Published - July 2020

Genre – Crime fiction

Tom Honeyman is a best selling author but a 'one hit wonder'. A former journalist, he made his name cracking a horrific double murder in his hometown of Prosper, New York and wrote an international best seller on the back of it. Times have been tough since the book was published and both his personal and professional lives leave a lot to be desired.

Honeyman has a ritual - every July he maroons himself at his villa on Maldetto, an uninhabited island in the lagoon at Venice.  By the third weekend of the month, when the Redentore fireworks begin on the Saturday night, he hopes to have either finished a new book or found the start of one. This year seems to be no different... but then he finds that there is a visitor on his island - one that's taken his daughter hostage and casts doubt on the story that made him. In fact the stranger wants Honeyman to tell the truth about the crimes in a new book and he has just four days to do it. 

Honeyman works though the events of the original crimes in a series of flashbacks and the timeline switches between the present in Venice and the past in Prosper; to meet the demands of his daughter's captor he has to face up to some unpleasant memories. 

This feels like a really unusual plot when it can be hard to read anything in the crime/thriller genre that feels different. It's got the atmosphere of Venice in the heat, great characterisation, a few twists and turns and a real feeling of jeopardy.

This was a great murder mystery. It was action packed and really kept me hooked from the very start. Tom Honeyman is the main protagonist in this novel. We meet him at a low point in his life. His fame and fortune was based on the fact that he solved a horrific double murder, on which he based a best selling novel which he subsequently wrote and published. He's succeeded at nothing since. His wife has died, by her own hand, and his daughter has turned her back on him. His life is in ruins. He heads to an island in Venice to see what, if anything, he can salvage from his life but he soon discovers that he is not alone. He receives that haunting information, that his solution to the double murder, upon which his life has thrived, was in fact incorrect, and that now he must solve it and uncover the identity of the true murderer or he will pay with his life.
I really enjoyed this murder mystery. The plot was well planned and well executed. The editor did his or her job well. It's full of twists and turns and I was kept guessing until the bitter end. It's the first I've read from David Hewson but definitely won't be the last.

I received an ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review. I read several of Hewson’s Nic Costa series years ago, so I thought I’d try this standalone. I can’t say I particularly took to the characters - but I think that’s the point, that everyone was flawed. Honeyman wrote a best seller years ago, following the murder by fire of a teacher and student in Prosper, NY. But he took some liberties with the facts and story, which led to a man being killed. Honeyman‘s wife kills herself years later. Ever since, he’s been trying to recreate the success of that book by going to the Venetian island he bought, and frantically writing before the firework festival. This year though, someone has gotten there before him, installed cameras and hacked his laptop, and basically holds him and his daughter hostage, providing more documents and proof, until Honeyman writes the real account of what happened. The story jumps between present day and the past, as Honeyman writes each historical chapter. It was a slow burn, but it built the tension, filling in more and more story. I did guess some of the solution, but not all of it. Definitely worth a read though.

An author whose entire career success was the result of one true crime novel is determined to write another hit. he cannot have lost his family and friends in the pursuit only to find himself a failure. Every year he returns to his private island in Venice where he tells himself, this will be the year....
This year when he arrives, he finds the island already inhabited. He has not seen anyone but he knows someone is there. When the intruder makes himself known, it is to let Tom know the truth he did not tell in his #1 selling book must now be told. This will leave Tom having to explain how he has allowed the story to be wrong for so many years and convict the wrong man of the crime. Oh, the intruder has Tom's adult daughter, holding her captive for her father's actions.

A unique story told in a uniquely tension filled manner that has the reader trying to figure out exactly what happened and what is happening. Two time lines, the present and the time of the crime, give clues but not nearly enough for me to figure it out before the reveal. An outstanding thriller that I'll be recommending to my reading friends and family.

this was a really good mystery, I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the environment. it was a really unique read with the adventure genre elements.

A thriller in the very sense of the word, an excellent murder mystery and fabulous writing. Well worth a read !

At first I thought that this might be another instalment in the Nick Costa series but it turned out to be a stand-alone novel set in Venice, in a remote spot in the lagoon.
At first I had some difficulty getting into the story which is the first time this happened with a book by David Hewson. Maybe this was because I didn't really like the main character, or to be more precise, any of the characters in the book. After about 25-30% into the book the story started to really get me and from then on I couldn't put it down.
I liked the plot and the story twists, even though I kind of saw the end coming because I already suspected... well, that would be a spoiler so you will just have to read it yourself.
I also liked the setting in a remote spot in the lagoon and the dual setting of the story in the US and Venice.
I want to thank Netgalley and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review

Secrets abound on a private island - twisty, dark, and inventive!

Tom Honeyman is the author of a bestseller true crime book - but how true was the story he told? Over the course of just 4 days on the island Maledetto, the story unravels to a shocking conclusion.

