The shadow carver, p.1
The Shadow Carver, page 1
Praise for Nadine Matheson
‘Another absolute cracker. Gruesome and gritty’
Liz Nugent, Sunday Times bestselling author of Strange Sally Diamond
‘With a deft hand and fresh, original voice, Matheson weaves a story that’s dark, tense, action-packed, and so, so clever. Once I started The Kill List, I couldn’t stop until the very last page. Outstanding’
Andrea Mara, number one Sunday Times bestselling author of No One Saw a Thing
‘Nadine Matheson pulls it out of the bag again … you’ll only close The Kill List when you’ve finished it. Another masterpiece’
Graham Bartlett, author of Bad for Good
‘This engrossing and visceral read has all the series’ signature grit … impossible to put down’
Crime Monthly
‘The most invigoratingly grisly new crime writer on the block … Matheson writes with a light, witty touch very welcome in the often-humourless gorefest genre’
The Telegraph
‘Gritty, compelling storytelling’
Daily Mail
‘Expertly paced and plotted … You will need to leave the lights on’
Platinum
‘If you like your crime on the gruesome side, this will certainly satisfy’
Heat
‘Delightfully creepy and unsettling … this is a stay-up-all-night read from a masterful storyteller. Clever and intelligently complex. (Not advised if you’re alone in the house.)’
Orlando Murrin, author of Knife Skills for Beginners
‘A chilling and gripping serial killer thriller from a woman who knows her crime. Accomplished and disturbing. I raced through it’
Anna Mazzola, author of The Clockwork Girl
About the author
Nadine Matheson was born and raised in Deptford and now practises as a criminal defence lawyer. She won the City University Crime Writing competition, and she has an MA in Creative Writing. The Jigsaw Man was her first crime novel and was loved by readers around the world. It was shortlisted for the Dead Good Reader and the Adult Diverse Book Awards in 2022, and it has been translated into fifteen languages. The Kill List was longlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year in 2025.
Nadine is currently the chair for the Crime Writers’ Association, and she is also the host of the podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson. For more information about Nadine and her writing, visit her website at www.nadinematheson.com, sign up for her mailing list, or follow her on X @nadinematheson, and on Instagram @queennads.
Also by Nadine Matheson
The Jigsaw Man
The Binding Room
The Kill List
Copyright
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk
HarperCollinsPublishers
Macken House, 39/40 Mayor Street Upper,
Dublin 1, D01 C9W8, Ireland
First published in Great Britain by HQ 2026
Copyright © Nadine Matheson 2026
Nadine Matheson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Without limiting the exclusive rights of any author, contributor or the publisher of this publication, any unauthorised use of this publication to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is expressly prohibited. HarperCollins also exercise their rights under Article 4(3) of the Digital Single Market Directive 2019/790 and expressly reserve this publication from the text and data mining exception.
Source ISBN: 9780008548483
Ebook Edition © February 2026 ISBN: 9780008548506
Version 2026-01-16
Note to Readers
This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings:
Change of font size and line height
Change of background and font colours
Change of font
Change justification
Text to speech
Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780008548483
Certain portions of text this ebook are set in a specific font type to make it easier to distinguish between the different types of content in the book. It may not be possible to change the font for these pieces of text.
Dedication
To Charlene
Contents
Cover
Praise for Nadine Matheson
About the Author
Also by Nadine Matheson
Title Page
Copyright
Note to Readers
Dedication
PROLOGUE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Acknowledgements
About the Publisher
PROLOGUE
4 March 2013
Ealing, London
He can breathe today. Every exhale and inhale no longer felt as though barbed wire was being dragged across his lungs, but it’s still painful to open his swollen eyes. He tries to focus but all he can see is shadows. He can’t see her, but he can smell her. He gazes at the shadow which he knows is his wife, Deborah. Family and friends no longer pop in for a chat and a drink or to sit idly in the garden on the long summer nights but instead visit him as a patient. They talk in hushed, pained and pitiful whispers; unsure how to sit in a room that is no longer used for living but for end-of-life care.
The leather creaks as Deborah rises from the armchair.
‘He looks like he’s turned a corner,’ Deborah whispers and gently places a hand on his leg. ‘The doctor came by this morning and was really pleased.’
‘We often find patients make a vast improvement when they’re being cared for at home. Less stress, familiar smells.’
He feels gloved fingers rest on the dry and flaccid skin on his right arm and he smiles. He knows her touch. His nurse.
