The second book in the John Katzenbach Omnibus, like In The Heat of the Summer, The Shadow Man is set in humid Miami, Florida and features a killer, but of a very different nature. The titular antagonist is a war criminal from Nazi Germany, responsible for sending many Jews to concentration camps, and is now picking off elderly survivors many miles away and decades later. Retired cop Simon Winter teams up with Detective Walter Robinson and DA Espy Martinez to try to piece together the identity of the mysterious killer.
The Shadow Man's background in real life atrocities sets this novel apart, and allows Katzenbach to provide a brief history lesson alongside the traditional serial-killer-crime-novel thrills. This lends a depth to the story without feeling sensationalist or exploitative. I liked the different perspectives that the 3 lead characters had on events, particularly Winter, who is a neighbour to the first victim, and in the opening chapter his plans for suicide are interrupted by the plot kicking in. Immediately Winter has an intriguing back story and personality, although I guessed from his suicide attempt that he might not make it to the last page of the book. The old detective's belief in the Shadow Man contrasts with Dt. Robinson's no-nonsense approach to deaths that appear to be cut and dried robbery-homicides or suicides. There are interesting supporting characters too, in the form of the black drug addict framed for one of the murders, and the rabbi who is holding strong in his determination to beat the old Nazi killer.
but...
Unlike In the Heat of the Summer, I felt that The Shadow Man could have been a bit shorter. I lost a bit of interest partway through, but things picked up with an excellent climax.
briefly...
A solid serial killer chiller with added depth and historical perspective.
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