Shadow City is my first book by Natalie Conyer and as soon as I'd finished I was searching out more of her work.
Shadow City is set in both Sydney, Australia and Cape Town, South Africa. Conyer keenly portrays her characters' love for their hometowns and expertly depicts how hard it is to leave your home even when the situation is dire.
Veteran Detective Schalk Lourens, disillusioned with life, and suspended from duty pending an ongoing inquiry, decides to visit his daughter in Australia. A friend asks him if he can look into the disappearance of a young South African woman who went to Australia a few months ago on a scholarship. Schalk is then introduced to Jackie and her team in Homicide.
I was swept away with this whole story. The police procedural was compelling and moved along at a fast pace as they pieced together snippets of information and CCTV footage.
I loved that the story wasn't all about the crime. We got to know the characters on a personal level and I enjoyed that lovely bit of chemistry between Schalk and Jackie.
Conyer has a sharp instinct for character rendering them real and likeable. I could see how I was cleverly steered to like or dislike the characters.
I was impressed by how Conyer adds diversity to her story and characters without it ever feeling contrived.
Shadow City always has plenty happening which keeps the pages turning and I have to say, 'I couldn't put this book down!" The suspense builds slowly and the atmosphere sizzles with menace making Shadow City an utterly addictive read.
My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Content: There are mentions of people trafficking, enslavement and abuse however it isn't overly graphic.
Publisher: Echo Publishing
Publication date: 3rd September 2024
Genre: Crime / Suspense
Pages: 325
RRP: AU$32.99 (paperback)
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
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