This book surprised me in the best of ways - it turned out to be much more complex than I anticipated. The chapters alternate between present day and flashbacks to the crime, making the reader feel part of the investigation. The island setting gives great classic mystery vibes, a la And Then There Were None. If you’re a mystery/thriller lover, I’d definitely give this one a try - I bet the twists will sneak up on you the way they did for me.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has two storylines going at the same time. One is in Venice where Tom Honeyman lives on a deserted island off the coast of Italy to have the peace and quiet to write his books. The other, is the retelling of the fire in Prosper NY, which is the reason Tom achieved fame as a writer. His only bestselling novel about the fire tore his family apart and after years of estrangement, he is meeting his daughter again.

He quickly realizes that they are not alone and there is another person who wants to get to the truth about what actually happened in Prosper years ago. He is holding Tom and his daughter hostage until he gets to the truth. Honestly, that storyline was very meh for me. Tom posturing, the intruder threatening, the whole bit got old fast. I don’t know why, but that did not hook me. I was much more interested in what was going on in Prosper years earlier and this story was interesting with its many revelations.

Several of the surprises were obvious to me early on, but there were a few things I did not figure out. I am a fan of David Henson’s Nic Costa series and I do enjoy his writing style so I will definitely be back for more, but this one I would not rate higher than a 3.5 for me.

Well written, suspense filled novel. This one kept me up until I finished it. Tom is sometimes a bit self absorbed but over all likable. The characters are well developed and the plot fiendish,

Thank you to Books Go Social for a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘Shooter in the Shadows’ by David Hewson in exchange for an honest review.

This intriguing thriller began its life as an Audible Original. In recent years Hewson has published a number of works this way; writing them initially for an audiobook format and then adapting for print.

Eleven years ago newspaper reporter Tom Honeyman made his name by cracking a horrific double murder in his hometown of Prosper, New York. He went on to write a true crime book, ‘The Fire: an American Tragedy’, that became an international best seller and made him a small fortune. He went on to become a full time author though his subsequent novels have not sold well.

In 2012 his wife, Diane, committed suicide on the anniversary of the fire at the heart of the murder case. As a result Honeyman and his daughter, Lauren, have become estranged.

When Tom had plenty of money he bought Maledetto, a small island in the Venice Lagoon, that he uses as a writing retreat. He has now sequestered himself there desperate to find the inspiration to revive his flagging career. Yet he is not alone as a stranger is on the island. They contact Honeyman and tell him that he got it wrong all those years ago and gives him only four days to uncover the real murderer or he and his daughter will be killed.

This is a chilling premise. Tom is thousands of miles from New York though is provided with material relating to the case to examine. The narrative moves between the countdown in Venice and events in the past that together builds up this intricate mystery. I won’t say more in order to avoid spoilers though I was very impressed.

I have read many of Hewson’s novels and have always found them well written and highly engaging. This was no exception and provided plenty of tension and the kind of twists that I classify as organic. Even though there are mobile phones, WiFi, and apps there are elements in the narrative that evoke classic thrillers.

A stand-alone novel that is certain to please Hewson’s many fans and also serve as an introduction for those new to his work.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Tom Honeyman made his name cracking a horrific double murder in his hometown of Prosper, New York. He got an international best seller out of it, made a small fortune, and left his newspaper reporting days behind. More than a decade after his one and only success, Honeyman’s life is in tatters. His wife committed suicide, his daughter hasn’t spoken to him in years, and his books don’t sell. He’s sequestered himself in his wreck of a retreat on an island in Venice, desperate to find the inspiration that will revive his career.
The author is a must read for me so I expected to enjoy this book & it didn’t disappoint. Twists, turns keep you guessing as everything is gradually revealed throughout the book, but is everything as it seems? Strong characters & a well plotted story kept me engrossed all the way through
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Interesting read!
Full review on Murder in Common is here: https://murderincommon.com/2020/07/05/david-hewson-shooter-in-the-dark/

A great thriller told through flashbacks with twists and turns throughout. A bit slow to start with but the pace picked up towards the end with a great twist. Only negative for me was the length of the chapter, I'm not personally a fan but they worked for this novel.

I’ve noticed in the past that some of David Hewson’s other books have been pretty highly rated, but I haven’t yet gotten around to reading any. So I was happy to recently receive an ARC of Shooter in the Shadows to read, in exchange for my honest review. I was also excited to read this book because it is set in Venice, Italy (actually more on a minor island in the Venetian lagoon, near Venice), and I often enjoy mysteries set in places that I’ve been lucky enough to visit. Note that this is a stand-alone title, and not part of one of Hewson’s series.

Shooter in the Shadows pulled me in quickly (without being spoiler-ish, the scene with the laptop did it for me), and then just kept going in a well-written and well-plotted story that kept me guessing about many things right until the end. I ended up reading this late into the night, which is rare for me – I’m usually pretty early to bed. The background (the Italian part of it) lived up to my expectations, and the characters seemed quite believable, even if many of them aren’t very nice.

