Three explosions have left London in the grip of terror.
Worse yet, the perpetrator behind all three appears to be
supernatural in nature. Meanwhile, DI Cass Jones has been
relegated to the role of pariah in the station after the
events of A MATTER OF BLOOD but an apparent rash of suicides
has captivated his attention. He's far more interested in
the suicides than Special Branch's request for his
assistance with the terrorism... that is, until the
mysterious
Mr. Bright makes him an offer he can't refuse.
THE SHADOW OF THE SOUL is the second book in a trilogy. I
would highly suggest reading the first book, A MATTER OF
BLOOD, prior to THE SHADOW OF THE SOUL in order to get a
true feel for the world Sarah Pinborough has created. The
complexity of the world would make it very tough to jump
into the second book and truly understand the scope of The
Bank's grasp as well as the diabolical machinations by
characters such as Castor Bright.
THE SHADOW OF THE SOUL is not an easy read but it is a
captivating one. The undertones of the futuristic version of
London are very dark but it is the storyline behind Mr.
Bright and his cohorts that is even darker in nature. Quite
honestly, I'm still not sure I grasped everything in THE
SHADOW OF THE SOUL but since there are threads left hanging
for the third book in the trilogy, I'm optimistic that the
pieces will all fit at that point.
THE SHADOW OF THE SOUL is a tale where there are no true
good guys. The bleakness of the world is a bit overpowering
at first but Sarah Pinborough does a great job at showing
the reader that a certain kind of honor can still exist,
even in the darkest of days. Cass is no hero; in fact, he's
an anti-hero... and yet I couldn't help but cheer him on,
even
as I moaned over some of his decisions (snorting cocaine for
one!). I'm looking forward to the third book as I definitely
want to see how Sarah Pinborough ties all of these threads
together!
The author of the “diabolically clever”* A Matter of Blood
returns with another gritty supernatural thriller featuring
hard-boiled homicide detective Cass Jones
A devastating terrorist attack has crippled London. To find
a perpetrator who is more than human, Special Branch turns
to Detective Inspector Cass Jones.
Cass is already investigating a series of student suicides,
but saying no to Special Branch isn’t an option—even when
he’s hit with a much more personal and deeply disturbing
mystery: a message left for him by his murdered brother
revealing that Cass’s nephew was stolen at birth.