Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read for Free
OR
$4.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Amazon.com Services LLC.
Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Michael Fowler
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Shadow of the Beast: A heart-pounding psychological abduction thriller (THE DS HUNTER KERR INVESTIGATIONS Book 5) Kindle Edition

by Michael Fowler (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 422 ratings
Join DS Hunter Kerr and his team in another thrilling mystery! Perfect for fans of Peter Robinson, Ann Cleeves, Faith Martin and L J Ross.

Hunter is facing a killer whose evil surpasses all others…

South Yorkshire, 2009

When a skeleton is discovered buried beneath an old chapel, the Barnwell Press goes wild. The savage injuries point to the area’s most infamous killer, dubbed ‘The Beast of Barnwell’.

‘The Beast’ has already served time for murder and now he has been released. And when a young woman is abducted on her way home from work, it seems he could have struck again.

But Detective Sergeant Hunter Kerr is not sure that the case is so clear-cut. He goes undercover to get to the heart of the mystery.

But every step closer to the killer, is a step closer to death…

SHADOW OF THE BEAST is the fifth crime novel in the DS Hunter Kerr Investigations series: serial killer police procedural thrillers set in Yorkshire.

‘The author is a retired police inspector with extensive experience in CID and the Vice and Drugs Squads. It is this experience which provides the strong sense of authenticity’ – Promoting Crime Blogspot

THE DS HUNTER KERR INVESTIGATIONS SERIES:
Book One: Heart of the Demon
Book Two: Cold Death
Book Three: Secrets of the Dead
Book Four: Coming, Ready or Not
Book Five: Shadow of the Beast
Book Six: Hunted
Read more
Previous slide of product details
  1. Book 5 of 7
    THE DS HUNTER KERR INVESTIGATIONS
  2. Print length
    233 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    August 28, 2020
  6. File size
    1.8 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
Next slide of product details

Shop this series

 See full series
There are 7 books in this series.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

'A new terror is sweeping Barnwell and Hunter faces a killer whose evil surpasses all others.' The discovery of a skeleton buried beneath the altar of an old chapel should not have raised an eyebrow, but this one was different. This one had been savagely murdered, and all the evidence points to the blood-thirsty killer the press have dubbed 'The Beast of Barnwell'; a killer who has already served time for the brutal murder of a young girl and is now free. Is this his handiwork? In the midst of the enquiry, a 22 year old woman is abducted on her way home from work. Is there a link? To add to Hunter's workload his former boss, Michael Robshaw, is deliberately mown down and left for dead. Why? In his search for the truth Hunter returns to his undercover roots - with deadly consequences.

About the Author

Michael served as a police officer for thirty-two years, both in uniform and in plain clothes, working in CID, and undercover in Vice Squad and Drug Squad, retiring as an Inspector in charge of a busy CID Department in 2006. Michael is the author of the DS Hunter Kerr series and the DS Scarlett Macey series. He has also written two stand alone crime novels. He is a member of the Crime Writers Association and International Thriller Writers.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B089GWNFLC
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sapere Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 28, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.8 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 233 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1800550285
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 5 of 7 ‏ : ‎ THE DS HUNTER KERR INVESTIGATIONS
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 422 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Michael Fowler

Michael Fowler

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Following retirement, after thirty-two years as a police officer, working mainly as a detective, Michael returned to the deadly business of murder, as a writer. His past work brought him very close to some nasty characters, including psychopaths, and gruesome cases and he draws on that experience to craft his novels: There is nothing gentle about Michael's stories.

His landmark novel 'Heart of the Demon', published in 2012, introduced Detective Sergeant Hunter Kerr. He has since written five novels and a novella featuring him. He also released the first of his DS Scarlett Macey books in 2016.

He is also the author of a stand alone crime novella 'Chasing Ghosts' and a true crime thriller 'Safecracker'.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
422 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Another good book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Really enjoyed this book, it has everything . A serial killer, fast paced action, intrigue and interesting caricatures . I can recommend all Michael Fowler books . They can be read alone.
    Helpful
     Report
  • linda kam
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Good
    Helpful
     Report
  • Nerdish Mum
    5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly My New Favourite Lead Man!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2016
    Let me start by saying that I absolutely loved this book! It was my first Michael Fowler book and I will be going out to read all his previous books too. Shadow of the Beast is the fifth outing of DS Hunter Kerr, but this can definitely be read as a stand alone or as your first taste of Michael Fowler's writing.

    Shadow of the Beast is very well written and is fast paced and easy to read. There is enough police lingo to make it feel realistic and to submerse you in the story without losing a lay person with too much jargon. The police procedure side was also shown just enough to give an idea of what the police have to go through in an investigation without it slowing the pace of the book or lessening the excitement.

