Killing the Shadows (Hardcover)

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Amazon.co.uk Review
Our culture's obsession with serial killers as its own dark shadow sometimes obscures the fact that people kill for other reasons than sex. In Killing the Shadows Val McDermid's new detective, academic psychologist Fiona Cameron, has become something of a maverick because of her insistence on using other sorts of profiling as well as the standard psycho-sexual ones; she has refused to work for the Metropolitan police any more because of a murder they failed to solve because they took another psychologist's advice. Yet the woman murdered on Hampstead Heath preys on her conscience, along with her own murdered sister, as she works for the Spanish police on a killer who decorates the sights of Toledo with dead tourists. And then someone starts killing crime writers and Fiona's lover Kit is on the killer's list. Val McDermid's ingenuity and solid sense of how crime and investigation works have made her one of the dominant figures in contemporary British crime writing. Killing the Shadows is one of her best books yet, both for its powerful critique of modern policing and for the serious questions it asks about our fascination with the deadliest of criminals. --Roz Kaveney

Review
'McDermid's capacity to enter the warped mind of a deviant criminal is shiveringly convincing' Marcel Berlins, The Times A Place of Execution: 'Compelling and atmospheric... a tour de force' Minette Walters The Wire in the Blood: 'This is a shocking book, stunningly exciting, horrifyingly good' Ruth Rendell

In McDermid's latest novel, anyone who isn't a serial killer is either a victim of one, a relative of a victim, investigating serial killers, teaching university courses on them, writing books about them, or any combination of the above. Makes you nervous doesn't it? Professor Fiona Cameron is an academic psychologist who uses computer technology to help police forces track serial offenders. In short, she's a criminal profiler who happens to live with thriller writer Kit Martin, who has become well known as a novelist in the mode of Thomas Harris. Then a serial killer appears intent on ridding the world of crime writers, who from the evidence of this novel are such an unpleasant bunch that one can only applaud his good taste. McDermid has moved to the rarified atmosphere of those crime writers whose books are advertised on television. That proves that she's a player and you can lay money on the fact that this book will climb the best seller lists. (Kirkus UK)

As Francis Blake leaves the Old Bailey, gleefully celebrating the dismissal of the charges against him for raping and murdering a young mother on Hampstead Heath while her two toddlers watched, neither Steve Preston of the Met nor his good friend, psychological profiler Fiona Cameron, is supposed to still be working the case. But they are, unofficially, whenever they can steal a moment. When she's not off in Spain consulting about a serial killer on the loose there, Fiona is also worried that her partner, thriller writer Kit Martin, may be next on the list of a serial killer who's already polished off three crime writers in the same gruesome manners they depicted in their fiction. Steve and his colleague Sarah Duvall, busy scouting leads Fiona's provided to the Hampstead murder, think Kit's in no danger, but when he's abducted, Fiona heads off to search for him in the wilds of Scotland, where the killer is planning to exsanguinate Kit and paint the cabin walls with his blood, just as in his book. Sarah will deal with a publicity-seeking confessor and Steve will nab the real Heath villain, but it will be up to Fiona to save Kit-down a pint of blood and in the rifle sights of his tormentor-and finally come to terms with the her young sister Lesley's murder by a serial killer who's never been found. Pretty murky motivation, not helped by the tic of brandishing the perp's journal every several chapters. McDermid has handled the duel between serial killers and profilers better in "The Mermaids Singing "(1996). (Kirkus Reviews)

