FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Val McDermid has earned the attention of discriminating mystery fans on both sides of the Atlantic as a powerfully gifted author best known for her Edgar-nominated A Place of Execution. Killing the Shadows is her intelligent, highly original reflection on a social -- and literary -- phenomenon: the serial killer. McDermid's heroine, Fiona Cameron, is a criminal psychologist haunted by the memory of her sister's unsolved murder. Fiona works as both a teacher and a freelance police consultant specializing in "geographical profiles" and establishing "linkages" between supposedly independent acts of violence. As Killing the Shadows opens, she finds herself caught up in three ongoing investigations. The first involves the hunt for a serial murderer in Toledo, Spain. The second centers on a controversial unsolved sex crime that took place in London's Hampstead Heath. The third concerns a series of "literary" murders in which several bestselling thriller writers have been singled out as victims and have been murdered in ways that replicate the content of their own most popular novels.

Since Fiona's lover, Kit Martin, is one of Britain's most prominent thriller writers, she finds herself personally involved in a bizarre, unprecedented series of crimes. By the time three well-known novelists have met their grisly ends, she becomes convinced that Kit could be the next logical target. Her desperate attempts to identify the killer and preserve her lover's life form the central elements of this colorful, convoluted narrative.

Occasionally, Killing the Shadows strains credibility in ways that A Place of Execution never does. There is simply too much going on in this book, and the ultimate rationale behind the central series of murders fails, somewhat, to convince. Even so, McDermid writes with vigor and assurance, and her easy familiarity with a number of arcane subjects -- such as recent technological advances in criminal profiling, and the social dynamics of Britain's insular crime-writing community -- is engaging and thoroughly believable. The result is an uneven, occasionally brilliant book by a talented writer whose novels -- even the lesser ones -- are well worth reading. (Bill Sheehan)

Bill Sheehan reviews horror, suspense, and science fiction for Cemetery Dance, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and other publications. His book-length critical study of the fiction of Peter Straub, At the Foot of the Story Tree, won the International Horror Guild's award for best nonfiction book of 2000.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A killer is on the loose, blurring the line between fact and fiction. His prey - the writers of crime novels who have turned psychological profilers into the heroes of our times. But this killer is like no other. His bloodlust shatters all the conventional wisdom surrounding the motives and mechanics of 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 used to help the police, but vowed never to work with them again when they went against her advice and subsequently botched an investigation. Still smarting from the experience, she's working a case in Spain when her lover, thriller writer Kit Martin, tells her a fellow crime novelist has been murdered. It's not her case, but Fiona can't help taking an interest. When the killer strikes again Fiona finds herself caught in a race against time - not only to save a life but also to find redemption, both personal and professional.

FROM THE CRITICS

New York Times Book Review

There is no one in contemporary crime fiction who has managed to combine the visceral and the humane as well...

Washington Post Book World

Smart...skillfully executed...nasty and delicious. McDermid tells this wicked tale with style, intelligence and the blackest of humor.

Publishers Weekly

Though McDermid skillfully alternates point of view and creates memorable scenes and complex characters, her latest falls short of the high standard set by her previous novel, A Place of Execution, which was an Edgar finalist. Psychology professor Fiona Campbell, a consultant with London's Metropolitan Police, specializes in crime linkage and geographical profiling using sophisticated computer technology. The competitive, self-confident Fiona was recently replaced on a case by another expert, who ended up misleading the police; their suspect, whom Fiona had thought innocent, was eventually released. While Fiona is working with the Spanish police to catch a vicious murderer, a new situation comes to light back in the U.K.: the serial killings of successful thriller writers who are threatened, then murdered following details from their most popular novel. Fiona lives with Kit Martin, author of you guessed it popular thrillers about serial killers. Their best friend, Det. Superintendent Steve Preston, needs Fiona's help in yet another investigation. Initially, she refuses to resume working with the police, but the personal dimensions draw her in. After much misdirection, the cases mesh, with a Spanish connection. McDermid builds suspense by inserting passages from the thriller novels, e-mails, crime Web sites and the killer's journal. Unfortunately, the killer's motive is somewhat unconvincing, while the reader can anticipate most of the plot twists. Nonetheless, given the acclaim for A Place of Execution, expect strong sales. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

McDermid takes a great premise and turns it into a thoroughly engaging psychological thriller: the writers of serial murder fiction become the victims of a copycat killer who models his crimes on their work. This puzzle is well intertwined with two other major cases facing our heroine, Dr. Fiona Cameron, an academic psychologist who tracks serial offenders through computer technology that focuses on geographical patterns. The crime spree becomes personal as Fiona's partner Kit Martin is one of the writers targeted. The author's use of clues hidden from her characters adds to the tension without cheating the well-paced execution of the mystery. Vari Sylvester carries that tension very capably in her reading. Rather graphic at times, this is a book for adult audiences only. Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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