Customer Reviews

Shame: A Novel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I thought this book was excellent. I enjoyed the characters immensely and the plot was believable.

A long awaited book from this author since Multiple Wounds.

In this story, the main character is the son of a serial killer. New murders have the same MO of his father who "rode the lightning" 20 years ago. A writer who wrote about his father gets involved in these new murders and finds that the person who discovered one of the bodies is the serial killer's son. When the police find out the link, he's on the lamb.

While the killer's reasoning is a little off (to me anyway), Alan Russell's writing is face paced and he provides a good twist at the end.

Well worth the read, but his other book, Multiple Wounds is more expertly written and researched.

This book held my attention from the moment I picked it up. The topic was fascinating to me and it read like a real true crime book. I had never before given a thought to the children of criminals. But now I will think of them every time a murderer is sent to jail.

Caleb Parker fled his home to escape his psychopath of a father, Gray. However, in spite of leaving his home, Caleb knows he can never escape his father's genes. He always worries that he will become just like his sire, an inhuman monstrosity.

However, Caleb's haunted past returns when naked corpses seem to follow Caleb everywhere he goes. The dead bodies all follow the modus operandi that Gray used over a quarter of a century ago. The bodies have the word SHAME written on all of them. Gray knows that SHAME is his deceased father's code name he used on 17 women. Maryelizabeth Line, the sole survivor of the Gray murders, believes that Caleb is innocent. This unlikely duo works together in a desperate attempt to stop a copycat serial killer from running up the murder count.

It will be a SHAME if fans of the psychological suspense and serial killer sub-genres miss this haunting journey into the minds of an obsessive murderer and his victims. The fast-paced story line is one of the best chillers in several years. However, it is the insight into the brains of the killer, his family, his victims, and his victim's family that make Alan Russell's novel a must read for sub-genre fans.

Harriet Klausner

25 years ago a serial killer marked his victims with the word "Shame." The only woman to survive one of his attacks later interviewed him on death row and authored a best selling crime novel based on his life. This was the first of many true crime novels written by Maryelizabeth Line. Now a copycat has begun to kill in the same manner as Shame, and the evidence points to his son, Caleb Parker, as the killer. Parker has spent his life hiding his identity, not even telling his wife of his parentage. As the killings increase and the evidence mounts, Parker goes into hiding with the help of a transvestite who doesn't fully believe in his innocence. Parker contacts Lines, and the two begin to piece together the mystery which began a quarter a century ago. For pure psychological suspense, Russell has penned a heart-stopper. I was never quite as sure as Lines that Parker was innocent. The coincidences in the crimes were too high to be random; there had to be either a plot to convict Parker or Parker was Shame reincarnated. Make sure the lights are on and curl up for a scary ride.

When I first got this book, I wasn't sure it was my kind of book, a little more exciting than I usually read, but knowing Alan's prowess for writing excellent books (I have them all autographed) I finally started it. Couldn't put it down, it definitely is spellbinding and if it can be better than Multiple Wounds, it must be good. I hope to read more of MaryElizabeth in his future books. Thanks again Alan.

I loved the premise of this book: Twenty years after a serial killer is executed, new bodies appear with the same markings and all signs point to the long-dead serial killer's son as the culprit.

Powerful "what-if" there. What's more is that the true crime writer who made the killer famous joins forces with the son to prove his innocence. Add in a cross-dresser and you've got yourself a decent thriller.

I liked this book (despite some exposition that didn't always ring true). I hadn't heard of Russell before, but I liked what I read here. I'll definitely look for more from him.