REVIEW: From the Shadows by G.R. Halliday

From the Shadows (DI Monica Kennedy #1) by G.R. Halliday

Genre: Crime thriller, Police procedural, Noir

Read: 11th August 2021

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Published: 18th April 2019

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

A stunning, atmospheric police procedural set against the grit of Inverness and the raw beauty of the Scottish Highlands, this is the first book in the DI Monica Kennedy series.

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.

A body is soon found on the coast of the Scottish Highlands. Detective Inspector Monica Kennedy stands by the victim in this starkly beautiful and remote landscape. Instinct tells her the case won’t begin and end with this one death.

Meanwhile, Inverness-based social worker Michael Bach is worried about one of his clients whose last correspondence was a single ambiguous text message; Nichol Morgan has been missing for seven days.

As Monica is faced with catching a murderer who has been meticulously watching and waiting, Michael keeps searching for Nichol, desperate to find him before the killer claims another victim.

From the Shadows introduces DI Monica Kennedy, an unforgettable new series lead, perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves' Vera, Susie Steiner and Peter May.

MY REVIEW:

I keep telling myself not to start any more series or I won't be able to keep up, but G.R. Halliday's debut FROM THE SHADOWS offers something different with its melancholic backdrop of the rugged and remote Scottish Highlands. It's something of a welcome addition to the noir crime fiction genre that is both eerie and atmospheric set in and around Inverness and the Highlands.

When 16 year old Robert Wright disappears in the middle of the night from his home, his disappearance at first goes unnoticed until his mutilated and tortured body is discovered in an apparent pose in a remote part of the Highlands. A black stone wedged down his throat.

Enter DI Monica Kennedy.

Monica has recently moved back to Inverness and is trying to make an impression. She has a 4 year old daughter Lucy with whom her mother is more often than not looking after her while Monica investigates her latest case. When Monica receives the call about a young boy found up on the Highland moors, she delegates her team to sift out any missing persons who might match the description. Meanwhile she attends the post mortem hoping it might throw some light on his death. The nature of his wounds and the posing of the body make Monica think that this is not the killer's first...but she has nothing really to prove or disprove the idea.

Meanwhile social worker Michael Bach is worried about one of his clients, Nichol Morgan, who has been missing for seven days. When he hears about a body found up in the Highlands, Michael fears it could be Nichol and is called in to identify the as yet unidentified lad. He is relieved to discover the body isn't Nichol and yet it raises more questions as to where Nichol could be. Michael follows a carefully laid sprinkling of breadcrumbs left by his client in the hope that he will find him safe and well at the end of the trail. But instead, Michael comes up against some characters who nearly beat him half to death but don't give him any further answers. Throughout his search, Michael seeks Monica's help along the way as officially the police just seem to dismiss Nichol as one of their many runaways.

Then another boy is found up in the Highlands, his injuries matching those of Robert Wright whom the police finally identified after his father reported him missing, Monica feels the race is on to catch this killer before he strikes yet again. Although a suspect is in her midst, Monica is not yet convinced of his involvement although her superiors are happy to lay the blame at his feet, particularly when he turns up dead having committed suicide. Or did he? Monica isn't convinced. Then her superintendent brings in a wholly untrustworthy psychiatrist to help steer their enquiries with a profile. He too seems quick to believe the dead man's involvement with that of a missing gamekeeper who knew the second victim.

As Monica and her team continue to investigate the murders, Michael uncovers some very interesting information about previous deaths and disappearances under similar circumstances. And all with a similar black stone found lodged in their throats. What is also interesting is that both the pathologist on the cases and the journalist investigating the stories Michael discovers are also dead with the latter having committed suicide. Or did she? Michael had also discovered that one of Nichol's friends had been found dead in a river some months prior and the conclusion was that he too had committed suicide. These suicides are all sounding far too coincidental for Michael's liking and he brings his findings to Monica for her to peruse. 

What then ensues is a race to uncover the murderer before he claims another victim...this time with Monica in his sights.

I quite enjoyed FROM THE SHADOWS which is part police procedural and part thriller...which is always my favourite kind. The setting of the remote Scottish Highlands gives a chilling and atmospheric feel to the story and the reader feels that remoteness of the dense black night where many a person could find themselves lost forever in the mountainous terrain. It gives credence to the feeling of being alone...particularly as mobile phone signal is so patchy out there and one is cut off from everyone and everything. 

The story is told in the third person from Monica and Michael's perspectives throughout with the occasional inclusion of "the Watcher". As it is in the third person, we learn that the watcher is male with the constant reference to "he" or "him" when alluding to himself. Had these chapters been in the first person narrative his gender would have added more of a mystery...though it was fairly obvious that it was going to be a male villain. Still...it could have provided an interesting red herring with maybe a female luring the victims out at night...teenage boys...a femme fatale...hormones and all that. But that's just my opinion.

As debuts go, FROM THE SHADOWS is a page turner from the beginning though I did find the pace slow down a little in the middle before picking up again towards the end. Some of the loose ends at the conclusion were a little too loosely tied up and the explanations somewhat vague by the end. And yet one of them does offer the promise that it may be followed up in a future installment...maybe? The other secondary characters of DCs Fisher and Crawford left a little to be desired as both fell into my own suspect pool at one point or another. It is also apparent that Monica doesn't really like either of her colleagues but I was glad to see she didn't follow the same lead as other protagonists in her position and become unlikable bossy bitches. She kept things professional which made her an appealing character. One thing I found missing was the usual banter that goes on between colleagues...the gallows humour which I always appreciate (probably because I have a similar dark humour) as it adds a little contrast to what is essentially a dark and tense narrative otherwise.

I liked Monica and I liked Michael. Both are interesting protagonists with pasts that are just begging to be delved into. I hope Michael features in further books in this series as he makes a welcome addition and distraction. The one thing that did grate on me was the constant reference to Monica's height. I was only a couple of chapters in when already it was becoming a thorn in my side. Yes, she is tall. Yes, she is very tall. No need to keep referencing it throughout 413 pages.

The highlight for me is by far the atmospheric setting of the remote Scottish Highlands which creates a very dark and chilling atmosphere. The wilderness, the barrenness, the remoteness, the emptiness...it is seriously chilling. The beauty, the tranquilness, the isolation and the danger...it is the perfect setting for such atmospheric thrillers and I look forward to more from this author trekking me up into the Highlands once again.

Overall, FROM THE SHADOWS is an enjoyable atmospheric read that is chilling and thrilling with the potential for the characters to develop in further installments. As a debut in a series, I think it shows real promise and I will certainly look out for more to come.

Perfect for fans of dark, intense and atmospheric crime thrillers.

I would like to thank #GRHalliday, #Netgalley and #VintageDigital for an ARC of #FromTheShadows in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Gareth Halliday was born in Edinburgh and grew up near Stirling in Scotland. He spent his childhood obsessing over the unexplained mysteries his father investigated, which proved excellent inspiration for his debut novel. He now lives in the rural Highlands outside of Inverness, where he is able to pursue his favourite past-times of mountain climbing and swimming in the sea, before returning to his band of semi-feral cats. 

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