This psychological thriller carries you into the dark world of The Shadow Man, a criminal who takes who he wants when he wants with no remorse and no consideration for the consequences. This crime thriller will keep you up at night, simply glued to the pages.

The Shadow Man was my introduction to Helen Fields and this time I opted for the audiobook since I have been neglecting audiobooks lately. This title has me hooked and Helen Fields is heading to the top of my author’s to watch out for list. The story is a nailbiting, twisty tale that will leave you unable to hit the pause button. I even carried this audiobook to the bathroom and did meal prep while listening, it was that engrossing. I spent two days listening to this and cannot wait to get my hand on more books by Helen Fields

After the disappearance of a young mother with wealthy family connections, Dr Connie Woolwine, an American Psychological profile is asked to team up with D.I. Brodie Baarda – a kidnapping specialist. When more kidnappings follow, Connie a Baarda are left confused by the difference in victims, but they quickly understand that they are racing against the clock. Will they find the three victims before it is too late?

The narrators performed this title beautifully making it a gripping, entertaining experience. I found it impossible to put this down, I could not wait to find out where the story would lead. The detail in this tale had me sitting on the edge of my seat. I do not think I have ever been this captivated by an audiobook before. This is without a doubt the first time I have ever done meal prep while listening to a book.

The Shadow Man sports a very colourful cast. I enjoyed Dr Connie Woolwine – she suffers from foot in mount disease and makes no apology for it, I absolutely loved her. The good looking D.I. Brodie Baarda at first appeared a little uptight, but the more you get to know him, the more you like him. I thought these two characters were creative, but oh boy the author did a mind-blowing job with Furgus – this guy was the most interesting villain I have ever come across. I was completely mesmerized by this guy. This is the first time I would say the villain was my favourite character in a book. Well done Helen Fields – Furgus is simply brilliant!

Another addition to my 2021 loved list. The Shadow Man is a brilliant read and I can guarantee that if you enjoy psychological thrillers you will be left raving about this title.

Thriller fans – be warned – this book will lead to obsessive reading which will leave you unpopular with the people you live with!

The Shadow Man by Helen Fields is a unique thriller.

Elspeth is taken and locked in a flat. Then, Meggie is taken and joins her. They both are trying to figure out how to escape. The man that took them brings them food and spends time with them. He calls Elspeth his wife and Meggie his daughter. They don’t know when he will visit or where he goes when he leaves. Then Xavier is brought into the flat. The man calls Xavier his brother. Elspeth, Meggie, and Xavier are trying to figure out how to escape without getting caught. Connie, a forensic psychologist, and DI Brodie Baarda are trying to find Elspeth, Meggie and Xavier before it’s too late. They are trying to find a connection between the missing people to discover his motives. Will they find Elspeth, Meggie, and Xavier in time? Will Elspeth, Meggie and Xavier escape?

The Shadow Man is an interesting and unique thriller. Elspeth, Meggie, and Xavier are stuck in a flat together. The man that took them calls them his family. Everyone reacts differently to being held captive. I found it interesting seeing how the different characters tried to escape and how they reacted to their captor. They all found different ways to survive. The man that took them, “the shadow man”, is struggling with mental health. Parts of the story are told from his perspective which was interesting. There were some parts of The Shadow Man that I found confusing but everything was revealed by the end of the book. Connie is a very interesting character and brings so much depth to the story. The end was very intense and stressful in a good way. The ending was definitely my favorite part of the book.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Robin Laing and Cathleen McCarron and thought they did a good job. I also read the ebook and enjoyed both formats.

Thank you Avon Books UK, Harper Audio, and NetGalley for The Shadow Man.

The forensic psychologist, Connie, has been sent to Scotland to help Detective Baarda and his team to solve the mystery surrounding Angela’s death and Elspeth disappearance, the shadow man is abducting people to fulfil his fantasy and they might not have enough time so save the victims..

That’s the first book I’ve read, well probably I should say listened to, written by Helen Field and I have to say It’s one of the most compelling thriller I’ve ever read.