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44 Reviews 5 star:  (22) 4 star:  (3) 3 star:  (8) 2 star:  (6) 1 star:  (5)           Average Customer Review 3.7 out of 5 stars (44 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   7 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Killing the Shadows, 28 Jun 2005 By  Rich Milligan (Thatcham, Berkshire) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    This review is from: Killing the Shadows (Paperback) Even for the most ardent McDermid fan, I'm sure this book came as something of a disappointment. An extremely contrived storyline, rushed and disappointing ending and an endless stream of pretentious references didn't make this a totally enjoyable read. On paper I guess the plot idea looked quite interesting and it certainly would seem to be full of intrigue and originality. Not only have we got another serial killer on the loose, this is a serial killer who is killing the writers of novels that feature serial killers in them. And if that wasn't enough, we also have a sub-plot featuring a serial killer and another sub plot featuring another murderer. Mind you, you don't pick up a McDermid novel and not expect a great amount of blood and gore do you! Just to add another twist to the tale the main serial killer (the one that's killing the writers of serial killer novels) is killing the novelists in a fashion as described in one of their books. Confused? To be honest the novel reads quite straight forwardly so this convoluted mess does sort itself out somewhat. But such a complex and manufactured story is going to take some sever writing skill to carry it off and I'm afraid that this time Ms McDermid just doesn't do the job. The characters are either carbon copies of previous ones or cartoon cut-outs with no real personality traits. The sub plots are at the best pointless diversion, why have the Spanish serial killer of tourists? How did this tie in with the main plot? Finally the technical accuracy of some of the tools and methods used are suspect to say the least. The final disappointment is the rushed and almost incomplete ending, after slogging through 500+ pages of story I do expect something a little better than sneaking up behind the killer and then happy ever after. I must admit, contrary to some of the other reviews here, I didn't spot the killer, but there again I wouldn't have expected this character to have done it, in such a wild and fantastic plot development. The book is very readable and any fan to thrillers will churn through it in a matter of days, but don't blame me if you're left with a slightly stale taste in you mouth when finished. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   6 of 6 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars Unfulfilled promise, 12 Oct 2006 By  Daniel Darby (Togliatti, Russia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Killing the Shadows (Paperback) I am a big fan of Val McDermid's works. No sooner have I finished one novel I find myself reaching for the next. I have read all the Tony Hill books and now all the stand-alone thrillers, the latest being Killing the Shadows. I'm sad to say it was my least favourite. I ploughed through the first two-hundred-odd pages with growing excitement at the story's multi-layered action and the possibilities that lay ahead. Crime writers being picked off one by one, ritualistic murder in Spain, a good honest cop's efforts to put right a previously-botched murder investigation, and, playing quietly in the background, the unsolved murder of the central character's sister. Great stuff! I ploughed on. My mistake, and the reason for my disappointment, was in thinking that all the events would remain relevant. Looking back it does seem unlikely that so much content could. How could so much believeably tie together in the end? The second half of the story was a let down. I can see the faint relevance of the Spanish murder investigation to the story, but did it warrant so much attention early on in the book? The revealing of the crime-writer murder was surprising, but in a flat and disappointing way, and the motive for murder is far from convincing. The final confrontation scene is a little too unbelievable and the 500-page build up deserved better. Val McDermid is a great writer - The Distant Echo in particular stands out as a truly rollercoaster of a ride right to the last page - but if you reading her for the first time I'd skip Killing the Shadows and start elsewhere to avoid disappointment. She has done much better. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing, 28 Jun 2001 By  martin.verlaine@ukgateway.net (London) - See all my reviews This review is from: Killing the Shadows (Paperback) I read 'A place of Execution' last year on holiday in France and was struck by the originality of plot and good characterisation-a cracking read( 5 stars from me) which made me look forward to the new book with quite some anticipation. Having purchased the paperback in Tesco,I was looking forward to the tedious commute to work being made more bearable for a while. But what a disappointment!!. The Plot was quite ludicrous (and predictable)whilst the motive of the killer seemed barely credible. There are far too many generalities, aside from copius ( and graphic)details of each death. It seems the author was far keener to detail gore than develop the characters who were mostly one dimensional. One wonders if McDermid has been reading Reichs and Cornwall and believes you can hook the book reading public by raising the gore count. The novel had far too many sub plots, most of which were not developed and therefore became quickly redundant. The identity of the killer was not hard to guess as everyone else in the novel could not have been the guilty party. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 44 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews 3.0 out of 5 stars disappointing I'm a fan of Mrs. McDermid and A place of Execution and A distant Echo are my favorites, but here too much is happening in different places at the same time and all this layering... Read more Published 15 months ago by CC7 5.0 out of 5 stars Killing The Shadows This is the undoubtably the best of all serial Killer books iv'e read, and trust me iv'e read a few! What could be more appropriate? Read more Published on 25 Oct 2006 by Miss Marple 2.0 out of 5 stars A Step Too Far? This book was just TOO contrived! I have only recent discovered Val McDermid and have thoroughly enjoyed many of her other books - especially the Tony Hill Series. Read more Published on 19 Jun 2004 by jcattmull 5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good I really enjoyed this book. I'd previously read 4 of Val McDermid's novels, but wasn't particularly inspired by the blurb on the back cover of this: a serial killer targetting... Read more Published on 26 Mar 2004 by M. V. Clarke 1.0 out of 5 stars What a load of gory rubbish!! I bought this book from a junk shop for 75p and that is to where it returned. This was my first introduction to Val McDermid, and I shall not be returning. Read more Published on 28 Aug 2003 5.0 out of 5 stars Killing the competition In a over crowded gendre, Val Mcdermid shows everyone how your supposed to write. Unafraid of stepping on toes, Mcdermid knows what readers like. Read more Published on 25 Jul 2003 by feona Bowey 5.0 out of 5 stars A must read Anyone who likes crime thrillers cannot help but love this book. It is be far her best book. Published on 5 May 2003 5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a real heroine! It's about time that someone wrote a book where the heroine is: a) secure in herself; b) secure professionally; and c) secure in her relationship! Read more Published on 22 Feb 2003 by simelinda 3.0 out of 5 stars Slow & Meandering I'm sorry, but I just can't rate this book as highly as others have. It was too slow, and lacking in action to be anything more than three stars - and that is being... Read more Published on 16 Jan 2003 5.0 out of 5 stars Have Spare Light Bulbs At Hand This is only the second novel I have read by Ms. Val McDermid, the first was, "A Place Of Execution", and it left me as uneasy as I imagine the writer wished... Read more Published on 28 Nov 2002 by taking a rest Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 44 customer reviews...

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