The Shadows: A Novel

“Twenty-five years have passed, but I still think about that a lot. […] How every good parent says it, and how often they’re wrong.”

This final reflection in the Prologue establishes a fatalistic tone and introduces the theme of The Moral Ambiguity of Parental Protection. The narrator, Paul, reframes his mother’s comforting words, “It’s going to be okay,” not as a promise but as a “hostage to fortune.” This concluding thought frames the narrative to follow as an exploration of failed protection and the gap between parental intent and reality.

“Hundreds of blood-red handprints pressed carefully against the stone.”

This sentence concludes the opening chapter with a stark image that introduces the red handprints motif. The adverb “carefully” transforms the bloody scene from an impression of chaotic violence into a deliberate, ritualistic tableau. This visual detail connects the present-day murder to the copycat nature of the crime, serving as a narrative hook that establishes the mystery’s historical roots.

“‘Red hands, Paul! There are red hands everywhere.’ Her eyes were wide and unblinking, staring at me in absolute horror.”

Paul’s mother, Daphne, delivers this warning with terror, her dementia blurring the lines between past and present for her. Her exclamation directly invokes the red handprints motif, suggesting that the trauma of the original murder is not a distant memory but an active, present threat. Her fragmented sense of time serves as a