Here some of the reason:

Connie’s profession actually was relevant to her personality throughout the whole book, as she was often analysing people personality.

The shadow man - Fergus was actually committing those crimes cause of his illness which again was perfectly explained to the reader and reflected in this character actions.

The writing style is fast paced and compelling and not once I could understand fully where the story was going! 

If that’s only a taste of Helen Field’s world then give me more! I’ll surely give a shot to her Perfect series.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Book for this free audiobook!

Plot:
	The concept of this book is truly my worst nightmare. The idea of being stalked and kidnapped for simply leading a life that is deemed attractive is harrowing. I found my heart racing for Elsbeth, Meggy and Xavier as the inconsistency and aggressive nature of Fergus’ delusions were incredibly unnerving. His demeanour and mental state is something completely new for me, I have never read anything with a motive similar to this, so this aspect was particularly gripping. As much as I loved the foundation of the plot, I do have one distinct issue with it. The reader knows too much. As some of the chapters are written from Fergus’ point of view (and he does love a monologue), we know who has kidnapped them, we know what he is doing with them, we know why he is doing it. For me, I wish I would have learnt a lot of these points at the same time as the police. Especially his name, if that key bit of information was left out then it would have kept the door open for doubts, I would have been mentally guessing if the police were on the right track. I love an unveiling and I felt this book didn’t live up to my expectations on this front. 
Characters: 
	The characters in this book were so well developed that it was hard to comprehend they were fictional. Meggy is the type of daughter ever parent should want (and definitely needs). Headstrong, courageous, intuitively intelligent, yet also incredibly empathetic and caring to her fellow captures. I really fell in love with her and and become heavily invested in her safety. Although her circumstances were less than ideal- to say the least- I really enjoyed reading how she overcame her adversity and remain stoic in the face of her kidnapper. She never gave him the satisfaction of playing along with his delusional narrative and that bolshy characteristic was not something I expected from a 12-year-old. Connie was one which I initially dismayed as a stereotypical outspoken American. I thought she was loud, abrasive and someone I could just not click with, however, I loved how as a psychologist she was continually analysing everyone’s behaviour and profiling is something that always interests and impresses me, so her observations were something to look forward to throughout the entire book. Fergus himself was incredibly creepy and his delusions were absolutely terrifying. I did find myself slightly empathising with him, and this was very unnerving for me but with the author’s clear and carefully constructed backstory explaining his reasoning, it was hard not to feel sorry for him on some level. This can be only deemed as superb writing as he is a character that lacks the basic level of humanity.

Ending comment:
	Overall, this book was an enjoyable page-turner, I was kept intrigued and invested throughout and keen to find out all of the secrets hidden within its pages. 
	The book’s highlight for me was definitely the character descriptions. Helen Field’s has clearly placed a lot of emphasis and effort into her characters. The way she can make each of them believable, even though they are vastly different in both personality and characteristics, is particularly admirable. 
	I just can’t deny the fact that when I finished that final page, I just felt a bit underwhelmed, I understand that this is a crime thriller and not a psychological one, but I wanted some sort of unveiling that went beyond a backstory. I just wish that I didn’t know all of the answers from the start, I wanted to be kept in the dark for a while.

The ending will shock you!

The entire read is sinister, dark, chilling and oh so compulsive in its reading matter.

I don’t know quite what I was expecting but this delivered much more creepiness than I anticipated.

I had the book from netgalley, then I downloaded the book to listen to. The voices, oh man, those voices. Especially Shadow Mans voice.

A twisted son of a gun.

If you like chilling dark sinister reads, just look no further, it’s all right here within this book.

This author has done a good job on me! 
I shivered and goosebumps in many places.

I think it’s the narrators voices that added to this too.

Thank you, NetGalley/Avon Books UK for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This is my first novel from this author! The first paragraphs in this novel were truly terrifying: a woman sleeps peacefully while a stranger watches her from inside her own bedroom. The Shadow Man wants victims, but, he wants them alive. He's sick in mind and body and this is not a book for the fainthearted.
The 3 captives are a wife, a 12 year old and a man in a wheelchair. Trying to find the Shadow Man are a forensic psychologist and a DI and the book takes you from one perspective to another.

