The Shadow Man

by John Katzenbach

First published 1995

Simon Winter thought his days chasing killers were over. The retired Miami Beach homicide detective planned to spend his golden years in peace. Then bodies start appearing. Holocaust survivors are dying under suspicious circumstances. The victims share something beyond their past trauma. They all remember a figure from the darkest days of wartime Berlin. In 1943, he terrorized the Jewish population as Der Schattenmann, the Shadow Man. This ruthless operative hunted people for the Nazi regime with cold efficiency. Most who encountered him never lived to describe his face. Now he has emerged from decades of hiding. His mission remains the same. He wants to eliminate everyone who might recognize him. Winter realizes he faces a predator unlike any criminal from his police career. The detective must use every skill he learned on the force to track this ghost from history. Time works against him as more survivors fall victim to the Shadow Man's deadly campaign. Winter races to stop a killer who has spent fifty years perfecting the art of murder.

Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller

Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: cat-and-mouse, hunt-for-a-killer, redemption

Setting: Miami Beach, Berlin

Period: 1943, Present Day

449 pages · Paperback · Little Brown

Content warnings: murder, violence

More by John Katzenbach

Readers who liked The Shadow Man also liked

View on Siftivo