Standing in the Shadows by Michelle Spring

READER REVIEWERS:

Christina Leavitt

Lorraine Gelly

Marsha Neesley

Michelle Spring spent the first half of her life in Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and the second half in Cambridge, England, where she currently lives with her husband and two young children. Under the name Michelle Stanworth, she has had an academic career that spans two and a half decades, four academic books, an affiliated lectureship at Cambridge University, and, most recently, the Professorship of Sociology at Anglia University in Cambridge. In 1994 she published Every Breath You Take, which was nominated for both an Anthony Award and an Arthur Ellis Award as Best First Novel.

Praise for Michelle Spring and her Laura Principal novels:

"Michelle Spring, born in Canada but long settled in England, retains the best of the English tradition."
--Amanda Cross

"Sheer good writing...Seriously creepy."
--Frances Fyfield

"Astute, entertaining, right-minded, and carefully constructed."
--Times Literary Supplement

"Laura is a fascinating woman of the Nineties, confident in her ability to perform her job even though it can turn dangerous without a warning."
--The Midwest Book Review

STANDING IN THE SHADOWS

A Novel of Suspense by Michelle Spring

Hardcover: May 1998 | $23.00 | 345-42491-3
Paperback: April 1999 | $6.99 | 345-42492-1

What forces--social, psychological, physical--combine to turn a child into a cold-blooded killer? With this provocative question, acclaimed novelist Michelle Spring sets in motion her haunting intrigue of twisted lives, sexual obsession, and dark perversion.

The shocking murder lingered in the tabloids for weeks. A sweet elderly lady viciously killed in a town outside Cambridge, her skull crushed with a concrete block by her eleven-year-old foster child, Daryll Flatt. Hideous as the crime was, the case was closed when the boy, curled up in the crack of a willow tree, confessed to the murder. Now, two years later, the boy's older brother, Howard, hires private investigator Laura Principal to revisit the case--and to answer the baffling question: Why?

On the surface, Daryll fit the mold of a child murderer perfectly--a hopeless boy abused and cast off by a wretched family. Yet as Laura Principal probes deeper, several curious facts reveal themselves. Perhaps the most alarming piece of evidence never addressed in court--Daryll was particularly agitated the day before the murder. When confronted by his teacher, he confessed: It's a secret. And I'm the only one who knows.

For Laura, each question raises another, and each version of events offers conflicting views of the "heartless" boy and his "saintly" foster parent. And with each step closer to the truth, Laura Principal senses someone in the corner of her eye, a threatening presence . . . standing in the shadows . . . watching her every move.

Writing with the sparkling intelligence and razor-sharp wit that readers have come to cherish, Michelle Spring unveils a novel that is both stylish and spellbinding. Standing in the Shadows reaches new heights of psychological suspense--and heart-pounding menace.

Praise for STANDING IN THE SHADOWS:

"In Standing in the Shadows, Michelle Spring milks our unease skillfully...This is Spring's third book, her most confident and best. She writes with intelligence and a real feel for a menacing atmosphere."
--The London Times

"Standing in the Shadows is a rapier-sharp psychological thriller. Michelle Spring is a major new novelist whose literate, intricately patterned storytelling will be warmly greeted by fans of P. D. James and Minette Walters."
--Sandra Scoppettone

"Standing in the Shadows is an engrossing tale of the everyday face of evil and the casual corruption of innocence, set in the green, ageless riverside town of Cambridge. The contrast is delicious, and Michelle Spring keeps getting better."
--Laurie R. King, Edgar Award-winning author of A Grave Talent, To Play the Fool, and With Child.

"A compulsive read in which the author, with great skill, makes us love the characters we cared for least...one of the most quietly impassioned thrillers of the year."
--The Mail on Sunday (London)

"Children who kill provoke in us a particular sort of superstitious fear and horror. It's as if the corruption of innocence this somehow implies is far more resonantly evil than the murders committed by adults. A man who wants to understand why his younger brother stoned his elderly foster mother to death is the starting point for Michelle Spring's third novel... [Standing in the Shadows] is an absorbing and unnerving delve into the dark side of the human psyche. Michelle Spring's earlier novels were both good reads in a controlled, civilised way. This time, the gloves are off and she has let rip to produce the kind of thought-provoking yet compelling page-turner that stays in the mind long after the covers are closed. With Standing in the Shadows, Michelle springs into the front rank."
--The Manchester Evening News

"Anglophiles will also enjoy "Standing in the Shadows" by Michelle Spring (Ballantine Books). The suspenseful thriller is set in Cambridge and features private investigator Laura Principal....The question of what propels a child to commit a heinous crime is an intriguing one, and Principal tenaciously peels layers of rationalizations by social workers, teachers, police officers and family members before arriving at the truly startling conclusion..."
--The Los Angeles Times

READER REVIEWS
(We sent out advance reader's editions of the book to some lucky mystery readers who were randomly chosen from the many requests we recieved. These are their thoughts.)
In the novel Standing in the Shadows by Michelle Spring, the author set out on a quest to discover why a child kills. Along the way she introduces us to a cast of well developed, multi-faceted characters who prove that they are not always what they seem at first glance.
Her tightly wound plot takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of emotions--one that in the end remains as part of the reader's thoughts long after the last page has been read.
On a scale of 1 to 10, Standing in the Shadows is a solid nine! Any one who enjoys reading Patricia Cromwell and Sue Grafton will also enjoy reading Michelle Spring's novels.
--Christina Leavitt

