Alex North is quickly becoming an official king of creepy, and in my opinion The Shadows is an encore performance that exceeds his previous book, The Whisper Man. Paul was a suspect in a horrific murder that was done by several previous friends twenty-five years ago. He left town with no intent of coming back, but the rapid decline in health of his mother brings him back. Between things his mother says and left behind at their house, and things going on in the area Paul is drawn back in to the malevolent acts of his teenage years - especially since one of the killers disappeared after the murder. That disappearance had led to multiple copycat killings over the years, leading Detective Amanda Peck (from The Whisper Man) to make her own appearance in Gritten as she tries to find the connection between the cases. Beyond multiple twists and cat and mouse games, North also ties in lucid dreaming for an Inception like twist that makes you wonder just how much is real, and how much is a figment of the imagination. Excellent, excellent, excellent!