Wow - this book was intense! I found the start a bit slow and rather unsettling but I soon got into the book and then simply couldn't put it down. Amazing story and I would certainly recommend it to others.

Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read this book.

I’ve read a lot of Helen Fields’ books and have been impressed by them all. This crime thriller is a stand-alone so, if you have yet to be persuaded to read one of her books and don’t want the commitment of a series, then I urge you to give this book a go. It’s a perfect showcase of Fields’ excellent, immersive writing and will probably wet your appetite for her other novels.

Set in Scotland, we are introduced to a very creepy man who has abducted three people, seemingly to live out a deep, dark fantasy. Following Connie and Baarda on the police force, it is a race against time to discover what this ‘Shadow Man’ is doing and what he may do to his victims. The descriptions were creepy, heart-stopping and spooky as Fields creates a dark, disturbing narrative. All in all, it was very reflective of her other works.

The characterisation in this novel is very rich and involving. Every major character is vividly portrayed and life-like. This makes Fields’ writing so much more immersive and gripping. I loved watching the banter develop between Connie and her colleagues; the fact that she is American proves the grounds for quite a few of her bouts of sarcasm as she struggles to understand that politeness that Baarda oozes. However, Connie’s character, for example, is not just developed on her witty dialogue, but also her past. I enjoyed watching Fields create such a complex personality and, after Connie’s revelations, could not believe the similarities between her and the ‘Shadow Man’. It was truly uncanny.

One of the characters from Fields’ other books makes an appearance – DCI Overbeck. This is another female character that I love watching and this was reinforced when Connie and Overbeck cross paths. The tension is palpable but I was glad not to be in the same room – I would be that person in the room trying to hide a giggle from hearing their sarcastic comments thrown at each other.

Fields’ writing never fails to disappoint. I was really keen to see what she could create with a blank slate of not developing a series. Having finished this lengthy novel pretty quickly, it just shows that Fields can turn her hand to all types of crime fiction. The plot was unpredictable and it was equally shocking and exciting. The manner in which the novel concludes left me considering whether there is a series to be had with Connie and Baarda: I would definitely love to see more happen with these characters in the future.

Darkness, crime and a thrilling sensation from your eye balls to your finger tips gripping the pages… this book delivers on all levels. It’s a must for crime fans and even more so for those who have yet to sample Fields’ writing. Not to be missed!

With thanks to Avon books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WoW, ...........WoW...........what a Book The Shadow Man by Helen Fields was.......I had the book from netgalley, then
I was lucky to get the audioBook to listen to......This was just brilliant..
The Narrators were: Robin Laing, Cathleen McCarron and they were perfect for this new book by Helen. I was hooked from the very beginning and till the end. Helen Fields has created a great serial killer in this novel who was a true monster in every part and this book is not for the faint hearted, So be warned!.

I highly recommend this book a dn was a cracking read and great to listen to as well. I can't recommend it enough! Just Brilliant!!!

I loved the cover to this book and was perfect...........

Big thank you to HarperCollins UK Audio, Avon books UK and NetGalley for my copy to read and review.

I had trouble getting into this one but I'm glad I stuck with it. The characters were intriguing and complex. I particularly like Connie. The killer was well written and completely sucked me in. There were dark and gritty parts that up the tension. There is plenty of action and suspense. I kind of hate that this is a stand alone because I was so drawn in by and invested in the characters. An excellent read.

Dark, darker, darkest. It must be time for a new Helen Fields book!

There was something about the first few pages that made me feel I might never, ever, sleep again. Truth be told, that feeling didn’t quite go away either. The Shadow Man is the stuff of nightmares, in more ways than one. But he is real, he’s on a mission and time is running out.

Enter American profiler and forensic psychologist Connie Woodwine and DI Brodie Baarda from the Met Ops Team who are assisting Police Scotland following the disappearance of Elspeth Dunwoody. I loved being introduced to this new and exciting team, even if poor Baarda is pretty much wiped off the pages whenever Connie is there. She’s quite the scene stealer and such a refreshing and fabulous character. Connie definitely left me wanting more and I truly hope there’s more to come from her at some point.

Obviously I don’t want to give anything away about the investigation Connie and Brodie are conducting. Mental health issues are definitely at the forefront though. The killer isn’t just your average pure evil kind of psychopath. They’re not out there merely kidnapping and killing for fun. This killer needs to execute a certain plan in order to be able to move forward. You’re probably wondering how that’s different but it kind of is and you’ll just have to read the book to find out. I know, that’s vague as all get-out but I really can’t say more than that. Except maybe to say this is taking a messed up individual to a whole different kind of level.

The Shadow Man switches seamlessly between the points of view from the killer, the detectives and the victims. No matter which page you’re on, you’re always in the thick of things. I found the victim chapters particularly harrowing as they try to find a way to survive this madness.

If you’re familiar with Helen Field’s “Perfect” series, then you know she does this whole disturbing crime fiction thing incredibly well and she manages to deliver that yet again in The Shadow Man. Tense, extremely chilling and utterly, utterly brilliant, this is Helen Fields at her very best and I absolutely loved it! Undoubtedly, another book for the “end-of-year” list.

