For more crime, pulp and horror reviews visit:
Wordpress: https://criminolly.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3516zdH-XqACeusCHCVk8w

I tend to write reviews in my head when I’m reading a book and the one for ‘From the Shadows’ changed multiple times. At first it was “2 stars, badly written, DNF”, then it was “3 stars, competent but painfully familiar”, but towards the end it was “4 stars, this is actually really good”. It’s fair to say then, that ‘From the Shadows’ is a mixed bag. Ultimately though, it was good enough that I’m eager to read GR Halliday’s next book.
The plot revolves around the abduction and murder of a teenage boy and the investigation of that crime by police detective, Monica Kennedy, and a social worker, Michael Bach. It took me some time to get into the book. The beginning has some good parts, the details of the abduction are chilling, but something about the prose really turned me off. The middle third worked better for me, but is a bit convoluted. The book is too long at over 450 pages and I think this is where the editor’s knife was needed most. Fortunately, the final act is really gripping. A book that had seemed like an also ran finally found its feet. Plot and character development suddenly clicks into place and the result is great. A book I’d almost given up on became one I couldn’t put down.
I’m not sure why the book was such a rollercoaster for me. Looking back many of its strengths were clear from the start. It’s set in northern Scotland and Halliday makes good use of the location. Everything feels suitably remote and windswept and that lends the book a desperate atmosphere at times that works well. It has two strong leads in Kennedy and Bach. They are very different in many ways, but similar in their complex mix of determination and self doubt. The depiction of the villain and his crimes works well too, he is mysterious and his insanity is convincing enough to be genuinely disturbing. I think perhaps the problem is that the market for this kind of thing is so massively crowded at the moment that any book really has to shine to lift it’s head above the herd. ‘From the Shadows’ does that at times, but maybe not often enough.

( )

This started off strongly, but became increasingly sprawling and messy. It ended in a certain amount of ambiguity too, which seemed unnecessary: the plot could quite easily have been brought to a tight conclusion. As it was, there were too many victims to keep on top of, the chapters from the perspective of Michael (the social worker) would have been better given to the police, and the motivation of the killer was confused. Too many things were left unresolved, no one got nearly enough sleep to function, let alone investigate, and it was all a bit unsatisfactory somehow. ( )

This is a well written atmospheric chilling tense and unusual Police procedural, engaging from first to last page. Quality characterisation throughout, apparently the start of a new series featuring D I Monica Kennedy, well my question would be will Social Worker Michael Bach appear in future stories, as he played just as big a part in solving the case, and certainly suffered more for the cause, than our heroine but she is brave and smart and fights her cause.
I look forward to the next outing.
Recommended. ( )

When bodies of young boys start showing up on the rural banks of lochs in the highlands, detective Monica Kennedy gets obsessed. The case brings her back to her old stomping grounds and a whole world she had worked to forget.

From the Shadows is a well written and exciting murder mystery, with a beautiful setting and interesting characters.
Monica is an accessible but complex character, and the details and motivation involved in the murders are fascinating.

This book drew me in, and I couldn't put it down until I finished it! The highland setting is dreamy but stark, highlighting the horror of the crimes against the backdrop of beautiful nature.

The end has lots of twists and turns, some of which are fairly expected, and some of which were genuinely surprising. I found that by the end Monica was a less believable character, but I found found her very likeable anyhow. I found the villain's motivations highly interesting, and I would have liked even more insight into how he was twisted into the evil character he is at the time of this book.

Monica's connection to the bad side of town and the crew there seemed like it was going to become very significant and interesting, but even though it did eventually play into the story I felt like it was sort if brushed aside, and didn't pan out much in the end. However, as this is the start of a new series I assume that that was partially setup for future events.

I would highly recommend From The Shadows to any mystery or thriller fan. ( )

When a young boy is found , tortured and murdered with a part of a meteorite pushed down his throat, his social worker, Michael, is concerned. DI Monica Kennedy is assigned to the case and when another boy is found she realises there is a potential serial killer on the loose. Hampered by her superiors Kennedy is trying to juggle catching a killer with her responsibilities as a parent and her guilt over her relationship with a notorious local family. Michael is worried about his client but someone is out to get him.
The setting of this book is great, mixing the wide open and intimidating landscapes of the Highlands with the intensity of the city of Inverness, it really helps to create a contrast that works. Potentially Monica Kennedy is a good lead character with enough of a backstory to keep revisiting. My issue was with the last quarter of the book. It felt rushed and with the crimes solved to a certain extent but still lots of questions unanswered regarding motive etc. It may be that the author wishes to revisit this in a subsequent book but I felt that there wasn't really any closure on the (dead) perpetrator. ( )