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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.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Edward Holyan
reviewed The Chameleon's Shadow on January 20, 2009
The Chameleon's Shadow
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 returns from Iraq with horrific physical and psychological scars. Recovering from serious head injuries received in a roadside bomb attack, he now suffers from debilitating migraines, sudden explosions of anger, is deeply resentful, dislikes physical contact and is intolerant of the unwanted attentions of women.
Lt Acland's inability to handle his anger puts him under suspicion for the the brutal bashing of an elderly man & the murders of 3 men bludgeoned to death in their own home. Charles Acland is scary & unpredictible but Walters manages to garner my sympathy for this prickly and initially unlikeable character.
Lt Acland is befriended by the (hmm)unlikely character Jackson, a weight-lifting lesbian GP who moonlights as a bouncer at her girlfriend's bar. This formidable woman is "incapable of mollycoddling anyone, tells it how it is, refuses to tiptoe around prissy sensibilities, and gains respect as a result." In other words she is quite adorable!
Walters also introduces a number of other key characters, Jen Morley, Charles's ex-fiance, Detective Superintendent Brian Jones lead investigator of the murders, an obnoxious teenage runaway named Ben and an alcoholic homeless veteran called chalky.
I thoroughly enjoyed Walters character development and her trademark use of newspaper reports, emails & memos throughout the book. There are no obvious giveaways, but a steady connection of coincidences & facts lead the police and the reader to the perpetrator. The number of coincidences becomes a bit much towards the end of the novel and there is very little suspense but Walters successfully conveys the frightening complexity of human relationships.
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