Book info

• Title Shame
• Author Alan Russell
• Year 1998
• Genre Mystery

Although it’s been many years since the death of his father—an infamous serial killer known as Shame—Caleb Parker still struggles to free himself from his father’s dark shadow. Caleb wishes only for a normal life without being branded a 'killer’s son,' but his dreams are shattered when a new string of murders surfaces that are all too reminiscent of Shame’s terrible killings. When the police label him the prime suspect, Caleb forges an unlikely partnership with true-crime author Elizabeth Line, a writer whose career began when she survived an encounter with Shame and who then went on to document his life—and death. As the body count begins to pile up, Elizabeth and Caleb come to the conclusion that one of them has been targeted by the killer, and a game of cat and mouse begins as they try to uncover the murderer’s identity before becoming his next victims.

Thoughts

On the surface, this is a crime thriller about a serial killer who is copying a previous monster’s work twenty years down the line. It goes far deeper than that, though, and ends up being a really intriguing work about what it is to grow up and survive in the wake of previous atrocities.

From the point of view of both victim and family, the book delves deeper into the psychology of being left behind when all the fighting and the judgement is over. How do you get over a) being a survivor of a serial killer and b) being the son of the same? The answer is, you don’t, but the book takes our characters as far along that path to redemption as I think it’s possible to get.

A great read, fascinating once all the characters are in place, and a good mix of both crime sprees with the outside characters woven in.

Rating: 4 / 5