Killing the Shadows
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3.8 • 4 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The Number One bestselling, award-winning Queen of crime fiction Val McDermid delivers a searing psychological suspense thriller. A serial killer is on the loose. His victims? Crime writers…
A murderer is at large, hunting with a bloodlust that shatters all the conventional wisdom on how serial killers operate.
Professor Fiona Cameron is a psychologist who uses computer technology to track serial offenders. She vowed never to work for the Met again after they went against her advice and screwed up an investigation as a result. But when her lover, thriller writer Kit Martin, tells her a fellow crime novelist has been murdered, Fiona can’t help taking an interest.
With the killer striking again, Fiona is caught in a race against time, not only to save a life, but to bring herself redemption, both personal and professional.
Reviews
'She is the real mistress of psychological gripping thrillers; no-one can plot or tell a story like she can. The hairs on my neck literally stood up' Express
'McDermid has become our leading pathologist of everyday evil… The subtle orchestration of terror is masterful' Guardian
'Dark, clever and timely' Scotland on Sunday
Praise for Val McDermid:
'Val McDermid is a roaring Ferrari amid the crowded traffic on the crime-writing road' Independent
‘Manchester's answer to Thomas Harris’ Guardian
About the author
Val McDermid grew up in a Scottish mining community then read English at Oxford. She was a journalist for sixteen years, spending the last three years as Northern Bureau Chief of a national Sunday tabloid. Now a full-time writer, she divides her time between Cheshire and Northumberland. Her novels have won international acclaim and a number of prestigious awards, including the Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year, the Anthony Award for best novel, and the Los Angeles Times Book of the Year Award. Her thriller series featuring criminal profiler Tony Hill has been adapted into the much-loved TV series Wire in the Blood.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Though McDermid skillfully alternates point of view and creates memorable scenes and complex characters, her latest falls short of the high standard set by her previous novel, A Place of Execution (2000), which was an Edgar finalist. Psychology professor Fiona Campbell, a consultant with London's Metropolitan Police, specializes in crime linkage and geographical profiling using sophisticated computer technology. The competitive, self-confident Fiona was recently replaced on a case by another expert, who ended up misleading the police; their suspect, whom Fiona had thought innocent, was eventually released. While Fiona is working with the Spanish police to catch a vicious murderer, a new situation comes to light back in the U.K.: the serial killings of successful thriller writers who are threatened, then murdered following details from their most popular novel. Fiona lives with Kit Martin, author of you guessed it popular thrillers about serial killers. Their best friend, Det. Superintendent Steve Preston, needs Fiona's help in yet another investigation. Initially, she refuses to resume working with the police, but the personal dimensions draw her in. After much misdirection, the cases mesh, with a Spanish connection. McDermid builds suspense by inserting passages from the thriller novels, e-mails, crime Web sites and the killer's journal. Unfortunately, the killer's motive is somewhat unconvincing, while the reader can anticipate most of the plot twists. Nonetheless, given the acclaim for A Place of Execution, expect strong sales. FYI:McDermid won Britain's Gold Dagger Award for best crime novel in 1995.
