by Nadine Matheson
Release Date: March 10, 2026
2026 Hanover Square Press
Ebook ARC; 432 Pages
ISBN: 978-1335000354
ASIN: B0F7XGXGYB
Audiobook: B0FN9VR2B6
Genre: Fiction / Mystery
Source: Review copy from publisher
4 / 5 Stars
Summary
When a string of grisly murders begins painting
the city in terror, DI Henley soon realise a vigilante killer is
scalping their victims before leaving them for dead. Henley is thrust
into a web of secrets, unravelling connections between the victims while
battling demons from her own past. As the killer raises the stakes, the
line between predator and prey begins to blur. With time slipping away
and her own life in jeopardy, Henley must outwit a psychopath who views
murder as an art form. Can she hunt them down before the final stroke of
the scalpel closes the case forever?
My Thoughts
The Shadow Carver is the next book in the Inspector Anjelica Henley series, and I enjoyed the mystery as well as learning more about the characters and their on-going relationships in this book. The mystery itself was quite complex and because there was a connection to some cases in which the team worked in the past, it affected the current mood and members of the team quite a bit. I like how this book examines the past and how it can impact future investigations as well.
First of all, if you have not yet read the previous books in this series, I do highly recommend it as the author does not really explain the connections and the relationships between the characters assuming you have read the previous books. While it doesn't necessarily impact the overall enjoyment of the book, it does impact the richness of the character development as someone who starts with this book will not know some of the links between the characters and why they react the way they do. I think this author does a great job with the characters and develops a lot of richness to their relationships, and while the relationships are often messy and ugly, that is also how the real world works. In a job where your life can hang in the balance, it can be quite hard to compartmentalize feelings, and again, this is where I think the author does shine. So, while I do think the characters sometimes behave in a silly manner towards each other, you are able to empathize with the reasons behind them even if you just want to put them all in a time out. I'm not sure I like the addition of the new team member as I feel that was thrown in to add some drama to the relationships that really wasn't needed, but I am curious to see where it will all head in the next book. But holy, DC Copeland drove me nuts. Personally, not a fan of using this technique to add drama to something just because it is thought to be needed.
This was a book about vigilantism, but it was definitely much more than that, something I definitely appreciated. It's hard to explain more about this without giving important plot points away from the story, but when someone takes it into their hands to do what they are doing, it can be quite frightening. The people are killed in quite violent ways, and I definitely appreciated the discussions that surrounded their deaths and why the investigating officers struggled with the investigation itself. It would be hard to investigate people who should be in jail, people you tried to put there yourself after a months-long investigation, but something prevented that. And if that sounds vague, it has to be as I will give too much away. The pacing of the book was quick and despite the in-depth delving into their personal relationships, the action actually quite a few twists and turns, some of which were predictable, some of which were surprising. I will also mention here there is a secondary plot line woven throughout this book that would only make sense if one has read the previous books in this series, and I am looking forward to when this plot line actually gets off the ground as there should be some explosive stuff coming down the pipeline with what has been revealed so far.
Verdict
The Shadow Carver was a good entry into a series that has so far been fun to read, and I really liked both the plot and the character development, except for one issue with a new character which I thought was just silly. However, the mystery had a lot of depth to it and I did spend some time reflecting on how I would respond if I was in that situation fully understanding the position in which the police officers found themselves. It would be so difficult to put your personal hatred aside and just do the job some days. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this series as some of the scenario has been set up in this one and it should be explosive. And considering the author is a criminal defence lawyer, I really enjoyed the insights provided in this book about how the system works.
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