    DS Hunter Kerr is an amazing lead man, he is hard when he needs to be but has a soft side which is shown in his relationships with his friends and family alike. It's nice to see another hardened police man with a happy marriage and children. I also think his relationship with his partner Beth is brilliant, there is no sexual tension, they are just two really good friends with a healthy dose of competition between them to be the best.

    The main story follows a discovery of bones beneath a demolished church and moves quickly from there when other remains are found and then all seem to be linked to the "Beast Of Barnwell". It was interesting to see the investigation go from having no leads, to it picking up pace the further into it they got, it felt like a really natural progression. You're kept guessing at what's been going on and who it could be and I was actually surprised at the end.

    Overall between the excellent story-line and the extremely likeable characters I really enjoyed this book and I flew through it. I will be (and have been) recommending this book to people!
    Helpful
     Report
  • damppebbles
    4.0 out of 5 stars There’s nothing like a good ol’ police procedural to lose yourself in ...
    Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2016
    Shadow of the Beast is book five in the DS Hunter Kerr series. I haven’t come across this series or author before, but I will definitely be keeping a lookout for Michael Fowler’s books in the future. (And hey, it wouldn’t be a damppebbles review if I wasn’t going into a series somewhere around book 5, would it?!)

    Construction work digs up a human skull. DS Hunter Kerr is called to the scene to start a new murder investigation. Except it’s not a recent death. The body is that of a young woman who was murdered in the 1980s. But that’s only half of the problem. Placed upon her corpse is the skull of a cow, and it’s quite obvious that the skull had skin and flesh covering it when it was first interred with the victim. There starts a particularly difficult investigation for DS Kerr and his team, which goes to prove that time does not heal all wounds. Time just makes it harder to solve a murder investigation. The body count is rising as the investigators dig as far back as the 1970s. Can Kerr and his team discover who has been getting away with murder for all this time? And what of the savage hit and run accident that has put Crime Manager, Michael Robshaw into ICU? Is this current vicious attack related to past misdemeanours…?

    There’s nothing like a good ol’ police procedural to lose yourself in and Shadow of the Beast did just that for me. This was my first introduction to Hunter Kerr and team and I will be making a point of reading the other books in the series as soon as the #terrifyingTBR starts to reduce a little. I was expecting a strong and rather strapping DS with a name like Hunter Kerr and thankfully Michael Fowler’s writing and my imagination didn’t let me down! I liked Hunter. I expect there’s a lot to his back story that I’m not aware of but he did feel different to my normal lead investigators.

    Even though the majority of the investigation is written around a cold case it was still exciting to read with twists and turns. One of the characters oozed evil for me, a real nasty piece of work.

    Would I recommend this book? I most certainly would, what’s not to love?! It fits the bill perfectly for those autumnal evenings where all you want to do is snuggle on the sofa with a glass of wine and a good book. Lovely!

    Four out of five stars.

    Thanks to Noelle Holten, Caffeine Nights Publishing and Michael Fowler for providing me with a copy of Shadow of the Beast in exchange for an honest review.
    Helpful
     Report
  • booklover
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Addition To Series
    Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2020
    Format: Kindle
    Many thanks to the author / Sapere Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

    A skeleton is found buried beneath an old chapel. Shortly after, another body is found buried close by. The area's most known serial killer, The Beast of Barnwell, is the suspected killer. The Beast served time of other crimes and has now been released.

    When a young woman is abducted, the prime suspect becomes The Beast.

    DS Hunter Kerr has a gut feeling that he wants to follow up on. And what he finds might not only cost him his job ... but his life, as well.

    This is well-written with an intricate plot, and fully developed characters. Kerr and his team work well together, and when one is threatened, they are all threatened. Although fifth in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone. I do, however, recommend starting at the beginning. This police procedural is filled with twists and turns, leading to an unexpected conclusion.

    Because of the author's personal experience as a police officer in the CID, I expected a great amount of credibility ... I was not disappointed.
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • D A CHANDLER
    5.0 out of 5 stars A serial killer that needs to be stopped. Years later to start again
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I choose this book to read as I knew Michael Fowler would keep wanting to read more, not being able to put down, as all his other books. The storyline keeps you so engrossed that you feel like you're working along side the characters. Can't wait for the next read, there has to be a following for the Shadow of the Beast, I wonder when?
    Report
  • Colleen Murray
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good writing
    Reviewed in Australia on December 26, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This is a well written book with a surprising twist I have enjoyed the Hunter series and am looking forward to the next book
    Report
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Reads
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 11, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I have read everyone of Michael Fowler's D.S. Hunter Kerr series and his two D.S. Scarlet Macey books. I wish he would write them as quickly as I can read them. Every book is a real page turner and they all make great reading.
    Lee Child eat your heart out!
    Report
  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good plot, well written
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Well written, good plot and nice to see I get a mention
    Report
  • Andrew Jones
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    A fantastic novel following the career and cases of a police officer
    Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report