Laura Principal, private investigator, has children on her mind. While the divorced Laura has no children of her own, there are her friend's children, her lover's children, neighborhood children, and all the problems of childhood from neglect to abuse to being exposed to the traumas of everyday life at a young age. And Laura has another dilemma--a young child accused of murder. Laura's new client has asked her to find out why his youngest brother confessed to the murder of his foster mother. Laura has a real problem accepting the fact that a child of eleven could commit murder, even if he has confessed to the crime. What must it feel like, she wonders, to have your baby brother be an accused murderer? Laura decides that if she is to understand the crime, she has to know more about the murdered woman and must interview those who knew her best in order to understand her relationship with the foster child, Daryll. As her investigation proceeds, she becomes involved in other dramas that are playing out at the same time and in addition to thwarting a flasher she is even kidnapped--just for a short time!
Laura has wonderful women friends, Helen and her teenaged daughter, Ginny; Stevie, her associate in the agency and CID Inspector Nicole Pelletier. They are an important part of the story and obviously an important part of Laura's life. Ginny is one of the children on her mind. Helen and Ginny have confided to Laura that Ginny and her friend have been victimized by the flasher while on the way to school. The girls are reluctant to go to the police, so they have asked Laura to bring it to the attention of the police without involving the girls. Laura tries to help resolve this matter but due to police attention being directed elsewhere she plays an active role in stopping the flasher.
I like Laura; she's independent and tough when she has to be, but warm and tender, too. Her partner and lover, Sonny, is mostly on the sidelines in this outing, but they have a warm relationship and I would like to see it developed further. She is also developing a great relationship with his two boys.
I would highly recommend this and the earlier books in the same series. Laura is an interesting character, and Ms. Spring does a great job of bringing her to life.
--Lorraine Gelly

Michelle Spring has written a traditional English crime novel that slowly involves you into a tale chock full of suspicious characters. For subject matter, she has chosen a heinous crime admitted to by a child. Her numerous characters are clearly drawn and the tale is told in a very straightforward manner. The parallel investigation by her partner is somewhat distracting and unnecessary, and she assumes the reader is familiar with her earlier work and relationships, but all and all it is an engaging tale.
--Marsha Neesley

I recently read the advance reader's edition of Standing in the Shadows. I liked it but felt the beginning was a little slow. I liked the different threads and Laura's personal life. I will look forward to the next book in the series.
--Cheryl Stoeser

Standing in the Shadows is a mystery that seems to begin without a mystery. We all know, or think we know, whodunit. It is the question of why that draws private investigator Laura Principal, and the reader as well, into the mind of a murderous child.
But all, of course, is not what it seems. As Laura is led deeper down a path of hidden passions and murky recollections, we are taken along for a thrilling, thoroughly entertaining ride.
Laura Principal is an intriguing and amusing heroine, with a keen understanding of human behavior. This is a tale of private investigator with a heart and a soul, written in a style that is both engaging and comfortable.
Standing in the Shadows is the best of what the genre has to offer. It is a "cozy" that takes the best of that tradition and places it within a distinctly modern framework. Michelle Spring skillfully balances the disturbing psychological twists in her story with well-placed moments of lighthearted wit. And by including an occasional sly reference to detectives of film and television, it is refreshingly clear that Michelle Spring is not just an author of mysteries, but a fellow fan.
--Joe Obermaier

When I opened the book and saw that it was a "psychological thriller," I thought it might not be my "cup of tea." I began the book without many expectations but after a rather slow start I found myself turning pages faster than a bookie at a racetrack. I liked Laura and Helen and her cop buddy. Felt like Sonny was sort of "The man who wasn't there" or at least I never really got a handle on him.
I felt the shock Laura felt at the thought of a child committing a cold blooded murder over a lost doll. Laura showed us the face of evil need not always look like a monster!
I want to read Ms. Spring's earlier novel and I will be eager to read her next.
--Bea Grayson

I thoroughly enjoyed Michelle Spring's new book Standing in the Shadows. I have not read her previous books, but I'm now looking forward to finding them. The story is told from the point of view of Laura Principal, a P.I. in Cambridge, England. She is hired to investigate why a young boy killed his foster mother. Howard, the young boy's older brother, is trying to make sense of the tragedy. There are several minor plotlines to add interest and tell us more about Laura's life.
Spring writes well and tells a good story. The reader was drawn into the story from the first page and swept along by the writing and the events. The main interest, for me, was Daryll Flatt, the young boy. As Laura accumulates evidence, we can't decide whether he is truly evil, confused, sympathetic, or crazy. I kept making up my mind and then having to change it again. Although, I had my suspicions about what had happened, I was wrong; but the conclusion was logical, well-done, and emotional. All the ends tied up neatly; a wonderfully satisfying story. I'm anxious to read more about Laura Principal.
--Barbara Murray