The Whisper Man
Ratings183
Average rating3.9
I read this as a horror pick for October. It was well-written, though not particularly enjoyable to read because of the subject matter. It was more sad and disturbing to me than scary. I think if the author would’ve emphasized the whispering element more, which was probably the scariest element, it would’ve been a lot creepier. Still a good book though.
What a suspenseful mystery! I incorrectly accused every character (including a small child) of the crime! 4.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
A fantastic thriller with a nice side of family trauma. I finished the second half of the book in a day because I didn't want to stop reading. Definitely one of my favorite reads this year!
4.5This has a very slow start, but the payoff was EPIC. I love the characters and their relationships and some parts had me so close to tears.I had low hopes for this one coz I wasn't a huge fan of [b:The Shadows 60316938 The Shadows Alex North https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1650844320l/60316938.SY75.jpg 74223629] but this one was SOO good!! Def recommend:))
This one I had to skim through to get to the gist of the story. I actually enjoyed “The Shadows” a little better.
I read this because I read somewhere that it was the “scariest” thriller ever. It's not. It's a professional and well-executed novel about a child murderer. There are quasi-supernatural elements that I suppose make it slightly different, but it didn't grip me like the best thrillers do. Competent rather than exceptional.
This one had it all, the mystery, creepiness, suspense. GAHHH i loved it. Creeped me out a good amount of times. Definitely recommend during spooky season ;)
This was creepy, had very interesting elements and I couldn't put it down. Read it in one sitting!
Really enjoyed the writing, I definitely need to read more Alex North's books.
Thriller with wonderful character development and relationships. It's packed with tense and scary moments, and a touch of paranormal/supernatural spooky stuff. And that's just superficially.
Going deeper, the story explores themes of father and son relationships, handling grief, and questions of self-worth and how parents affect your sense of self worth. These concerns touch all the major characters throughout the book. These themes are very heavily hit though, right on the surface and are not left subtle for the reader to discover through deeper thoughts.
Some of the plot elements wrapped up in a too-perfect way, and were too easily resolved for my taste, especially considering the overall dark tone of the book.
This was probably hands down, the creepiest book I have read. Part of it is probably because the plot itself, about child abductions, is one that gives me the most goosebumps when I am reading about it. However, the other reason for the creepiness is because that's the atmosphere of this book and it was masterfully written and I loved it, at least right up until the very end. I was going to give it five stars but the ending wasn't as satisfying to me as I would have hoped. Overall, it was a great book and I read it in a few days because that's how addictive it really was. I am now a big Alex North fan and will be reading his other books, definitely.
This novel is about the famous crimes committed by the so called “Whisper Man” who has been in jail for a long time, and how all those years later, similar crimes start popping up and odd things start resurfacing again. I loved this plot because even though it completely creeped me out and I had anxiety just getting through it, that just goes to show how well thought out the plot really was. There wasn't a moment when I was bored and except for the last three chapters or so, I was completely addicted and fully satisfied. The ending fell flat for me because even though it seemed like an overall coherent ending, it failed to satisfy me in the way that I was hoping and it also felt somewhat rushed and even random at times. Apart from that, the premise of the story was top notch and I was hanging off the edge of my seat.
Secondly, the characterization in this book is absolutely great! I loved that the chapters kept changing to different characters' perspectives and it really helped me get into their head and even see into their soul. It was easy to relate to most of the characters because their flaws were not hidden from us and laid bare for us to see. However, even with the flaws, most of the characters still had redeeming qualities and they were striving to be better then they were before, as hard as that might have been given their backgrounds. Alex North definitely knows how to create a well rounded character and that characterization made putting the book down even harder.
Thirdly, the writing style was also great and I have no complaints whatsoever. There is absolutely nothing I would change when it comes to his writing style and even though we switched from character to character, it was super easy to follow along and not get confused as to which character you were reading about.The writing was precise and really painted a picture in my head as to what was happening at what moment. I was afraid that this book might lag for me but the plot along with the characterization and writing style really made that impossible.
In conclusion, I would recommend this book to all fans of thrillers, as I am. The atmosphere is absolutely immersive, the plot is beyond thrilling and the book is extraordinary in almost all aspects. Even with the ending not being my favorite in a thriller novel, I absolutely loved this book and inhaled it in a few sittings.
3.7s stars/5. This was a good book that was a little rushed at the end. The potential kidnapping of a kid and the author's tke on the process to wihich that kid is either 1. found dead, or 2. found, seemed very rushed. However, this beginning and middle sent chills down my spine and kept me up at night. A man coming to your house and whispering to you through your window in the middle of the night?? No, I'm real good, thanks. This was a really well done storyline that hit some bumps at the end because I feel like it just wasn't completely thought through. The climax was at 80% through the book and that 20% left was not enough pages to resolve the conflict and climax. I also feel like the rising to the climax had a lot more focus on things that did not so much matter to the plot than actual things that directly influenced the main plot.
3.5 out of 5.
An engaging thriller with a hint of the supernatural mixed in.
This is a multi-perspective thriller with a good balance between victim/s, killer and police POVs set in England with some internal themes around parenthood - specifically fatherhood - and the relationships between fathers and sons. The added reflection between the different father-son relationships in the book made for some extra content to think about in relation to the central story and characters as well as a couple of unseen twists along the way.