This book started off so slowly I nearly put it down, however, it got better and I became absorbed in the story. 

My favourite thing about this book was the characters - especially Connie - who stole the show. She had everything I love in a character and she really felt like she was trying to claw her way out of the book! It was also interesting to see a little into the villain’s mind. 

After a slow start, the book became like a cat-and-mouse game, and the author ramped up the pressure and stakes. It kept me guessing until the end and had a perfect ending!

I LOVED the first chapters of this book. It was deeply creepy and almost unsettling which is a hard reaction to get from me because I read a lot of mystery/crime/horror..

Unfortunately, it dragged a lot for me in the middle, and I had some issues with the American character. Generally I think her attitude and approach were abrasive but accurate (I'm American, I think it was fair) but she just wasn't likeable and I couldn't really root for her.

The killer was very interesting and I think extremely unique which is rare for crime fiction purely because there is so much of it.

I can't really put my finger on why it dragged for me, but when it came to publishing day and I still hadn't finished it, I paid for and downloaded the audio book and while it was better it still took me a bit to finish. This one wasn't for me, but I would recommend it to fans of MJ Alridge and authors like that.

This is my first read from author Helen Fields and going in I wasn't too sure what to expect. I was riveted from the get go. This book is so full of twist and turns with compelling characters, I couldn't find myself putting the book down. The evil portrayed in this book is quite terrifying and I found myself being quite stressful at times.

A must read for murder mystery fans. Thanks NetGalley for the copy, the views above are of my own.

Connie is an American forensic psychologist who only sees things in black and white (literally!) She is partnered with DS Brodie Baarda to look into the disappearance of a young woman in Edinburgh.

This is a very dark book with a fair bit of gore, and as I read my blood ran cold. The Shadow Man is so scary . His sick both mentally and physically and Ms Field's descriptions of his made my flesh creep. The book starts fairly slowly and I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy it, but about 25% in it really took off and I couldn't stop listening. The climax was truly intense and scary.

Connie is a brilliant, interesting character. She is a brash American with a unique way of working, and is the perfect foil to Baarda who is more restrained. I loved Connie's back story which helped me to understand her. At the moment this book is a standalone, but I'd love to meet Connie and Baarda again.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The plot was original, with quirky unconventional characters and atmospheric setting, several twists and a strong ending. However, it just seemed too contrived, with author almost trying too hard to be original - every character was unconventional: the villain, the main policeman, his boss, the psychologist, the pathologist, the victims... It didn’t make them any more engaging or authentic.

I really liked this book and I would love to read more with the American profiler Connie in them, she was such an interesting character. This is my first book by Helen Fields but it won’t be my last.

A string of murders and disappearances in Edinburgh are finally linked when American psychologist and profiler Connie Woolwine and Det Baarda from London MIT are brought in to assist with the disappearance of a wealthy socialite. They realize there is much more going on and this is linked to a string of murders and disappearances over a course of years.

The villain of this story was just creepy. I know that they always are, but this guy just made me go, EWWW. Connie has some past history that makes her somewhat understanding of the psychology behind the madness. But the real magic in this story is the chemistry between Connie and Barda and I will definitely be reading to find out more about that.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my review. Always happy to have a new author on my radar.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. Having read the 'Perfect' series of books by Helen Fields, I was really looking forward to reading this standalone and I was not disappointed. It drew me in from the first page and didn't let me go until I had finished it, so much so that I read it into the small hours so I could find out what happened. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.

After reading all the books in the DI Callanach series, I felt pretty well prepared for what this standalone story was going to bring. While there were some similarities, there were also some significant differences.

Fields continues to create incredibly compelling law enforcement characters, and the close connection between them develops quickly without feeling forced. DI Baarda and Dr. Connie Woolwine are both intriguing and I loved their chemistry. However, I did feel like Connie’s portrayal as an American didn’t feel accurate (I can say that fully as an American). Her patterns of speech frequently included phrases that just aren’t used in American English, and it felt like it relied on her use of profanity to enforce that she was indeed American. But not all Americans curse freely, and even those who do tend to hold back while working in a professional capacity.

I haven’t managed to find an author who can set such an incredibly creepy tone in just a couple of pages the way Helen Fields can. In her DI Callanach books, I seriously never learned my lesson, starting a book in the late afternoon or evening, and scaring the wits out of myself until I couldn’t even think of trying to sleep until I had finished the book. But with this book, it just stayed as creepy without crossing the line into terrifying.

Since the story is set in Scotland, I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of familiar characters reappear in this book. I was thrilled to realize that Dr. Ailsa Lambert plays a role in this story, as does DS Overbeck, who hasn’t changed much at all. Fields also sticks with her usual level of gore and violence, but with a whole never level of psychiatric weirdness added in. There’s some disability representation, and some seriously horrific psychiatric care thrown into the mix. But it all works out to make a compelling story that I couldn’t put down. Not because I was too scared to stop reading, but because I just wanted to find out what happened to the characters. Helen Fields has a magic touch even without the incredibly sexy DI Callanach between her pages.