‘Sian. Knew that you couldn’t resist me,’ he says.
‘How could anyone resist you. You’re a superstar,’ Sian replies as she places the blood pressure cuff around his arm.
He can sense the smile in her voice. It has occurred to him, more than once, that there aren’t many people in the world who make you feel seen. Sian never treats him as another item to tick off her itinerary. He winces as the machine sings and the cuff tightens around his arm.
‘There we go,’ Sian says brightly as the cuff on his arm quickly depresses. ‘All done.’
‘And I’m still here,’ he replies.
‘Of course, you’re still here,’ Sian says gently. She steps back and records his blood pressure and pulse readings in his chart.
‘Are you staying over?’ he asks, eagerness managing to break through the hoarseness.
‘I told my husband I was spending the night with another man.’
He smiles as he hears his wife, laughing for the first time in weeks.
‘Unfortunately, you’re not my only bit on the side,’ Sian says. ‘I’ve got other patients to see this afternoon, but I’ll be back.’
Sian clears a space on the kitchen island and lays out the vials of medication, sealed packets of needles and syringes.
‘Are you sure I can do this?’ Deborah asks anxiously as she pushes aside the shopping bags she hasn’t had a chance to unpack.
‘You’ll be fine. You’ve been practising and I have faith in you, Sian replies, picking up a vial. ‘This is the easy one. Morphine, which you will deliver orally in three hours. How many mils?’
‘Five,’ Deborah answers nervously.
Sian smiles with approval as she picks a second vial. ‘Warfarin,’ she says. ‘You will inject 5mil into his thigh. What do you need to do before you inject?’
Deborah straightens herself and places her hands – her fingernails bitten to the quick – on the island as though she needs the extra support.
‘Check for air bubbles in the syringe and if there are any I should—’ Deborah pauses as doubt fills her eyes.
Sian nods encouragingly.
‘Hold the syringe up, gently tap it and wait for the bubbles to rise to the top. Then I will push the plunger until the air bubbles are gone. Double check the dosage and then inject,’ says Deborah.
‘I promise you everything will be fine,’ Sian reassures her. ‘I’ll be back at 8.30 p.m. and you can finally get a decent night’s sleep.’
‘I don’t know what we would do without you,’ Deborah says as she grabs Sian and hugs her both with relief and gratitude. ‘You’re an angel.’
The sirens are now silent but the sharp wailing of a woman falling into grief can be heard on the street. A curtain in the upstairs window of the house on the opposite side of the street twitches as the front door of number 25 opens. A paramedic walks out with no sense of urgency. A silver BMW, its engine quiet, drives at speed and brakes sharply outside number 25, blocking the driveway. From her position, next to a large ash tree on the opposite side of the street, Sian can see and hear everything. The car door opens, and a man attempts to exit but he hasn’t unclipped his seatbelt and he’s forced back. He finally releases it and stumbles out of the car as the door of number 27 opens and a young woman steps out, barefooted, into her front garden.
‘What’s happened?’ she asks.
‘It’s Dad,’ the man replies as he runs through the open door of number 25. Sian places her hand against her chest to slow down the rapid pace of her heart. She knows exactly what happened at number 25. Her patient’s body had grown rigid fifteen minutes after he’d ingested the strychnine that had been mixed into the vial of morphine, which she will later replace with the untampered bottle in her pocket. His muscles had spasmed and he’d become hyperaware as the poison invaded his nervous system and his already damaged kidneys began to fail. His eyes had protruded and grown bloodshot as he began to convulse. His pale and fragile skin had turned blue as his blood stopped feeding oxygen to his skin. Death was not quick. Sian checks her watch: 8.23 p.m.. She could have been at his side ten minutes before the poison took hold of his body but that would mean she would have had to perform her duty; to save him. Sian Fox-Carnell was not that sort of angel.
The Chronicle
18 June 2014
Annabeth Lawson
Nurse charged with murder
A district nurse has appeared at Tower Bridge Magistrates’ Court charged with the murder of two patients who were under her care.
Sian Fox-Carnell, thirty-five, from Willesden Green has also been charged with two counts of attempted murder. All offences are said to have taken place over the course of six months.
The Homicide and Murder Enquiry Team South began an investigation into Sian Fox-Carnell after the death of television presenter, Leonard Calgary, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer three years ago, and retired charity worker Adesina Onyeka. Fox-Carnell was charged with the attempted murders of primary school headteacher Tabitha Gladstone and nineteen-year-old psychology student Jorge Menjivar following a report of suspected poisoning.
