair to say that Helen Fields has my attention immediately. Woodwine and Baarda make a fantastic team, they’re yin and yang, as they try to track down a horrifyingly mentally ill, delusional and demonic monster. The interaction between them works so well, Connie is straight talking, shoot from the lips and Baarda is ever polite but there is sharp good humour between them which works really well and relieves tension. The victims actions are interesting and I don’t want to give much away but one of them proves to be both brave and resourceful. There’s desperation, shocks by the bucketload as a maniacal fantasy is constructed. It’s creepy, ghoulish, shivers up the spine and jaw dropping in intensity. Thankfully the pace alters and gives you time to catch your breath before your head explodes and then builds up again. The end - what can I say except it’s beyond tense, it’s tragic and sad. I love the ultimate finale with Connie and Baarda and I sincerely hope that the author does not confine them to a one off. They are tremendous characters, I’d love to read what they do next.

Overall, I think you can tell I think this book is good! It’s gritty, dark, so well written, the plot is well paced and you have no idea what is going to happen next. It has some very original and creative elements that add an extra dimension to the storyline. This is Helen Fields best book so far in my opinion. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Avon Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.