I loved Connie every step of the way. She was feisty, sarcastic and the cheeky come backs and statistics she came out with were funny. Her and Baarda worked well together and I loved their friendship and partnership. The plot line was an interesting one, but found it too much of a slow burner and not enough action or dialogue. I preferred certain chapters as they flowed better and wasn’t as much descriptions in them. Hope Connie comes back in another book.

A character-driven novel that’ll leave a chill. If you’re faint-hearted this book may not be the book for you. I loved the chase of trying to track down the kidnapper and the missing persons but it at times it could be a tad slow.

Before I start I am reviewing this book as an audiobook. I think the narrators made this book creepy and at some points heart pulsingly scary.
It seemed long and it is very descriptive. 

Fergus is a dying man, he wants a family and will do whatever he can to get it, including kidnap and potential murder. What I liked about this book was that it wasn’t detective vs, bad guy. The main character is a criminal psychologist and it was really interesting to learn how the criminals mind works to aid the police in their attempt to catch him.

The chapters are split into the kidnapped victims and the Connie the criminal psychologist. The chapters of the kidnapped victims are very descriptive and toe curling in places. The fear of them being harmed is overwhelming.

I received feedback from another bookstagrammer that they were struggling with reading the hard copy and I can see why, if it wasn’t for the narrators of this book I may have given up as it is long winded. But overall I did enjoy it and wanted to find out whether the victims survived or not....

Readers of Helen Fields Luc Callanach series will be pleased to know that although Luc doesn’t make an appearance in this stand-alone novel, he does appear in a short story included after the end of the audiobook and Gayfield Square Station and the redoubtable Superintendent Overbeck do feature strongly in the novel.

In The Shadow Man Helen Fields gives us a new protagonist, Dr Connie Woolwine. Connie is American and a psychological profiler, just arrived in Edinburgh. She’s been called in to work with D.I. Brodie Baarda, a kidnapping specialist from Met Ops Team in London, following the disappearance of a young mother, Elspeth Dunwoody.

Connie is straight talking, a little sweary and not given to over indulging in politeness or bureaucracy. She has a fascinating backstory that I hope we will hear more of in future books. Baarda is a more gentle soul, a little closed in and together they are a brilliant pairing. From the outset, we know who we are dealing with, even if Connie and Baarda do not.

The Shadow Man is never concealed from the reader; rather we are brought into his fiendish plans; made to be voyeurs as he does what he sets out to achieve and not long into the book, one woman is dead and another has gone missing. More people will disappear as The Shadow Man carries out his focussed research and executes his nightmarish plans….what Connie and Baarda have to do is to work out why this is happening and then work back to who and where to find him.

Those familiar to Fields writing will know that she does not shrink from graphic and stomach churning descriptions when it suits her plotting. This one is certainly dark and gritty, but here it is the sheer creepiness of the antagonist and the skin crawling nature of his demented thought processes that produces the visceral reaction.

Fields is innovative and original in her choice of killer and her well researched medical knowledge plays into this character brilliantly and enhances the character of Connie, too. Her characters are excellent – I especially liked the interplay between Connie and the Pathologist as each begins to take the measure of the other.

The plot is intricate and well-paced and the creepiness level ramps up as the book develops, leading to massive tension and a growing intensity that threatens to explode. Fortunately this is leavened by some excellent light and shade in the dialogue between the characters of Baarda and Woolwine.

The narration by Robin Laing and Cathleen McCarron is excellent – it really helps to have a male and a female voice and their voices and accents work well together.

Verdict: Another hugely successful read from Helen Fields. It is quite a long book and could have used a little more editing, but nothing that distracts from a truly terrifying plot and some great characters. I predict this one will be a sure fire winner and hope to see much more of Woolwine and Baarda in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for review.

