The Shadow Man

Helen Fields

Feb 2021 · Sold by HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

Don’t miss the new, claustrophobic crime thriller that will keep you up at night, The Institution. Coming in March 2023 and available to pre-order now!

The Shadow Man is a twisty thriller that will leave you gasping for more. The first standalone from the bestselling author of the Perfect series, Helen Fields.

He 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.

Ratings and reviews

The Shadow Man is the first stand alone novel by Helen Fields. Narrated by Robin Laing and Cathleen McCarron, The Shadow Man is a fantastic blend of suspense, police investigation and psychiatric profiling. In Edinburgh women are being abducted and women are dying, then a child is abducted and finally a wheelchair bound man. But who is taking these people and why? This is real edge of the seat stuff, absolutely addictive and once started, almost impossible to put down before the end. I found it exciting, gruesome at times and I enjoyed it so much that I will be looking forward to Helen Fields' next novel with bated breath.

It was a good read. It definitely dragged on, yet it had its good moments. The profiling and the psychological element was very good and intriguing; however, the description of the actions was quite unrealistic and hard to follow. The character of Baarda was completely useless and he was such a sloppy detective. All in all, it was a decent 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!

About the author

Helen Fields studied law at the University of East Anglia, then went on to the Inns of Court School of Law in London. After completing her pupillage, she joined chambers in Middle Temple where she practised criminal and family law for thirteen years. After her second child was born, Helen left the Bar.

Together with her husband David, she runs a film production company, acting as script writer and producer. Perfect Remains is set in Scotland, where Helen feels most at one with the world. Helen and her husband now live in Los Angeles with their three children and two dogs.