Killing the Shadows

[2010-12-21] Another doorstop of a crime novel from McDermid, this one about a statistics-based psychological profiler who will no longer work with the Met after they ignored her advice because it wasn't what they wanted to hear, and went with another profiler whose advice led to the collapse of the case.

Fiona Cameron still works with other police departments. But one case comes only too close to home, with a serial killer who is stalking... crime writers who write about serial killers. And Fiona's boyfriend is on the list of novelists set to meet the same fate as their own characters. It has the potential to be a very silly conceit, but McDermid's far too skillful to let it slip into silliness. Instead it's used to ratchet up the show more tension in a very convincing way, in a dazzling display of meta commentary. Wonderful piece of work. show less

A killer is on the loose and he's blurring the line between fact and fiction. His prey - the writers of crime novels. But this murderer is like no other; his bloodlust shatters all the conventional wisdom on how serial killers operate. And for one woman the desperate hunt to uncover his identity becomes a matter of life and death. Professor Fiona Cameron is an academic psychologist who uses computer technology to track serial offenders. She vowed never to work for the Met again after they went against her advice and badly screwed up an investigation as a result. But when her lover, thriller writer Kit Martin, tells her a fellow crime novelist has been murdered, Fiona can't help taking an interest. With the killer striking again, Fiona show more is caught up in a race against time, not only to save a life, but to bring herself redemption, both personal and professional.

McDermid is without a doubt among the finest of Britain's mystery writers, even when she isn't at her best. Compared to the vast majority of thrillers available, ‘Killing the Shadows’ is great. Compared to some of McDermid's earlier works, it's not up to par.

Nonetheless, it provides more than adequate suspense, generally consistent psychological portraits (even the ones that aren't 100% believable), and an interesting, if superficial, introduction to the idea of geographical profiling.

The characters are interesting and engaging, you feel like Fiona and Kit and Steve and Terry are people you'd be happy to meet for a drink. And the killer is creepily believable. The twists and turns in this book were excellent and it was a real whodunit right until the very end.

But more than that, this is a book that deals with the big, thorny questions about the relationship between what writers produce and the reality of violence in our society. If you're interested in the big moral questions, McDermid is unquestionably the writer for you.

I have only two minor criticisms – and they are minor. I'm not sure what the point was of the whole Spanish side-story. It could probably have been omitted and nobody would have missed it.
If you enjoy this one, I would recommend ‘Wire in the Blood’. ‘Place of Execution’ or ‘The Mermaids Singing’ – in my view, these are better examples of McDermid at the top of her formidable game. show less

Thrilling from beginning to end, Killing the Shadows is an un-put-downable novel. The twist on the typical serial killer novel is masterful and I was surprised when the author revealed the killer's identity. McDermid reminds us that profilers and investigators are impacting on people's lives and should not rush to place blame simply because a case is high profile. Most of all, she reminds us that murder extends beyond the victim to their family and friends and those around them.

There is a serial killer who is killing mystery/thriller authors. Fiona Cameron, an authority on profiling, is involved in the search for the perp and her search is pretty personal since her live in boyfriend is just such an author. McDermid turns what could be a predictable plot into one really great story.

What was the crime? The murders in Spain (which ended with a mere phone call), the investigation into the Blanchard murder or the murders of the authors? This book was way too long and seemed to be a bit all over the place. Perhaps concentrating on developing the characters rather than having so much going on, might have been a better idea. This was my first McDermid novel. She’ll only get one more chance.

Review: Killing The Shadows by VAL McDermid. Fantastic book… Brilliantly written. It’s a book that can’t be put down. McDermid created some inconspicuous characters to rivet a twisting plot.

A mystery serial killer on the prowl, but who is it and who is next? There are many serial killer author’s who would never imagine becoming a victim of there own scenes they creatively engineered in their very own best seller books. The killer had a list of author’s and chose which book the author wrote to copycat the murder. The killer was cunning, mysterious, stunning and a surprise to the end.

The egotistic irate authorities were to pigheaded to own up to the fact that the murders were connected. There were many reasons they backed away show more from a serial killer being on the loose. One murder was in Edinburgh, another in Ireland and the third was at a cottage in Dorset. To far-fetched to make a motive or connection The police tactics kept the story unfolding only a small piece at a time. But that was ok. It kept the story more intriguing for the reader. It gave the killer time to build the resources of his plots and schemes to the readers expectations.

Meanwhile, Professor Cameron, a psychologist who uses computer technology to help the police on some cases had her own opinions. She became frustrated and worried because her partner, who just happen to be an author of serial murder books, received a threatening letter in the mail. There were more letters to other writer’s but at the time no one knew so there were no connections made. The professor kept to her nagging feelings that she was correct but little did she know at the time there were more twist and turns she hadn’t spun into yet.

She was also working on another serial murder case for a former boss. So, her mind was in more than one place at a time. I give the author credit though, he kept her character motivated, sharp minded, short fused at times, and on her toes at all times.

There’s plenty more thrill and mystery to the story but I’ll leave your imaginations somewhere entwined in the aftermath of my memory…… show less

Quite the lengthy and complicated story. One has to suspend disbelief at times, but that isn't hard if you are a reader.

Fiona Cameron is a psychologist who specializes in geographic profiling. She has worked with specialized computer programs to pinpoint areas where offenders live or work. She walked out of her last job for the Met, however, when her work was not given the respect it deserved, and instead a hack psychologist was brought in who led the team down a very wrong path. Resulting in embarrassment for the department and an unsolved case.

Then Fiona learns of murders of thriller writers, writers who feature serial killers. Two murders, persons who were friends of Fiona's partner, Kit, also a thriller writer.

She resists the show more impulse to call it a pattern, preferring to work with more evidence than a few threatening letters. The letters in question did not seem the work of the killer. A third writer goes missing, a woman Kit likes very much. Is it time to call it a pattern? Fiona is still reluctant but worries for Kit. She tries to secure guards for Kit and fails. Of course he doesn't want any such thing himself, yet is willing to be watchful.

We are treated to the thoughts of the killer and the words in the letters in between chapters about Fiona and Kit and the investigation. Fiona is involved in more than one investigation, one in Italy, at the time, so is not able to be home as much as she would like.

It's a bit of a slow build with many characters and incidents. Good stuff to chew on. show less