From the author who brought the creepy delight that was "The Whisper Man" comes a new story that has similar roots in an urban myth combined with the darkness that lies beneath the surface of a deprived community.

Paul thought that he had put the awful events of his teenage years behind him when he left Gitten, but when he returns to visit his terminally ill mother it seems that he awakens something dark and feral that brings pain and misery to the community. Is this the vengeful spirit of Charlie and 'Red Hands' or something more grounded in reality, but no less tragic? As Paul remembers more about the past, a police detective races to understand what really happened in Gitten's 25 years earlier and solve the mystery of who, or what is committing the current crimes.

It's creepy, fast-paced, full of twists and human emotion. Pretty much perfect actually.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Wow, a wonderfully crafted creepy thriller full of unexpected twists.

The story is told primarily from the point of view of Paul, alternating between today and his teenage years some 25 years prior. As a teenager, he and his best friend were drawn into a group with two other teenagers who regularly spent time together in and out of school until a tragic event changed all their lives forever with one of the group disappearing without a trace.

As Paul returns home as an adult to visit his dying mother, a detective visits the area as a crime she is investigating has striking similarities to the tragedy from years ago. Paul is haunted by the events of the past, especially when strange events start happening around his mother's house.

Nothing is what it seems and there are huge twists and turns in the story keeping you guessing right until the closing pages.

Highly recommended.

The Shadow Friend is an atmospheric creepy read.
Paul returns to his home town after staying away even from his mother, learning she is dying in a local hospice he realises he must now return.
As a child he and his friend James became involved with two other schoolboys Billy and Charlie. Billy was the ringleader getting them to interpret their dreams and compare notes the next day, persuading them they were all having the same dreams and needed to act them out no matter how horrific they seemed. Paul was having none of this, fed up of Billy’s warped views and left the group, not long after walking away a horrific murder of a student occurs with Billy and Charlie confessing. Paul leaves the ares with his mother’s agreement that he will never return, but now 25 years later another murder with exactly the same injuries and scene has occurred, is it a copy cat or something much more?
A good story, full of suspense and twists, though it was to me confusing at times when it moved between past and present, there was a revelation that really surprised me that I wasn’t too sure about, to be honest it overstretched my imagination beyond belief. That said an enjoyable read
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

Having just read the Whisper man I was excited to read this, and it did not disappoint. It was so creepy, with so many twists, definitely worth reading.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin UK - Michael Joseph, for the ARC.

My Goodness!! What a cleverly-constructed 'nightmarish' thriller. I loved The Whisper Man and The Shadow Friend didn't disappoint.

The main narrative is told from Paul's point of view - as a teenager 25 years ago and present time, alternating between the two.

Paul hasn't been back to Gritten for 25 years, but needs to now as his mother is in Gritten Hospice dying of Cancer. He recalls the memories of his school days where he and his best friend James were drawn into a group with Charlie Crabtree and Billy Roberts. They regularly hike through the woods at the back of their houses - they call them 'The Shadows'. Charlie is obsessed with 'lucid dreaming' - inducing a dream-state whereby you meet, speak and act with fellow dreamers in an altered world - they all share the same dream.
Impossible, Paul thinks, but then Charlie and Billy brutally kill one of their classmates and magically Charlie disappears off the face of the earth. Billy is holding his dream diary in his bloody hands. The murder scene is covered with imprints of bloody hands.

Present day, and Detective Amanda Beck is opening a murder enquiry on Michael Price, found brutally murdered in a quarry in Featherbank. The ground is covered with imprints of bloody hands. Comparing the two enquiries Amanda wonders if this is a copycat killer.
When Paul explores his mother's attic he finds the walls and beams covered with imprints of red hands. He also discovers newspaper cuttings of murders by classmates from four and two years ago. His mother's dying ramblings lead him to reluctantly explore further.
Is Charlie directing his warped lucid dreaming to others, present-day; is he alive?

Paul constantly feels that something awful is going to happen as he talks through his findings with his first love, Jenny Chambers.

The past and present collide as Amanda meets Paul and tries to find connections between the murders.

The truth, with a touch of the supernatural, is gradually revealed. Some things are best not said, some things are best not remembered.

This is a creepy, sinister and atmospheric thriller. Complex and unpredictable. Look out for the twists.

#TheShadowFriend #NetGalley
It blows your mind away. Its fantastic.
Paul's friend Charlie Crabtree brutally killed their classmate - and then vanished without a trace, all this happened twenty five years ago.
Things start to go wrong. His mother claims there's someone in the house. Paul realises someone is following him. And, in a town many miles away, a copycat killer has struck.
What really happened to Charlie the day of the murder?
This book gives you all answers.
The author has done it again after the success of The Whisper Man.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK Michael Joseph for giving me an advanced copy.