Product Description

A young woman loses her family, her friends, almost anyone who has ever even done her a kindness to a maniacal serial killer. It's as if every trace of human contact is being wiped out of her life.

Her terrifying case is handed to a woman who has had so much of her own happiness snatched away from her: Smoky Barrett, the extraordinary heroine of Mcfadyen's stunning debut SHADOW MAN.

Now caring for her murdered friend's mute daughter, Smoky must decide whether or not she can rise to one more fiendish challenge...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20770 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 496 pages

Review
'Outstanding...Smoky's fierce first-person narrative and Sarah's eerie diary excerpts, supplemented by a great cast, lift this scary thriller far above the usual serial-killer norm' (Publishers Weekly, starred review 20060620)

'Terrifically good, terrifically scary . . . very hard to put down' (San Francisco Chronicle on SHADOW MAN 20060620)

'SHADOW MAN grabs you by the throat and yanks you along for a hell of a scary ride. A spellbinding read from first page to last.' (Faye Kellerman 20060620)

'Coldly, stunningly brilliant. Move over Thomas Harris, Mcfadyen has brought a new game to town.' (Lisa Gardner on SHADOW MAN 20060620)

'As humane as it is violent...Barrett's anger, pain and determination infuse the novel with a raw passion...it will be among the best crime fiction you will read this year' (Washington Post on SHADOW MAN 20060530)

'SHADOW MAN is one of the most powerful and authentic portrayals of a serial killer and the people who hunt them I have ever read. It kept me riveted right to the last page. Cody Mcfadyen is the real thing.' (John Douglas, author of the #1 bestseller MINDHUNTER: Inside the F.B.I.'s Serial Crime Unit )

'A truly talented author' (The Sunday Times, Australia )

'Disturbing ... a promising debut for Mcfadyen, who combines many conventions of the genre but with far more exquisite, intricate results than the norm . . . Pack[s] a visceral punch' (Publishers Weekly )

'The wildest night ride I have been on for quite a while...By the time you finish reading this book you'll be running on adrenalin you never knew you had. If you're sick of books about serial killers, SHADOW MAN is the cure. Mcfadyen's writing and characterization run long, deep and true. And, by the way, he is beyond scary. Not to be missed' (Bookreporter.com )

'Authentic...handled well with some unexpected twists and turns. Mcfadyen has drawn Barrett and her fellow FBI members tenderly and intricately' (Shots Magazine on SHADOW MAN )

'I’m still reeling after reading this high-octane, heart-pumping FBI thriller...Brilliant. But not for the squeamish' (****Good Reading, Australia )

'This is one of the best serial killer novels that I’ve read. It’s up there with the early Patricia Cornwell novels, Primal Fear and The Silence of the Lambs – a stunning first novel' (Manly Daily )

'Mcfadyen has managed to deliver something fresh. His style of narration sucks the reader in from the first sentence and the story has enough plot twists to keep you intrigued to the last page. A superb debut novel, hopefully a sign of things to come from a truly talented author. In a word: chilling' (Herald Sun, Australia )

'If you like to be scared so witless you hold your breath for pages at a time, SHADOW MAN won't disappoint' (New Idea, Australia )

Synopsis
A young woman loses her family, her friends, almost anyone who has ever even done her a kindness to a maniacal serial killer. It's as if every trace of human contact is being wiped out of her life. Her terrifying case is handed to a woman who has had so much of her own happiness snatched away from her: Smoky Barrett, the extraordinary heroine of Mcfadyen's stunning debut "Shadow Man". Now caring for her murdered friend's mute daughter, Smoky must decide whether or not she can rise to one more fiendish challenge...

About the Author
Cody Mcfadyen is an independent video games designer. He lives in California with his wife and their daughter. (20060703)

Customer Reviews

Great read
This is a book which is horrible, nauseating and just great at the same time. I got hooked right at the start and just couldn't stop reading till I was done. Absolutely a must read!

Gripping but very nasty
This is a very good book but also very disturbing. I found the whole idea of what The Stranger did to Sarah truly horrific, which I know is the whole point of the story, so it obviously works well because it's vile and cruel beyond belief. I thought the worst part of it was the bit where Sarah's parents die, this was unbelievably horrible, I was physically flinching as I read it, in fact my daughter asked me what the matter was. Not that that part is particularly gruesome, just the terrible things her mother in particular had to do, and thinking about yourself in her position, it's truly disturbing. I also found the Kingsley murder scene rather gory, I'm a bit squeamish, and don't like all the grisly details.
BUT it is compulsively readable, a real page turner, and as it's the first by this author that I have read, I will be reading the other in this series, Shadow Man, soon. In all, a riveting, gripping, excellent but very unpleasant thriller.

FANTASTIC MORE PLEASE
What a super author, wonderful use of the English language. This book and the previous one Shadow Man unearths all your hidden emotions. I cannot wait for the next novel which is due out soon. An excellent literary experience.