The Chameleon's Shadow

November 26, 2007
One look at Lt. Charles Acland’s disfigured face and anyone can see that the Iraqi bomb that blew up two of his men has left him profoundly changed—but have his traumatic brain injuries altered the young British army officer’s personality enough to make him a murderer? That’s the narrative fuse Edgar-winner Walters (The Devil’s Feather)
lights to ignite this sizzling psychological thriller. She skillfully interweaves strands of Acland’s story, including notes from the military psychiatrist treating him, with the hunt for a serial killer who’s claimed at least three victims in South London. Then another man is beaten within an inch of his life not long after Acland’s move into the neighborhood. When the lieutenant gets into a near-fatal bar fight with a Pakistani stockbroker, Acland’s unlikely savior is a 250-pound lesbian weight lifter and doctor named Jackson. Surprisingly, Jackson is also one of the few convincing characters in this plot-propelled tale, a flaw readers may be willing to ignore—until they slam into a contrived denouement well below Walters’s usual standard.

March 31, 2008
Unlike the protagonist of Walters's novel, Vance may not be suffering from a split personality. Still Vance's cabinet of voices—each with its own timbre, character, accent and persona—accurately reflects the multifaceted aspect of Walters's book. Her hero, a wounded British veteran of the war in Iraq who returns home with no recollection of his service, is carefully documented through doctors' accounts and conversations with family members and others. Vance is a gifted enough mimic that one occasionally forgets that all these voices are emerging from the same throat. Some of the nuance—of British class and education, or lack thereof, as coded in the relative width or narrowness of vowels and consonants—may be lost on some American listeners, but it demonstrates Vance's expertise. Simultaneous release with the Knopf hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 26, 2007).

Starred review from January 15, 2008
Wounded in Iraq, Charles Acland is evacuated to London to begin a painful recovery, made worse by disfigurement, paranoia, and a desire to avoid any assistanceespecially from his family and former fiance. Though he is physically tough, Charles's mental state is less stable; he scares himself and others with bouts of rage. Charles does his best to alienate his caregivers but is forced to accept help when his aggressiveness leads to a run-in with the police, who are trying to solve a series of brutal murders. His best hopes are a butch lesbian doctor, who thinks she is a good judge of character, and a not unsympathetic detective. Walters ("The Devil's Feather") is an award-winning master of suspense, and she once again keeps things taut as Charles tries to figure out what is wrong with him and why forces seem to be driving him to more violence. Charles's suspicions spread to the reader, who soon wonders if anyone is as he or she seems in this solid thriller. Strongly recommended for all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 9/1/07.]Devon Thomas, DevIndexing, Chelsea, MI

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2007
Walters latest suspense tale mixes the creepiness of that old noir movie The Lodger, in which an isolated man may or may not be Jack the Ripper, with a contemporary, ripped-from-the headlines exploration of the aftereffects of traumatic brain injury on soldiers. A British lieutenant in Iraq, a victim of a roadside bombing, is left with traumatic brain injury, horrific deformity on one side of his face, excruciating migraines, and a profound depression and suspicion of others. The first portion of the book chronicles the efforts made by psychiatrists to save Lieutenant Charles Acland from his wounds and his despair and to re-orient him toward civilian life. Walters makes even this clinical overview into a suspenseful struggle, as Acland resists all efforts to save him. Questions that haunt the second portion of the novel arise, as well, centering on his reaction to any mention of his former fianc'e. Acland seeks reinstatement in the British armed services, is refused, and drifts into a lonely life in London, punctuated by bizarre bursts of anger and fighting. Later, Aclands well-documented reentry problems and his unprovoked attacks on others make him a natural suspect in a series of murders in London. Solid plotting, superb characterization, and fascinating information on traumatic brain injuries make this compelling thriller a sure winner.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)