The Chameleons Shadow, Minette Walters
The Chameleons Shadow, Minette Walters
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The Chameleon's Shadow
A Novel

Author: Minette Walters

Narrator: Simon Vance

Unabridged: 10 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 01/22/2008


Synopsis

When British lieutenant Charles Acland returns home from Iraq, his serious head injuries are the outward manifestation of a profound inner change: he may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or it may be, as his psychiatrist suggests, "the prolonged destruction of a personality."

Though previously well adjusted and known as an extrovert, Acland now withdraws into himself. As he begins his recovery in a dismal provincial hospital, crippled by migraines and suspicious of his doctors, he grows uncharacteristically aggressive—particularly against women, and most particularly against his ex-fiancée. Finally, rejecting medical advice to undergo cosmetic surgery—opting, instead, to accept his disfigurement—and cutting all ties to his former life, he moves to London. There, alone and unmonitored, he sinks into a quagmire of guilt and paranoia—until an outburst of irrational, vicious anger brings him to the attention of the local police: they are investigating three recent murders, all of them apparently motivated by the kind of extreme rage that Acland has exhibited.

Now under suspicion, Acland is forced to confront the issues behind his desperate existence before it's too late: Has he always been the duplicitous chameleon that his ex-fiancée accuses him of being? Can he control this newly apparent sinister side of his personality? And why, if he truly hates women, does he in the end seek help from a woman—someone as straightforward and self-disciplined as he is unsure and seemingly out of control—to repair the damage to his mind?

In its timeliness, its psychological complexity, and its unstoppable suspense, The Chameleon's Shadow is a thriller of the first order.

About Minette Walters

Minette Walters is the author of thirteen novels—including The Shape of Snakes and The Sculptress—two novellas, and a number of short stories. Her work, which has been published in more than thirty-five countries, has received several major awards, including two Gold Daggers from the Crime Writers' Association in Great Britain and the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Dorset, England.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kasia on December 30, 2009

Bloody awesome. Ok not bloody, there's no gore in it, no graphic details. But still awesome. If you've been looking for a quality follow-up to the Stieg Larsson's Millenium series, something a bit like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and yet highly original - this is it. Matter of fact style, incred......more

Goodreads review by Tanja on July 18, 2015

Rating 2* out of 5. This is a book I chose not to pick up for years, although the author used to be one of my favorites. I wish I would have left this in the "let's not read" pile, but no, I had changed my mind. The main problem with this book is the lack of sympathetic characters. Charles Acland ret......more

Goodreads review by Jayaprakash on May 11, 2011

My wife's a huge fan of Minette Walters. Ironically, I really haven't delved much into her work because the blurbs always make them seem really depressing. It's true that my own tastes in hard-boiled and noir crime fiction hardly makes for cheery reading. However, at some level, it's possible to rat......more

Goodreads review by Sheree on January 27, 2009

This is not just a mystery or thriller - Minette Walters has the ability to take current social & psychological issues and build a convincing story around them. The Chameleon's Shadow is a strong narrative of investigation from both a law enforcement & medical view point. Lieutenant Charles Acland r......more

Goodreads review by John on March 12, 2022

Lieutenant Akland is wounded in Iraq and is disfigured and loses his eye. He also broke up with his girlfriend just before he went to Iraq. She visits him in hospital where their meeting descends into violence. He then goes to London where he meets a weight lifting lesbian doctor called Jackson who......more