Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an unbiased review.
Having read all the DI Callanach books to date and become a fan of them, I was perhaps a little apprehensive about this publication as it would introduce totally new characters from Ms Fields.
I needn't have worried, this standalone publication was a superbly written book and I have no hesitation in giving it five stars.
Dare I hope for more to follow for these characters ?

American profiler and forensic psychologist Connie Woodwine and DI Brodie Baarda from the Met Ops Team are assisting the Edinburgh based Police Scotland team following the disappearance of Elspeth Dunwoody, this is followed by further disappearances and this the hunt is on for ‘The Shadow Man’.

Wow. That start! Talk about perch on the edge of your seat, hardly daring to breathe as the nightmare unfolds. 0 to 60 in a nanosecond! I think it’s fair to say that Helen Fields has my attention immediately. Woodwine and Baarda make a fantastic team, they’re yin and yang, as they try to track down a horrifyingly mentally ill, delusional and demonic monster. The interaction between them works so well, Connie is straight talking, shoot from the lips and Baarda is ever polite but there is sharp good humour between them which works really well and relieves tension. The victims actions are interesting and I don’t want to give much away but one of them proves to be both brave and resourceful. There’s desperation, shocks by the bucketload as a maniacal fantasy is constructed. It’s creepy, ghoulish, shivers up the spine and jaw dropping in intensity. Thankfully the pace alters and gives you time to catch your breath before your head explodes and then builds up again. The end - what can I say except it’s beyond tense, it’s tragic and sad. I love the ultimate finale with Connie and Baarda and I sincerely hope that the author does not confine them to a one off. They are tremendous characters, I’d love to read what they do next.

Overall, I think you can tell I think this book is good! It’s gritty, dark, so well written, the plot is well paced and you have no idea what is going to happen next. It has some very original and creative elements that add an extra dimension to the storyline. This is Helen Fields best book so far in my opinion. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Avon Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I am a massive fan of the DI Callanach series of books so was excited to read this!

Really enjoyed the story but especially liked the characters - there's surely a series in Connie Woolwine and Brodie Baarda. I also loved that some of the secondary characters from the Callanach books make an appearance.

Breathtaking. My favourite of Helen's yet! Deliciously creepy and atmospheric, it will stay with you long after the last page is turned...

Firstly thank you to net galley for the opportunity to read this book. Secondly, wow! This is not my first Helen fields book. Ive read the perfect series so was a bit worried how id feel without the usual characters ive grown to love. But let me tell you, this standalone was not a disappointment at all. Connie is badass and i hope and pray helen will continue her story. This book is based upon the story surrounding a few people who end up going missing. Connie is an American forensics psychologist who does her best to figure out whats going on in the mind of the kidnapper, along with detective brodie baarda. This book should 100% be made into a film, i was literally on the edge of my seat waiting in anticipation for what was about to happen. I cannot rste this book enough. It was creep, amd extremely clever. I would to see more books with the characters in because i thought they were brilliant. Massive hats off to helen fields for this masterpiece

Wow! A 4.5 stars read for me. I could hardly put the book down and I will definitely be seeking out her other books in the "Perfect" series.

I loved the dynamic and chemistry between Connie Woolwine and Brodie Baarda, although I would have liked to have seen more character development but I hope the author will bring them back in another book. Also, I felt some confusion with the timeline as it seemed that the investigation was moving at a different pace than the action involving the victims.

All-in-all, this story progressed from being somewhat creepy to disturbing and then ramped up to full-blown terror! I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for providing this ARC.

Ok now that's what I'm talking about in a Mystery/Thriller book!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!
I ❤'d this book!! So GOOD!

I am such a big fan of Helen Fields Luc Callanach series so i was thrilled to get the chance to read this and it was just as amazing as i hoped. Connie is a brilliant, complex character and following her as she unraveled the crime was exhilarating. I couldn't remember the last time i was so tense reading the climax of a thriller. I had no idea what was going to happen.

A read that sends chills up your spine, this is not a DI Callanach story but a standalone thriller

3 People have been kidnapped and placed in a windowless house with little hope of escape, A psychologist is helping the police by trying to get into the mindset of the kidnapper and assist in the search for these missing 3

A thrilling read and one that needs very little feedback to make others want to read

This has gone straight into my top five of 2021 . A marvellous masterpieces of suspense, terror and mystery that will leave you knowing at your knuckles and checking under the bed. Someone’s collecting people and not in a good way either, he’s a dark and deranged person who wants to fulfil his horrendous plan. A plan that involves kidnap and murder, his objects are kept locked away and terrorised into play acting his sick desires. Can he be stopped before he inflicts even more hurt and pain or will his plans grow to fruition. A dark , unsettling , psychological thriller that will leaves its taint on you long after you put it down. Be prepared to be shocked, upset and thrilled as you follow the story to its climatic conclusion. Bloody brilliantly written and a one to watch out for next year.

Profiler Connie and detective Baarda investigate a kidnapping of a wealthy woman in Edinburgh. There are another kidnapped victims and it seems the cases are connected.
Connie has some interesting researching methods and her relation to Baarda is effective.

The story is very dark, the perpetrator is obviously very sick man, with tortured soul and he only wants to have a proper family. The lives of the ones he'd chosen are his oxygen.

Gripping and scary story.

My first time reading anything by Helen Fields and if her other books are like this then I am definitely going to enjoy reading them. Connie is an interesting quirky character and bounces well against Baarda who at the start seems a stickler for the rules.. It says it's a stand alone book but there are hints of another story hopefully. It's well written and the storyline although not original has a different angle to it. Definitely worth reading.