First of all, I really loved both of the narrators of this book. I liked that they switched when the story was being told from a different point of view as it made it easier to differentiate between them.

At first, this book really confused me and it took me until I was around 20% in to start to understand clearly what was going on. However, once I got into the story and the pace picked up, I really got into it and was gripped from then on in. I found the characters to be really interesting and unique, especially Fergus, one of two main protagonists in the story. 

The story line was quite unique and nothing like I've personally ever read before. 

I loved Helen Fields writing style and way with words so I will definitely be picking up more books by her in the future and recommending her to others.

A great book and an even better story to listen too!
There is nothing like being read too and the narrator is easy listening and draws you into the story more so then reading the book for yourself.
I will definitely be following both the author and the narrator in the future 😻

I would like to thank NetGalley and Avon Books for approving me for this ARC. I’m really enjoying listening to audiobooks at the moment and this is my first Helen Fields book.

I went into this book a little blind. Having never read anything by this author I didn’t really know what to expect. I was blown away by the narration, both narrators did a fantastic job of giving each of the characters distinct voices. I also enjoyed how the narration was split between the police side and the culprit/victims side.

Unlike other mystery/thrillers that I’ve read, from the start we know who ‘The Shadow Man’ is. We learn aspects of his back story and crucial parts of his crimes. Listening to Fergus talk was extremely creepy and he gave me the shivers, especially when he was talking to Elspeth. I liked knowing parts of his story and watching Baarda and Connie try to figure out what was going on. I very much felt like a fly on the wall of the investigation, desperately wanting to point them in the right direction.

Connie’s role in the story was fascinating and again I loved her back story. She was feisty, confident and an integral part of the investigation. She definitely didn’t pull any punches and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, even if it wasn’t always appropriate. I’ve always enjoyed books/films/tv shows that include the forensic psychologist part and Connie’s approach was refreshing. When she was interviewing witnesses, her techniques were simple but effective. I’d love to see a future book with her and Baarda working together again.

Of all the victims I think Meggy was my favourite. She was incredibly smart and at times she took control of the situation and showed true maturity. Her determination at the start helped motivate Elspeth and I honestly believe if it wasn’t for Meggy then Elspeth would of happily given up.

After listening to this I definitely have to check out the rest of Helen Fields books. This story was gripping, intense and dark. Definitely not to be missed by fellow thriller lovers!

*Many thanks to Helen Fields, Harper Collins UK Audio, and NetGalley for the audio version of the book in exchange for my honest review.*
A thriller based around three people kidnapped in Edinburgh by a mentally distorted man who keeps them in order to create a world of his own. A female profiler is on a mission to find the kidnapper before it is too late.
This book was a little of a let-down to me as I did not feel any thrill or suspense while listening to it. Quite the contrary, there were some moments I was unable to find a character or their actions believable. The only box with a tick was the narration ... Both narrators do a grand job, and they definitely add quality to this book.

I loved this audiobook. It has an original plot, lots of twists and turns, some forensic and medical stuff , and brilliantly constructed and believable characters.. It ticks all the boxes for me.

At the start I thought that it was going to be another serial killer police thriller, but whilst it is that , it offer's so much more. The killer has a syndrome I had never heard of (who doesn't love a killer with a syndrome), and the lead characters were interesting ,real , flawed and yet likeable. I love a strong woman as the lead character.

I loved the way the author contructed a killer that was like no other I had ever read about- I couldn't sytop listening to it.

I even loved the end- and that is where so many novels of this genre fall down.

The narration was great. The narrator had a multitude of voices, none of which were annoying in anyway, and she allowed me to become completely immersed in the story.

I can't wait for another in the series (I do hope it's going to be a series!)

What a fabulous book. Great story so brilliantly executed and what an unusual idea. I really loved Connie and her interaction with her very British, stiff-upper-lip, policeman. I can't imagine how Ms Fields comes up with these ideas. A profiler who only sees in black and white - ohmidays, inspired! I was totally absorbed in the whole thing, with some real gasp, will they make it, edge of my seat moments. Brilliant narration made the story easy to follow and added even more enjoyment to an already better than any listener has the right to expect book. Bravo all round.