Fox-Carnell, who was dressed in a grey police-station-issued tracksuit, appeared in the dock before District Judge Kalyani and spoke only to confirm her name, date of birth and address. Fox-Carnell was not asked to enter any pleas to the four charges against her. Several members of the victims’ families were removed from the public gallery in Court One after they ignored the judge’s directions to remain silent and screamed obscenities at Fox-Carnell.
Marcus Valder, prosecuting, told the court that the CPS had authorised a further charge of arson with intent to endanger life.
The judge remanded Ms Fox-Carnell in custody to appear at the Central Criminal Court on 19 June 2014.
Fox-Carnell had been working at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital since graduating in 2003 and became a district nurse in 2010. Jorge Menjivar who attended court with his parents said he was ‘lucky to survive’ and described Fox-Carnell as ‘more evil than the cancer that was once in my body’.
The Chronicle
13 October 2021
Annabeth Lawson
Court of Appeal overturns Sian Fox-Carnell’s murder convictions
A former nurse found guilty of two counts of murder and the attempted murder of two other patients under her care by overdosing them with prescribed medication and the poison strychnine has had her convictions overturned.
Sian Fox-Carnell will now face a retrial after judges ruled new evidence had emerged that was not heard in the first trial and that the original forensic evidence could not be relied upon.
Since the closure of the Forensic Science Services in 2012, forensic work has been contracted to the private sector. LFJ Forensic Services was used by many units within the Metropolitan Police. Toxicology reports in the Fox-Carnell investigation were prepared by Dr Ian Fry who oversaw the criminal division of LFJ Forensic Services from 2007-2019.
Earlier this year Dr Fry, who had previously worked for the FSS, was charged with misconduct in a public office and fraud after an investigation into the falsification of forensic reports. It’s also alleged Dr Fry falsified records and accepted bribes in a case that led to the wrongful conviction of the late Andrew Streeter, twenty-five years ago. Dr Ian Fry will stand trial at Southwark Crown Court early next year.
Fox-Carnell, now aged forty-two, was found guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder at the Central Criminal Court in April 2015. She was sentenced to four separate life sentences with a twenty-three-year tariff. She had served six years of her sentence.
Fox-Carnell broke down in tears and collapsed at court when Lady Justice Carr delivered the judgement.
The new Director of Public Prosecutions, Dame Stella Gibbons, issued a statement outside of court that the CPS will be seeking a retrial and that Her Majesty’s Court Service had assured her that the trial date will be expedited.
Ms Martin, Fox-Carnell’s solicitor, said they were delighted that the convictions were quashed and that they were looking forward to the retrial which would successfully absolve Fox-Carnell. ‘Ms Fox-Carnell was and remains a woman of good character and she should be able to prepare for her trial without any restrictions on her liberty. We will be applying for bail in due course,’ her statement added.
1
There was a cheer from most of the Serial Crimes Unit as Anjelica Henley pressed through the crowd and approached the reserved table in the pub garden. A few days ago, she’d been on a beach in Grenada with her family and avoiding text messages from her boss and her ex, Stephen Pellacia. Now she was back in London, exhausted and trying to understand why the serial killer, Sian Fox-Carnell, was a leading news item.
‘You finally decided to grace us with your presence,’ said DS Paul Stanford, standing up and giving mock applause. ‘I thought you’d emigrated.’
‘I’m not here for you,’ Henley said as she handed Joanna, the office manager for the SCU, a blue gift bag and a bouquet of flowers.
‘I told you she would turn up.’ Joanna hugged Henley tightly. ‘Thank you, love.’
‘If it was anyone else, I would have stayed at home.’
‘You really know how to make someone feel wanted, don’t you,’ said Stanford, shuffling along the bench, making way for Henley.
‘Don’t start.’ Henley stifled a yawn as a wave of jetlag hit her.
‘It’s good to have you back boss,’ said DC Salim Ramouter. He held up his near-empty beer glass in salute.
‘Kiss arse,’ Joanna sniggered.
‘Because it’s your birthday, Jo, I’m not going to respond,’ said Ramouter.
‘Where’s Eastwood and Pellacia?’ Henley asked, scanning the crowd for her colleagues, as Joanna and Ramouter continued to banter. The unseasonably warm October weather meant the beer garden was filled to capacity with the post-work crowd, students and locals.
