Shadow Man

Terrifically good, terrifically scary . . . very hard to put down

'This disturbing serial killer drama set in California marks a promising debut for McFadyen, who combines many conventions of the genre but with far more exquisite, intricate results than the norm. FBI agent Smoky Barrett, a haunted, complicated woman, leads a team of investigators assigned to a serial killer task force. Barrett, who escaped the clutches of a different serial killer a year earlier but lost her husband and daughter in the attack, is now tracking a madman known as "Jack Jr.," who believes he's a descendant of Jack the Ripper. He mauls women, mostly prostitutes with Web sites, then sends the videotapes of the killings to Barrett and her crew. The plot follows a typical arc, complete with some nauseating details and predictable twists. There's also a romance between Barrett and a bodyguard that seems tacked on for future installments. Yet McFadyen's writing is crisp and smart, and his scenes pack a visceral punch without being cheap or exploitative. Barrett, for her part,

'More twists than a bucketful of corkscrews and more gore than an abattoir on overtime...fantastic'

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.

Coldly, stunningly brilliant. Move over Thomas Harris, Mcfadyen has brought a new game to town.

Really gets under your skin...sophisticated...makes Hannibal Lecter look more of a pussycat than a predator...best read on an empty stomach

'Promising, pacy debut'

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

A thriller which reaches down into elemental terror

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

Authentic...handled well with some unexpected twists and turns. Mcfadyen has drawn Barrett and her fellow FBI members tenderly and intricately

'Hannibal Lecter could learn lessons in evil from the killer in this American bestseller'

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.

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

A truly talented author

I'm still reeling after reading this high-octane, heart-pumping FBI thriller...Brilliant. But not for the squeamish

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

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

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

This is a terrifically good, terrifically scary serial-killer story set in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The world of SHADOW MAN arrives fully formed, as if we're at the second or third installment of a well-established series. The novel's protagonist, FBI agent Smoky Barrett, is scarred and traumatized at the outset from a past encounter with a murderous psychopath -- a run-in that resulted in the deaths of her husband and young daughter. Now she has another nut on her hands.