THE SHADOW MAN

by John Lutz ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 9, 1981

Lutz's previous thrillers (Lazarus Man, Jericho Man) have been farfetched, but this one is the dippiest yet. Psychotic Martin Karpp has been in maximum-security prison for four years, ever since assassinating a governor with presidential aspirations; and his multiple personalities have been documented by psychiatrists. Now, however, while Karpp remains behind bars, his other personalities seem to be on the loose! A psychiatrist who interviewed Karpp in prison is threatened by one of these personalities, then murdered. Each of Karpp's alternate personalities is spotted outisde prison, making threats. And Senator Jerry Andrews, who is investigating this weird case, is himself attacked by Karpp on a city street. More murders follow--Andrews' semi-estranged wife and her lover both die--and CIA chief Nelson Graham joins Andrew in trying to pin down this killer who seems to be everywhere. So, finally, after a ludicrously high body-count mounts up, there's a contorted (non-occult) explanation--plus a 1992 epilogue (now-released Karpp assassinates the CIA chief) with an implausible final twist. All in all, the weakest in Lutz's series of pulp-suspense puzzles.

Pub Date: July 9, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1981

Categories: FICTION