PINTEREST
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GOODREADS
Hunting Shadows is a gripping true crime memoir by Jane Hamilton, one of Scotland’s most experienced and well-known crime journalists.
The book chronicles her decades-long career reporting on some of the country’s most harrowing and high-profile criminal cases – with a central focus on the chilling investigation into serial killer Peter Tobin.
Following Tobin’s arrest, she was one of the first journalists to question whether his crimes were more extensive than publicly known. Her reporting uncovered early warning signs and disturbing patterns that would later help prompt Operation Anagram – the nationwide police operation that sought to uncover the full extent of Tobin’s crimes.
She gained unprecedented access to Tobin’s personal world through exclusive interviews with his estranged wife and son – interviews no other journalist secured. Their revelations offered rare insight into Tobin’s double life and helped reveal how a serial killer hid in plain sight.
Hunting Shadows takes readers behind the scenes of major investigations, crime scenes, courtrooms, and newsrooms. It offers a rare inside look at the world of crime journalism, the pressures of reporting under scrutiny, and the responsibility of telling the stories of victims and survivors with truth and integrity.
MY THOUGHTS
My thanks to Anne of Random Things Tours for the invite and to the publisher for the paperback to review. Hunting Shadows is published by Mirror Books (26 February 2026) and available in ebook, audiobook and paperback formats, with a page count of 303.
Although I have an interest in true crime, Peter Tobin’s name wasn’t one I instantly recognised. Two of his three known victims, all young girls, were from Scotland (Vicky Hamilton), Angelika Kluk (who was Polish but returned to Scotland each summer) with one being from Essex (Dinah McNicol). He is the perfect example of a killer hiding in plain sight. A chameleon who adapted to his surroundings, who blended into the community, often having a religious bias, constantly changing his name and leaving town suddenly owing money to unsuspecting people – not to mention the devastated lives left behind him.
“He thought he could hide behind God, but the truth found him in the end”
Jane Hamilton has written this book with a forensic eye for detail. The writing is extremely readable – no gratuitous detail, just information shared with a human touch. I felt that Jane actually cared and that of course whilst getting ahead with a story was important for her career, her integrity came into play too. Her compassion for the victims, their families and Tobin’s ex wives who also suffered at his hands shines clearly through the pages.
Tobin was allowed to get away with his crimes, partly because of his own manipulation of people and knowing how to play the system but also because of failures of the policing system at the time. With police forces across the country not generally sharing information and with no centralised system, this was a gift to killers like him.
It wasn’t until Operation Anagram was in force (Holmes 2) that killers like Tobin had their movements tracked. The police were sure that there were other victims and so every piece of information from various forces about Tobin over the years were logged to a central database. Details and locations of missing women were included, details double checked. The families of the victims were to finally have answers.
Although Tobin is the focus of the book, the author refers to the murders of other victims, some of which remain unsolved – this highlighted that some families will never have the answers or justice they deserve.
A difficult subject but written with empathy showing respect to the victims and their families. For anyone interested in true crime, a recommended read.
Jane Hamilton is a former tabloid reporter who worked for most of Scotland’s national newspapers both as a freelance and staff during an award-winning 25 year career. Best known for her investigations into serial killers Peter Tobin and Bible John, Hamilton was a regular nominee for the Scottish Press Awards for dozens of hard-hitting national exclusives.
Hamilton successfully helped to change Scottish Government policy for multiple post mortems on victims by highlighting the tragic story of Shaun Woodburn who was attacked after a night out in Edinburgh 2016. Hamilton and Shaun’s father, Kevin, also successfully lobbied and won the creation of a Victim’s Commissioner for Scotland over a five year campaign Justice for Shaun.
She is also a respected commentator for radio and television and has appeared in many true crime documentaries.
Tell Me A Story is her ‘accidental’ short story debut. Her first novel will be released in late 2024.
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