Escaping a city and a man that have almost broken her, Justine is running for her life. She heads north, to the mountains and valleys of the Scottish Highlands, where she hopes to hide and survive.

Michael and Hannah are running too. Gathering together their two young sons and the tatters of their marriage, they have come to the remote village of Kilmacarra, a place of standing stones and threatened windfarms--a place where they hope to once again make a home.

In this ancient landscape, in a country balanced on the brink of change, Justine, Michael, and Hannah are brought together by a shocking accident that entangles them all in threads of guilt and love, duty and forgiveness. As the ground beneath their feet begins to yield up its secrets, and each must question where they truly belong, the darkness that Justine left behind seeks her out with perilous consequences for them all.

“[Campbell's] style is gritty, at times dysphoric, bristling with intense feelings kept under skillful control . . . [She] is a vivid, distinctive writer who creates characters and stories we really care about . . . Gratifyingly, Campbell avoids easy answers, showing us that the pieces of most unions, personal and political, rarely fit neatly together, that true feeling comes into them unexpectedly, beyond the parts of our lives we think we can control.” —New York Times Book Review

“[An] impressive U.S. debut. Written in striking, often imaginative prose yet paced as immediately as a thriller, Campbell's novel hits the ground running . . . An engaging writer introduces herself with this fresh, intelligent entertainment, full of satisfying moving parts.” —starred review, Kirkus Reviews

“This is a story of independence--one woman's struggle towards it set against a nationwide attempt to define it.” —The Glasgow Herald

“Accomplished, original, moving . . . all around terrific . . . Campbell’s protagonists are sympathetic, distinctive, and believable and she writes with a strong sense of irony that lends dark humor to the story.” —Publishing Trends

“Campbell beautifully manipulates both characters and colliding events . . . An emotional rollercoaster culminating in a life-and-death collision beside the soaring stones that guard Kilmacarra.” —CurledUp.com

“I loved it. A great, original character and the plot fairly whizzes along.” —Kate Atkinson on The Twilight Time

“The writing is bold, gritty and fearless.” —The Sunday Times on This Is Where I Am

“[A] fine, accomplished novel . . . The characterisation . . . is impeccable . . . Even the descriptions of [Glasgow] are pitch perfect . . . When her debut The Twilight Time was published in 2008, [Campbell] was heralded as a major new talent with huge potential. What she has done in Shadowplay is prove that that assessment was absolutely on the money.” —The Scotsman on Shadowplay

Karen Campbell is a graduate of Glasgow University's renowned Creative Writing Masters, and author ofThe Twilight Time, After the Fire, Shadowplay, Proof of Life and, most recently, This Is Where I Am, which was a BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime. A former police officer, and council PR, Karen Campbell won the Best New Scottish Writer Award in 2009. She lives in Galloway, Scotland.
www.karencampbell.co.uk