From the Publisher
Russell reveals what lives in the heart of a monster. Here, the monster is Gray Parker. His execution was major news and his story even became a bestselling book. For his son, Caleb, there was no sanctuary. As soon as he was old enough, Caleb moved away to start his life over. Even though Caleb has always hidden the hideous truth about who his father was, when he looks in the mirror, what he sees there makes him fear that some part of his father's evil might live on in him. Now, though, it's as if his secret has escaped into the world. Bodies have started turning up, marked in the same way that his father once marked them. And when all the evidence points toward him, the only thing Caleb can think to do is run far and fast. The one person who believes in his innocence is the only woman ever to survive one of his father's attacks - Maryelizabeth Line. She's the same woman who became a celebrity for telling his father's story. These two must become unlikely allies to answer two soul-searing questions: Who is doing this and why? And who is Caleb, really, when you cut through the shame?
Los Angeles Times
By Dick Lochte
With his last novel, Multiple Wounds, Southern California author Alan Russell made an abrupt genre shift from humorous whodunit to psychological suspense. His new fiction, Shame, takes him even further into “silence of the lambs” country. Its hero is Caleb Parker, the hapless son of an executed serial killer, who has spent most of his life hiding Dad’s stigma. Even that painfully clouded existence was preferable to his present situation: He’s on the run from lawmen convinced that he’s following in his old man’s homicidal footsteps.
Somebody is. Caleb’s only chance is to find out who and why. Assisting him are a true crime writer whose nonfatal brush with Caleb’s father resulted in publishing superstardom and a transvestite named Lola whose psychic abilities may or may not stem from a partial Lakota heritage. It is Russell’s intriguing conceit that Caleb’s father has had a profound influence on each of the characters and even in death still has them dancing to his tune.
The author has eschewed the grislier aspects of the serial murders in favor of adding dimension to his leading characters. This is a better than fair exchange. Lovingly detailed descriptions of victims writhing under the torment of madmen are a dime a dozen, but a credible, flamboyant, emotionally egocentric but crisply logical creation like Lola is a crime fiction rara avis.
Kansas City Star
When his father was executed for the deaths of 17 women, 15-year-old Gray Caleb Parker did everything he could to obliterate his connection ot the world’s most notorious serial killer. He dropped the first name they shared and has lived a life of such deliberate self-effacement that, as he said wistfully, “no one’s ever had strong enough feelings about me to hate me.”
More than 20 years later women are again turning up dead. The similarities to the earlier killings are uncanny, particularly the settings where their bodies are found and the scribbling of the word “shame” on their bodies. All evidence seems to implicate Caleb Parker. The police are hungry for an arrest, and the public is feasting on the irony.
But Maryelizabeth Line isn’t convinced that Caleb is behind the latest spree. Line was the one victim that Gray Parker let live, and she went on to write about his crimes.
Twelve books later, the “Queen of True Crime” is respected enough that the detectives on the new cases look to her for help. Desperation to prevent more killings pulls Line and Caleb Parker into the killer’s orbit. The only question is which one is the focus of the murderer’s wrath.
Alan Russell started his career with a zany mystery series starring a hotel detective. This latest showcases his skill at developing multilayered, intriguing plots peopled by complex, memorable characters.
J’accuse this book of guilty pleasure! - Philadelphia Inquirer
An impressive display of fright and suspense. - Publishers Weekly
I read SHAME virtually right through. This is a complex and genuinely suspenseful story about three people. The story races to a logical and yet surprising climax. - Boston Globe
The pulse-pounding suspense, breakneck pacing, and scary characters make this a book for the strong-hearted. SHAME is sure to produce shivers aplenty. - Booklist
Remarkable . . .a dark and suspenseful tale (with) complex and believable characters as well as nail-biting creepiness. Mr. Russell does an admirable job of sustaining the mystery until the end, and then unravels a few more secrets. For those who enjoy turning pages until the wee hours, it would be a shame to miss this one!
- Mostly Murder
Readers who enjoy suspense and terror won’t put this book down. - West Orange Times
Well-written . . . Unique and harrowing . . . By turns gritty and dry-witted, this was a thoroughly fun read. Oh, and (when reading) don’t forget to lock those doors. - The Pilot (North Carolina)
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