The Shadow Man is a psychological thriller with a very dark twist. American forensic psychologist Connie Woodwine and DI Brodie Baarda are brought in to help Edinburgh police find a missing woman. When a young girl is taken from outside her school, they realise the cases are connected. 
The missing woman and child are being held in a flat by Fergus who is trying to create his own, perfect family. He is suffering from mental health problems which lead him to take greater risks in his behaviour.  A race against time ensues as Connie tries to locate Fergus before it’s too late. 
I found this book to be incredibly strange and way too far fetched. The narrator for Fergus was comical while trying to be sinister, which detracted from the storyline.

The Shadow Man

Narrators ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ both these narrators were absolutely amazing!! Especially the man doing Fergus's creepy voice!

The Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is the first time I've heard of this author let alone read/listen to something by her and what a fantastic surprise the writing was!!!! Will be heading over to Amazon to buy more book. This story was so incredibly creepy and this book is one that I think I'll find myself still thinking about years from now. Will definitely be recommending this to my book club.

I don't think I've read anything by Helen Fields before but have heard good things so was pleased to receive this audiobook to review.

The storyline is an interesting one! The story of a seriously creepy, and well written, character who has a whole heap of issues going on. This book has a lot going on and if you are a fan of horror/gory thriller this may be right up your street. 

I found the complete experience very mixed, the actual story gripped me initially but I did struggle to connect the narrators with the characters they read, which made it difficult to focus at times but I imagine other people wouldn't have that issue, just personal preference on my part. 
On the whole the pace of the book is good,, keeps your looking forward to what is to come, sometimes a little too fast or slow in parts. 
The author is very descriptive, which made it fantastically creepy, somewhat anxiety inducing at times. 

The story is written from multiple POV, which works well. All the characters are well written and believable, scarily so in some cases.

Overall enjoyable and I have a feeling this will be a very popular title. I'd definitely read more from this author in the future

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio arc of this book, all opinions expressed here are my own.

The Shadow Man is the first book I have read by Helen Fields and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrators did a fantastic job with this audio using different accents etc for each character. I have to particularly commend the narrator of Fergus, he was sounding more creepy and ill by the second.

My favourite character in this book was American forensic psychologist Connie a foul mouthed, sarcastic, no nonsense lady teamed up with Detective Baarda to help the Scottish police based in Edinburgh find some missing persons.

Elspeth, mum, missing.
Meggy, 12 year old, missing.
Xavier, paraplegic, missing.
Fergus, completely batshit crazy.

This creepily enthralling read will have you on the edge of your seat til the very end. I know it’s classed as a standalone, but I’d love to read more with Connie and Baarda as the main characters. 4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Helen Fields for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Wow! Where do I start? Once again, Helen Fields does not disappoint. Helen knows how to captivate her audience. This book is scary, dark and thrilling. I didn’t put it down once! The story is so well written. The characters are really easy to like, I hope there will be another series. I can’t recommend this book enough. I may have to reread it!!

The Shadow Man by Helen Fields is a gripping, twisted, gruesome and sometimes darkly comical book which I read over the course of 24 hours. Some books I just read, this one I consumed.

From the opening scene I was hooked, and I knew Fergus was going to give me the creeps. I was not wrong. He is one sick puppy. 

I think Meggy was my favourite character, providing most of the comedic moments, adding some levity to a pretty dark book.

Hats go off to the performers of the audiobook whose narration kept me on the edge of my seat. The different accents were spot on and the changes in Fergus’ voice, gradually getting creepier as his thought processes became more unhinged was just *chef’s kiss*.  This is an example of dual narrators done perfectly. It appears they listened to each other’s performances and emulated them, so I didn’t get that jarring sensation when a character’s voice changes in pitch, affect and gruffness and stayed engaged with the storyline. Well done Robin Lane and Cathleen McCarron.

Thank you to Harper Collins Audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for an honest review and to NetGalley for providing this service.