From The Shadows by G.R.Halliday

From The Shadows

by G.R Halliday

From The Shadows by G.R. Halliday

 is soon to be  an ITV series "The Dark".

My thanks to the author and publisher

 for sending me a copy to review and to 

Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Robert arrives home late. Without a word to his dad, he goes up to his bedroom. Robert is never seen alive again. The discovery of a body on the coast of the Scottish Highlands, plunges Detective Inspector Monica Kennedy into a murder investigation, that won’t begin and end with one death. As paranoia rises and secrets are forced into the light, the local community becomes aware that there is a serial killer in their midst. Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Nichol Morgan has been missing for days, sending a last, enigmatic text message to his social worker Michael Bach, who can’t quite shake the suspicion that something is terribly wrong. Soon DI Monica Kennedy finds herself entangled with a cunning killer, who has been meticulously watching and waiting. But as her history catches up with her, she begins to lose trust in her judgement. Can she find the killer before he claims another victim? Or will her own actions prove to be the biggest risk to herself and her family ? 

My Thoughts

Gosh this pulls you into its grip from the very first paragraph and by the end of it the hairs on the back of my neck were already standing on end in anticipation of what was to follow. Consequently this is one of those detective books that, gruesome as it is, makes for compelling reading and I found myself thinking “Just another page” until I had finished it. 

D I Monica Kennedy is a brilliant character and Gareth describes her, as well as all his characters in such a way that you feel as if you know them . There are times when you will get frustrated with her , mainly, in my case, with her lack of parental judgment, but that is part of who she is . Michael , as the social worker sheds a different light on the proceedings and I found myself really warming to him straight away , though constantly having to ask myself “Should I ? What do I really know about him?” 

This is a long read by any standards for a crime thriller but there is so much going on and  Halliday has packed so much into the four hundred and twenty two pages that you really have to keep your wits about you in order to keep up with the ever evolving plot.

I am not surprised l that this has now been filmed as a television series and The Dark is certainly a very apt name for . I await this with bated breathe and even though I know the outcome I will still be watching it from behind a cushion.

 This is most definitely a huge 5 ⭐ read from me and I am already looking forward for more instalments from G. R. Halliday in the, hopefully,  of too distant future.

About G. R. Halliday

G.R. HALLIDAY was born in Edinburgh and grew up near Stirling in Scotland. He spent his childhood obsessing over the unexplained mysteries his father wrote about as a paranormal investigator, which have been a major inspiration for his writing. Gareth studied Ancient History at Edinburgh University and is a co-founder of the Caledonian Crime Collective. In 2024, he qualified from the University of the Highlands and Islands as a counsellor and psychotherapist. He works as a volunteer for an addiction charity and has his own private counselling practice. Gareth lives with his partner in the rural Highlands outside Inverness, where he pursues his favourite pastimes of mountain climbing and swimming in the sea, before returning home to his band of semi-feral cats.