CWA Judges’ comments: 'A strongly realised female protagonist in a substantial Glasgow police procedural. Anna Cameron is caught between the personal and the professional pitfalls of power and influence in the force.'
You are a police officer. This is what you do. You speak for the dead, and the desperate living. When Anna Cameron is promoted to Chief Inspector and moved to a new division, it should be a turning point for her. But if she thought having a female boss would make things easier, she'd reckoned without the fearsome 'JC' Hamilton. Then her mother goes into a coma in a foreign country and an old woman disappears from a Glasgow care home under suspicious circumstances, and Anna's career and personal life both threaten to implode. The gang-related murder of a young Asian boy and an assault on one of her officers only serve to turn the screws tighter - can Anna be both a good cop and a good person?
'Karen Campbell deserves to be admitted to membership of what's becoming a very large club - Scottish crime writers of excellence ... As to be expected from a former police officer, Campbell portrays her milieu with harsh authenticity, and Anna Cameron is wholly believable in her unheroic role. Glasgow and its citizens are described with vivid passion.' The Times on SHADOWPLAY
'[a] fine, accomplished novel ... The characterisation is impeccable ... a true literary talent' Scotsman on SHADOWPLAY
'Campbell's third and most powerful novel yet ... this is intelligent, gripping crime writing' Stylist on SHADOWPLAY
'A well crafted story with gritty dialogue and an intriguing conclusion that promises much for the next instalment in the series' Sunday Herald
'Meticulously detailed and brutally authentic, this could only have come from a writer who has been there, done it and banged up the bad guys.' Daily Record on SHADOWPLAY
'Fast-paced and hard-hitting' Woman & Home on SHADOWPLAY
Author
About Karen Campbell
Karen Campbell is a former police officer who lives in Glasgow with her family. She began writing in earnest on the renowned Glasgow University Creative Writing course, and had several short stories published before publishing the critically acclaimed THE TWILIGHT TIME and AFTER THE FIRE.