Wow! I genuinely couldn't stop reading this. It starts at a cracking pace and continues the momentum right to the end. None of that mid story dip here. I never thought I'd say this, but Connie and Baarda might be even better than Luc and Ava (I'm a big fan of Helen's other series set in Edinburgh). I hope it's the start of a series! So fresh storylines, fresh investigative team, really gripping, 5 star all the way.

This was not the book for me. I tried to get to at least 100 pages and I struggled to do just that. I couldn't connect. I found it boring, and there wasn't anything in it that I wanted to know more about.

2/5 Stars

This was an awesome and fascinating book! Loved the whole thing cover to cover!! Will be recommending this book to all my friends!!

This is possibly one of the darkest thrillers that I've read for some time. Helen Fields wastes no time with setting the scene and getting to know characters, instead she is straight into the action establishing the tone for the entire novel from the start.

Being inside the twisted head of The Shadow Man, knowing what is going through his mind when he is carrying out his actions gives you a great insight to how delusional this character is and means that you know there is nothing that he won't do to get what he needs. Coupled with this we have chapters told from the POV of Elsbeth, Meggy and Xavier. You know that there are interactions that have happened between them and The Shadow Man that you haven't seen, but seeing their reaction to him and their desperation leaves your imagination to what else has happened working overtime. There's not actually a lot of scene's where they're all together, what scenes there are will chill you. But the scene's where Elsbeth, Meggy and Xavier are on their own are haunting

Interspersed with these scenes are the chapters featuring forensic psychologist Connie Woodwine and Detecive Brodie Baarda who are leading the hunt for The Shadow Man. I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between these two total opposites, even though it was on occasion a little bit clunky. Connie's tell it like it is attitude is fantastic, and Baarda's Etonian English approach to people are completely at odds with each other but they work.

The synopsis of this novel calls it heart pounding. There's plenty of novels out there that have descriptions similar to this, very few of them live up to it. The Shadow Man does. When I get nervous or worked up my foot starts to tap, it doesn't happen often, I'm pretty level headed. On a couple of occasions reading this I found my foot slamming itself repeatedly into the floor, or me reading sentences peering through my fingers. You honestly have absolutely no idea where this book is going to go next, who is going to survive and what they're going to have to go through in order to survive. There was more than one occasion where I felt my stomach churning as I was reading. This is more than a thriller

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5

Thank you NetGalley, Helen Fields and Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review

The Shadow Man is a book about a man trying to create a family and the women who is trying to stop him, the only catch is.. this man is kidnapping and murdering his would be family and the women is a forensic psychologist hired to help stop him.
This book dives in head first and starts doing laps around your brain with no respite for the entirety of its 400 pages. It starts with a quite disturbing murder where our main ghoul actually “accidentally” murders his would be (involuntary) wife.. and starts down an unforgiving trail of murder, kidnapping, and a great leap inside the mind of the mentally ill.
Told between the story lines if our murderer and the police force in Scotland charged with is capture this book in a fast paced thriller that will haunt you to the core.

This is an interesting psychological thriller. It all begins in a graveyard in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Shadow Man, Fergus, is digging up a coffin. Apparently he has done it many times before, adding to the coffin and removing from the coffin. It is clear he is some kind of serial killer. Fergus botches his well-planned kidnapping and it turns into a murder. He then hastily kidnaps Elsbeth, as a replacement. In order to understand the perpetrators mindset and to assist an overworked force, MIT brings in two outsiders, Forensic Psychologist Dr. Connie Woolwine, an American and a Londoner, DI Baarda. They have some comraderie but Baarda is a bit too stoically British and Woolwine is a bit too stereotypically brash American. They didn’t have much chemistry and I think the author wanted them to. They work well together but aren’t making much headway. A young girl, Meggie and later a disabled man, Xavier, are also brazenly kidnapped. Baarda and Woolwine know they are connected and that their time to find the victims alive might be running out. The Shadow Man is one screwed up person and the author takes us through his neurosis step by step. It is very frightening and gruesome but interesting. Overall, I enjoyed this story but felt that the main characters could have been more developed. The author gave their history but not much of their personality. Meggie seemed to have the most personality but the rest were not well fleshed out. I liked this book and might read other books by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
Another brilliant book by Helen Fields. She keeps hitting it out of the park. I enjoy her style of writing and storytelling and that is why she is 1 of my favourite authors. It's also the 1st time I've heard about Cotard's syndrome and I found it fascinating. I'm definitely going to research it some more.

Fergus Ariss is not a well puppy and I would definitely not like to cross paths with him! Fergus is also dying... Or so he believes and he must get ready to cross over. This means getting the perfect family. Will Connie be able to figure out how his head works before it's too late? Together with DI Baarda they have to connect the dots and figure out who he is and why he is kidnapping random people.
A definite must-read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books UK  for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion