A BURNING PYRE
The smell of roasting meat alerts police to squatters in an abandoned London factory. But when they arrive, the place is empty… except for a gruesome pile of scorched human heads.
AN ANCIENT RITUAL
DS Jamila Patel and DC Jerry Pardoe have solved bizarre crimes before, but nothing as spooky as this. Arcane markings on the factory wall lead them to a terrifying cult in thrall to a Neolithic god. A god who demands the ultimate sacrifice from his followers.
A CULT OF CANNIBALS
Now Londoners are being abducted off the city streets, to be mutilated, roasted and eaten. Can Patel and Pardoe save the next victim from this hideous fate? Or will they themselves become a human sacrifice?
Last week we had a washed-out, alcoholic German hostage negotiator breaking all the rules. This week it’s a barbaric cannibal cult hiding in the dark streets of our nation’s capital. It’s true what they say, the life of a book reviewer is never boring.
The good news is that The Shadow People by Graham Masterton is proper old school horror with some serious bite*. As expected, things are pretty damned visceral from the get-go. Within a couple of pages, we are already firmly in the realms of suitably icky. If you’re squeamish then The Shadow People is most definitely not the book for you. It would probably work as a pretty good advert for vegetarianism, to be honest. It’s not all just bone munching, brain slurping and eyeball-popping though. Masterton also takes time to explore the hierarchy that exists in his cannibalistic proto-society. There are some nice little touches that explain the unique mythology they have created for themselves.
The Shadow People could easily be viewed as just your standard shlock-horror cannibal tale, but I think that’s doing the novel a bit of a disservice. There is more to it than that. The underlying idea that those vulnerable souls who exist on the fringes of society are the perfect target for being taken advantage of. Sadly, there are far too many people trying to eke out a life on the streets. As a species, I think we are hardwired to want to belong to something greater than ourselves. If you are barely existing, constantly worried about your next meal, or having a roof over your head, when an opportunity comes along you’re going to grasp it with both hands. Suddenly there is the chance for you to wipe away your old self, the collective you are now part of becomes everything. If you had reached rock bottom you need to ask yourself, what would you be prepared to do in order to survive? Hmm, who would have thought a tale of cannibalism in the heart of London would be such a damning inditement of the social care crisis in this country. No, I wasn’t expecting that either. The best fiction always takes you to the most unexpected places, doesn’t it.
There were a handful of references that made me think this wasn’t the first book featuring these characters and a quick internet search confirms it. There are a couple of novels out in the wild already. Normally I would be put off by jumping into a series a few books in but I got the distinct impression that in this case, these are standalone stories that just happen to feature some of the same characters.
Ultimately, The Shadow People delivered everything I was looking for. The gore was deliciously gory, the twists were unpredictably twisty, the action kept me gripped and there was more insight than I expected. I don’t think you can ask for much more than that when it comes to a good read.
The only question that remains unanswered – Is it a coincidence I had a nightmare this week where a dreamed about walls dripping with blood? I’m not sure. My other half has suggested that perhaps I should I stop reading horror novels. I feel that in no small part this is Graham Masterton’s fault. If the tattered remnants of my battered psyche aren’t recommendation enough to read this book then I don’t know what is.
The Shadow People is published by Head of Zeus and is available from 9th December.
My musical recommendation to accompany The Shadow People is the soundtrack to The Empty Man by Christopher Young and Lustmord. It’s a sinister soundscape full of atmospheric, discordant elements that capture the overall tone of the novel perfectly.
*I’m sorry. I promise I’ve limited myself to only the one cannibal related pun for the entire duration of this review.
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