And I guess the “not very nice” leads to my only minor complaint about the book, which is that, although it may be sort of boringly middle-brow of me, I tend to like my books to have a few redemptive elements in them, and I had to look hard to find any in Shooter in the Shadows. Don’t get me wrong – this is a great story, well-written, which hooked me and kept me reading. But at the end, I just had some unhappiness at the bleak (to me, at least) way everything wrapped up.

I tend to be pretty conservative in awarding stars, only giving five stars to maybe one in thirty or forty books, the ones I think I’ll read and re-read and re-read again. So four stars is a great rating from me and means I really recommend a book. I thought about taking off half of a star just because I was kind of unhappy with the ending, but that seemed too arbitrary to me. The ending really works for the book, and it’s just my quirk that makes me unhappy with it. So…four stars, and I definitely liked Hewson’s writing enough that I’m going to try the first title in his Nic Costa series soon.

Journalist, Tom Honeyman, received accolades for the book he wrote about the double murder in his New York hometown. More than a decade later, someone is questioning if Tom got it right. Was the man he named as the murderer really the one responsible for the deaths? In his cabin, on a Venetian island, Tom and his daughter are threatened by an unknown man to rewrite the story; this time with the truth, or else he and his daughter will not make if off the island alive. This book alternates between past and present and the author does a good job of sharing new information with you at just the right time for the truth to unfurl.

I greatly enjoyed “the killing” series by this author that I read earlier this year. I jumped at the occasion to see if I like the rest of his work. So, I expected much of this new book and OMG, I was not disappointed.

Thomas Honeyman, an American writer with dwindling success, arrives on his island in the marshes around Venice to finish his latest novel. He made his fortune with a true crime book about a nasty fire that happened in his home town but could never reach that level again. His island home is primitive, remote and contains the derelict remains of an asylum/leper colony. There’s an armed stranger waiting for him who has somehow got hold of Tom’s estranged daughter. They haven’t spoken since her mother committed suicide 4 years earlier, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t love her. The kidnapper uses Lauren as leverage to make the author write a new book about the fire. A book where he admits to the lies he fabricated and reveals information he withheld and most of all where he reveals the real murderer. All this has to be done in the next 4 days before the feast of the redeemer starts or he and his daughter will be torched.

In the book, there’s already a parallel made to Scheherazade and 1001 nights and it befits this book like a glove. Tom has to keep writing, not only to save his life but that of his daughter as well. And that what he writes has to please the kidnapper.
It’s an interesting way to look at murder. There’s a murder mystery, it’s a cold case (although a supposedly solved one) that has to be solved far from the scene and the people involved, solely based on old interviews and tapes with no possibility to acquire new information
The story is told in 2 different time frames. There’s the here and now with the hostage situation and problems of writing under duress. But there’s also the story of the events leading to the tragedy of 2008 in America. A fire wherein a teacher and her student died. You’ve got the events as everybody believes them to be because that’s how they’re put in his book but now new evidence points to another possibility.
It’s really masterly done how the doubt and suspicions slowly creep into the story. At first, you believe that the writer has done nothing wrong but being overconfident in his findings, then you start looking for another possible killer until they lead to a chilling realisation. And every time you think “that’s it, we know all now” there’s another twist or turn that steer you in another direction. The end is really mind-blowing. I had expected early on that the teacher must have had a female lover as well, but the different corners the story turns after that was established, aren’t foreseeable in a million years. It’s really creepy and baffling at times. Well done! It’s more than mere crime fiction; it certainly deserves the title of a psychological thriller as well.
I thank BooksGoSocial and Netgalley for the free ARC they gave me; this is my unbiased, honest review of it.

Five stars.

I really enjoyed reading this book.
It is my first novel from David Hewson and I am looking forward reading more from him. I really liked his writing and how he determined when to give information to readers.

The novel is full of twists and suspense. The author did a good job leading readers in various directions.
I I highly recommend this book.

Another good story based on Italy from this excellent author. An author with one hit true story to his name is forced to revisit the tale by the son of one of the characters this time to reveal the truth behind a gruesome double murder and the shooting of his father. Set on an island in the Venetian lagoon bought with the proceeds from his hit book he must tell the truth by a deadline or he and his hostage daughter will die. A clever twisting climax brings an excellent ending to this satisfactory yarn!

A well-written quite dense story of an author who has writer's block and heads off to an isolated island to try to rid himself of the block. I liked the idea of him reliving the past in order to write the next bestseller. What I didn't like were the characters - the author Tom, his estranged daughter Lauren and the rest. They were just downright unpleasant. He'd made a mess of his life following the first, and only, book, his wife later committing suicide as the money ran out and their life-style was beyond all sense. The 'bad guy' was really unpleasant and the whole idea of booby trapped islands, murdered visitors, harassment and perpetual surveillance just didn't make it a story I particularly wanted to read in the end, Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.