For me who is more of a cozy crime reader this book made me feel breathless with tension. It taps into your primeval fear of being trapped. Not the sort of book to read before bed. But I kept picking it up to read more. I did enjoy it but I’m a scaredy cat so read it with the light on.

This standalone from Helen Field is really different from her Callanach series, but exactly the same as in it does not disappoint.
I was gripped from the beginning.
Its set in Edinburgh and centers around a man who abducts people to build his perfect family, he has taken others in the past though for one reason or another they didn`t fulfill their role.
So now he has three people Elspeth, Maggie and Xavier.
They are all unconnected but now find themselves trapped together and held hostage by a man who could snap at any point.
They know they are in a dangerous situation but escaping is never going to be easy.
Will they make it? Can they all survive?
The case falls to Detective Brodie Baarda, on loan from the Met, investigating the disappearances and deaths of people in Edinburgh. He`s aided by an American forensic psychologist DR.Connie Woolwine.
With their investigation throwing up few leads Connie decides she needs to make a personal appeal the kidnapper.
Will she be able to draw him out into the open or will the madman draw her into the shadows with him ?
This is a truly dark read that kept me turning the pages late into the night.
I could easily read more books featuring Baarda and Woolwine, such an easy recommend.
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon books for the chance to read this as an ARC.

After a woman is found murdered in her home and another goes missing, Dr Connie Woolwine a phychological profiler and DI Baroda must search for a very cunning and twisted suspect. A page turning detective thriller. How are will you go for a " perfect family"?

Yet another brilliant book from the very talented Helen Fields. Not a Callanach story but has some of the characters from the Perfect series in it. Telling the story of a man Fergus who without giving too much away is extremely creepy. A superb idea for a story and well executed. I really liked that Overbeck and Ailsa Lambert were included in it.. It is a novel which causes an unpleasant feeling of fear and unease and may keep you awake at night. I loved it

This is a different crime book in that you know who the perpetrator is, and what he’s done, why he’s doing it but it is so creepy and nail biting, I felt I was in that house with those poor people. Towards the end (03:30am) this morning I was on tenterhooks because I didn’t know what was going to happen.

Fergis is one odd bod! He kidnaps people and keeps them on his house, in a man made flat with no windows and no escape. He even forgets to feed them!

When people begin to go missing the Edinburgh police draft in a psychological profiler from the States to get into the mind of the kidnapper. I have to say I really liked Connie and the main policeman Baarda. She was likeable and thorough and she herself was flawed which helped her get inside the mind of Ferris. I had to laugh when Overbeck appeared, she is one bitch and those of us who’ve read the “Perfect “ series with DI Luc Callanach and DCI Ava Turner (brilliant series) will recognise her. All I can say, is God help Edinburgh police having her father n charge!

All in all it was a very enjoyable book and I really felt I was locked up too, it is a stand alone book, but then again I’m sure if Helen wanted to write more with the same characters the door is open.

Read it, you won’t be disappointed.

My thanks to the publishers and to Helen for the ARC.

I liked it, but not completely.

FBI profiler Connie Woolwine and DI Baarda from Police Scotland are investigating the disappearances of three people believed to have been taken by the shadow man. We get conflicting chapters between the police, the three captives and the killer, known as Fergus. At first I was intrigued, but it quickly became apparent this was going to be an erratic story. The POV bounced around too often. I would have preferred more from the police and less from the captives. Elspeth was interesting as I felt she reacted realistically to the situation. Twelve year old Meggy did not. No twelve year old, neglected or otherwise, reacts like that to being kidnapped. Xavier's character was pointless and the story would have served just fine without him.
Connie Woolwine's profiling was the most interesting part, there just wasn't enough of her. Also, I failed to see how she made the connections between the three different victims as killers usually target one specific type of victim ie. adult women, children, etc. With no physical evidence and barely any witnesses I wasn't convinced. I was also really annoyed with her absolute assurance that each victim was still alive right until the end. Sorry, just not convinced. The ending was also extremely far-fetched and I'm sure would have caused a whole host of further issues for the police after the fact.

I did like Dr Woolwine and DI Baarda and I can see them teaming up for a potential series. Connie had a lot of interesting quirks, such as the colour blindness and her penchant for fondling corpses. This was an entertaining, albeit far-fetched, crime novel.
Trigger warning; rape off page.

**Thanks to Avon Books UK and Netgalley for my review copy.

From the publisher (because it's a perfectly succinct summary: He collects his victims. But he doesn’t keep them safe.

Elspeth, Meggie and Xavier are locked in a flat. They don’t know where they are, and they don’t know why they’re there. They only know that the shadow man has taken them, and he won’t let them go.

Desperate to escape, the three of them must find a way out of their living hell, even if it means uncovering a very dark truth.

Because the shadow man isn’t a nightmare. He’s all too real.

And he’s watching.

I absolutely loved this clever tension-filled book. It's dense--Fields does a wonderful job building her world and giving the readers a glimpse into police work, psychology, the minds of victims and perpetrators alike. Backstories are fleshed out and satisfying and there's great chemistry amongst the cast. So the density never feels like a slog: I flew through this one, staying up late into the night to finish. Baarda and Connie are likeable heroes, and one can absolutely relate to Elspeth, Meggy, and Xavier. There's also a chilling antagonist.

I'd absolutely recommend this to any thriller fan. I'm so happy to have discovered Helen Fields here and I'll be sure to seek out her other books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

As a huge fan of Helen Fields’ books, I was delighted to be asked to read an advanced copy of The Shadow Man. And it did not disappoint. Right from the start, it had me hooked and I needed to see how it would end. A man, a woman and a teenage girl are kidnapped and put in a windowless room. But who kidnapped them and why? As the story unfolds, you will want and need to know what will become of them all. Definitely one of my favourite books of the year.