Shadow Man

A Novel

By: Alan Drew

Narrated by: Will Damron

Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

What Dennis Lehane does for Boston, Alan Drew does for Southern California in this novel of psychological suspense about an idyllic community rocked by a serial killer - and a dark secret.

Detective Ben Wade has returned to his hometown of Rancho Santa Elena in search of a quieter life and to try to save his marriage. Suddenly the community, with its peaceful streets and excellent public schools, finds itself at the mercy of a serial killer who slips through windows and screen doors at night, shattering illusions of safety. As Ben and forensic specialist Natasha Betencourt struggle to stay one step ahead of the killer - and deal with painful episodes in the past - Ben's own world is rocked again by violence. He must decide how far he is willing to go, and Natasha how much she is willing to risk, to protect their friendship and themselves and to rescue the town from a psychotic murderer and a long-buried secret.

With fine, eerie, chilling prose, acclaimed author Alan Drew weaves richly imagined characters into the first of several thrilling novels of suspense featuring the California world of Ben Wade and Natasha Betencourt. Shadow Man reveals the treacherous underbelly of suburban life as a man, a woman, a family, and a community are confronted with the heart of human darkness.

©2017 Alan Drew (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Recommend this one to fans of Michael Connelly, Tana French, and Dennis Lehane.... The Steinbeck-like passages about the vanishing cowboy landscape contribute to the novel's power." ( Booklist)

"Wonderfully imagined and wonderfully written, Shadow Man is everything a great thriller should be.... A home run." (Lee Child, author of Night School)

This had only one bright point for me

Pedophilia damages so much more than the initial victim. One hopes the perpetrator of so much damage will be dealt with harshly, but his punishment is miniscule by comparison.

A little dull for me.

It started out prettt promising but got too slow for my taste. The bad guy seemed like he was based off Richard rameriez but then they describe him as a weird deformed guy. One of the reviews said this was similar to a Michael Connelly book but it's not at all to me.

Excellent character development. Great book.

I imagine Shadow Man would make a very good movie. Alan Drew makes Ben Wade into a very realistic character. I can't help but see David Harbour from Stranger Things as the main character.

Dark but enlightening

Great plot line and fabulous word pictures of SoCal. Topnotch narration, satisfying story, taut ending.

such a great story and narrator does it justice

Would you listen to Shadow Man again? Why?

Yes, with someone to get talking about the issues and themes.

What other book might you compare Shadow Man to and why?

Ben is reminiscent of Harry Bosch but I can say that Shadow Man is original.

Which scene was your favorite?

Natasha talking to the college student.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Ben handing over evidence to his LT.

Any additional comments?

There is so much I want to say about this book. I read it and then listened which I have only done a few times. I could say, and want to say much more but I don't want to let out a spoiler. The characters are engaging and I'm wanting more and aspect more from @alandrew.

what a story!

this story was a bit too long it did go into more detail than i wanted to read about the torture that poorboy suffered!

Shadow Man

Captivating and thought-provoking. The audible version was well read, nicely paced.
I can recommend whole heartedly.

Lehane Fans Need Not Worry

The publisher of Shadow Man boldly compared the writing style of author Alan Drew to that of Dennis Lehane. Poppycock. Mr. Drew's Shadow Man is page after page of monotonous ramblings and lifeless dialogue between uninteresting characters whom the listener is never given a reason to like. Furthermore, the narrator reads slowly and without any energy, and there is no attempt at differentiating between voices of characters, so the narrator has to add in lots of "he said," "she said" to the dialogue. This book is not worth a credit, the cost or the time. And author Lehane need not worry about losing fans to Alan Drew anytime soon.