BOOK REVIEW
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As a mood reader, sometimes I have unexplainable needs to read a book in a certain genre. I default to thrillers as my comfort genre but can often find myself inexplicably drawn away from my usual preferences. This is what happened here. I had an uncontrollable urge to read a horror book, I wanted to be scared! I don't have any horrors on my TBR so my Kindle Unlimited list was required to help me on
my quest.I whittled the list down to horror, filtered based on review ratings, and this one jumped out at me. The premise seemed intriguing, the cover was creepy, and I was sold. Mist. CHECK. Water. CHECK.
BLURB
Idyllic memories. A perfect childhood. A secret buried for thirty years.
None of us could remember why we drifted apart. We spent our childhood marauding around our village in our little gang, coming of age, and getting into 'bother' as Mum called it. But nothing bad ever really happened.
Or did it? Children see things that adults don't. There was something in the shadows, something terrible, but the adults were too busy to see.
Thirty years later I started to remember - the school friends I hadn't thought of in all that time, people going missing - it was like I'd been made to forget. And then the dreams started. Dreams that I knew I'd had before. Horrific dreams of fear and fire and death. Dreams of the Shadow Man, lurking behind it all, a terrifying ghost, an urban legend hanging over my home village like an evil spirit.
My memories were returning, haunted by the supernatural horror that was slowly unlocking them one by one. I realised I'd have to go back, to reunite with my friends, to face the Shadow Man once more.
AUTHOR
Mark Brownless is a Welsh author, who has written three books (and some short stories). His debut novel was called The Hand of an Angel, a medical thriller which has a great sounding premise. The Shadow Man was his second novel, followed by Witch, a gothic style horror thriller that follows a couple who move into an idyllic home in Wales, which has it's own Witch spirit...
All of the books are available on Kindle Unlimited as of September 2024.
PLOT/STORYLINE
A group of school friends (Phillipa ,Sally, Clara, Katie and Janey) who have lost touch over the years return to their home village, after they start having dreams about their childhoods. Creepy dreams that seem to indicate a hidden past.
The friends are searching for the truth, trying to unlock their memories, to uncover once and for all what happened during the forgotten summer. People were going missing, or being found dead, and the girls' memories of a mysterious and creepy entity that they called The Shadow Man, come back to them.
As they start to remember what happened, the friends need to face their demons, get to the bottom of the mystery, and fight for their lives.
The story is told as a dual timeline, reverting from present day to childhood memories, as they are recalled by the women. Flip (Phillipa) is our main perspective, and the other points of view, recollections and thoughts are shared through dialogue.
CHARACTERS
Phillipa is really the only character who has been padded out in any way, as the story is told from her perspective in both present day and the past, but there's some great dialogue with the other characters that give a pleasant insight into each of their personalities. The banter and back and forth seemed natural and was very relatable. I have some friends who, even after lots of time apart, the banter falls right back into place in the same way!
They are all very different, each having a key part to play in the dynamics of the group. In the 'memory' chapters, there's lots of 80s nostalgia, music, clothing, attitudes and characters. This also shone a light on the likes and dislikes of the group.
I didn't feel a huge connection though with any of the characters, many of the traits were surface level and I didn't see any real softness or vulnerability from them and didn't feel like I actually KNEW any of them. I don't think any of them were written badly, or inconsistently, I just didn't have any specific feelings towards them one way or the other, I knew just enough to keep the story moving along and the focus was very much on the progression of the story rather than the development of the characters.
OVERALL REVIEW
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐
SPICE: 🔥🔥(some references and implications, involving young people)
My main gripe with the book was the suggestion that it is a horror. I disagreed with that sentiment and was left feeling disappointed. While it did have some creepy/supernatural elements, I would categorise it more as a mystery/thriller. The biggest element of the story was uncovering memories and uncovering the answers.
I love a dual timeline and this one was well done with memories and information being trickled through in a back and forth style. This storytelling style suits a mystery/thriller well, as it allows the author to control the information, and the big reveal, until the time is right.
While reading, I experienced some deja vu. Not only due to the 80s nostalgia (which unlocked some great memories of my own!) but as a result of some similarity between this story and the premise of Stephen King's IT. Both have a friend group who, as adults, have forgotten the supernatural experience they had together as children, drawn back together by new events. That said, while IT is separated into two very distinct parts, the past and the present, The Shadow Man utilises an alternating timeline instead, which changes the narrative and pace.
I did have my niggling suspicions about the twist to the tale, but couldn't be sure until towards the end. This kept me immersed, second guessing myself, trying to figure out if I was right!
I enjoyed the story, despite my disappointment at the lack of horror. It was a little predictable and followed a well trodden path, but it was well thought out and put together. I've given it a decent 3 star rating, partly due to the parallels between this book and IT, but mainly because it was solid, well structured and brilliantly paced, but slightly underwhelming overall.
WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?
It was a quick read, with nice pace and a decent mystery/suspenseful plot. If you enjoy a dual timeline, and a bit of superstition, nostalgia and mystery, this would be a decent book to add to your list :)
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