Shame: A Novel [Hardcover]

Alan Russell (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (April 7, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684815273
• ISBN-13: 978-0684815275
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,187,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Psycho Thriller!, July 10, 2002

By 

Euston Jenkins (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shame: A Novel (Hardcover)

I recently read Russell's latest work, EXPOSURE, which was so good that I decided to pick up a copy of SHAME. These are very different books - I would call the latter a psycho thriller murder mystery - but Russell's inventive plotlines and nimble writing shine in both.

The protagonist is the son of a serial killer! An intriguing premise which Russell deftly explores - or should I say exploits - to show how the sins of the father are visited upon the son.

Like EXPOSURE, SHAME has lots of twists and turns that will keep you guessing to the end. It is well written and fast paced with lots of action and suspense. It is a very good read. I highly recommend it for the adult reader, but probably not for the kids.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new twist on serial murder mysteries, August 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Shame: A Novel (Hardcover)

Serial murders are a dime a dozen in mystery novels, but this is the first I've read which features the child of a serial murderer (as well as a writer covering the story). A gripping psychological suspense novel with interesting characters (especially the transsexual), plot twists, and fine dialogue. Russell's last book, Multiple Wounds, was a real departure from his comic novels. (Hotel Detective & The Fat Innkeeper are two of my all-time favorites). But Multiple Wounds was occasionally flawed by, in my mind, humor and "tourist" information -- Russell hails from the hospitality industry -- sandwiched in between deep psychoanalysis and mythological allusions. In Shame, he manages to integrate local color and occasional jokes without breaking the mood of the book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Though-provoking, well-researched and well-written, June 25, 2007

By 

K. Sozaeva "Obsessive bibliophile" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shame (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't know if I can even begin to describe how this novel affected me. None of the characters are what they seem and all of them drag with them some hidden shame that causes them to try to change who they are. Looming over them, from the distant past, is a serial murderer named Gray Parker - but better known as "Shame" for his signature of writing "shame" on the bodies of the women he killed. Maryelizabeth is the only woman to survive meeting him and she is now known as the Queen of True Crime since the book she wrote about him paved the way for her to become a very well-known true-crime author. Flash-forward to present day San Diego: women are being killed and the signature looks the same. Gray's son - who presents himself as Caleb rather than his birth name Gray, Jr. - lives and works in the area with his wife and two children. Is the son re-living the sins of his father? Circumstances certainly make it appear to be so. However, after meeting him, Maryelizabeth believes in his innocence and tries her best to help him, even when it seems the case against him is open and shut.

We meet some truly magnificent characters along the way - Lola is probably my favorite and I was very impressed with the research that Alan Russell did to come up with the various Native beliefs that she tells Caleb about. Strangely, though Lola was fleshed out very strongly and given a good background, etc.; Caleb's wife was much less real. I felt like we barely got to know her at all. Same with the antagonist - we only had a few brief scenes actually inside the antagonist's head, so the reasoning behind everything is only extrapolated by outsiders after the fact. I suppose that makes sense, in a way - but it seemed odd after how beautifully and lovingly Lola's character was created.

There truly isn't much I can express about the plot of the book itself without giving away important aspects thereof. I do highly recommend it to just about everyone; despite a couple mildly graphic scenes of murder, it is overall a very well-done psychological thriller with important overtones about understanding ourselves, rooting out our own inner demons, discovering what our own inner "shame" is and getting rid of that poison before it is too late. A very strong recommend from me for this extremely interesting novel.