One part of the killer's identity was guessable but another aspect to it was hidden until late in the book and there were other reveals that I didn't see coming.
The prose was easy to read and still engaging and the main character was sympathetically written. There were some supernatural-ish elements that I can't add much more about without spoilers and some additional creep-factor moments that added to the suspense.
Worth a read and can be picked up fairly cheap (e.g. The Works, paperback, £2; Amazon Kindle ed, £2.99).
3.75 stars kudos for giving me the creeps late at night. However, It lost steam in the middle and the ending was pretty anticlimactic. I'm definitely going to read his next book, the shadows though.
I enjoyed this thriller. It had a little bit of creepiness (ymmv there depending on how much you like horror), and some decent characters. Though whole book was really about father/son relationships as we get to see a few different viewpoints on those type of relationships in the book. I enjoyed getting to read about the relationship between Jake and Tom and really understood Tom's anxiety's of wether or not he's a good parent. It was a good read and a page turner for me, I didn't want to put it down. However I'm not sure if it will have a lot of staying power in my mind since there wasn't anything surprising or wowing in the end. I suppose only time will tell.
Book #4 of 2020 – The whisper man by Alex North
2 out of 5 stars
The premise of the whisper man seems promising enough, a town that was plagued by a serial killer in the past dubbed “the whisper man” is now in prison, however when a new family moves into the town, suddenly the murders recommence. The victims are said to hear the whispers of the killer before he takes them, a concept, which sounds like it would add to the intriguing mystery of the story.
However every good idea that is mentioned in the summary feels underused when it comes to the actual book. The characters are flat, the plot moves slowly and the best ideas are skimmed over. There are twists and turns in the story but they generally didn't feel deserved and seem a little too convenient. It may also be worth noting, that if you are interested in the following the (fictional) crime case mentioned in the summary, it is isn't a large portion of the story.
I read the entire book in order to know the ending but now that a few weeks have passed, the story is becoming a fading memory. I have a vague idea of how it ended but it was somewhat of an anti-climax for me so I moved on rather quickly. However, this is not a terrible book, but it strikes me as a book that emerged from an interesting premise that the author wasn't able to execute in a satisfying manner.
Recensie van de audioboek (voor gelezen door Christopher Eccleston)
Ik vrees dat de audioboek verteller een beetje afbreuk heeft gedaan aan het verhaal. Alhoewel ik wel hou van Ecclestons stem, bij het voorlezen van dit boek blijft hij steeds monotoon dezelfde stem aanhouden, waardoor het vaak onduidelijk is welk personage aan het woord is. Hierdoor had ik nogal vaak het gevoel niet mee te zijn of zaken mis te lopen in het verhaal.
Dat terzijde steekt het verhaal bijzonder goed in elkaar en is het extreem spannend met net de juiste dosis griezeligheid.
Ding ding ding!! We have an unpopular opinion on its way. I was so disappointed with this book. Urgh! It had so much potential, but in the end it was your run of the mill police procedural / domestic thriller - with NO DECENT TWISTS.
I felt no connection to any of the characters - they felt flat and tropey (I don't think that's a word but whatevs).
The best part was the ‘I see dead people' little boy - but even that potential spooky twist fell flat.
This is what should have happened. SPOILER (but not really because it didn't happen). The Whisper Man had a son he hated. Pete spent 20 years looking for the final victim of The Whisper Man, a boy named Tony Smith, whose body was never found. A boy's body is found - they assume it's Tony. INSTEAD the boy in the floor was actually the son, and the WM kept Tony alive as his son and groomed him to become his successor. Too dark?
This was a great read. So much heartache and sadness throughout but also filled with the unconditional love of a parent and the desire to be better. I loved the way this was written, capturing the fear, grief and happiness. I also appreciated and liked the end.
[b:The Whisper Man 41940236 The Whisper Man Alex North https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541864083l/41940236.SY75.jpg 63202631]Do Not Read in Bed but Definitely Read it!Thank you to NetGalley for my digital arc of this standout novel. I have never read a book that has given me the creeps while I enjoy it as much as this has. The story has such a scare and spook factor Alex North is a genius with words. The story surrounds Tom and his son Jake. In the taleTom and his young son Jake, move into a sleepy village in search of a new start after the death of Tom's wife. But Tom moves into a place called Featherbank and he moves there because his son picked out a strange house from the internet. Featherbank has a dark past where, fifteen years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five young boys. The killer was finally caught and put behind bars. He is known locally as The Whisper Man. Shortly after Tom and Jake move in another boy goes missing and the whispers begin again. If you are thinking the original Whisper Man.... Frank Carter is the Whisper Man, incarcerated in prison, reveling in his notoriety and reputation, playing mind games with 56-year-old DI Pete Willis, the man who caught him. Despite the emotional cost, Pete has persevered through the years, visiting Carter in prison, in the hope of a clue to where the body of a victim, young Tony Smith, can be recovered so his grieving parents can at least achieve a small measure of peace. I loved that Tom is a struggling writer in this novel and that the fractured relationship with his seven-year-old son makes this even creeper. Tom's wife Rebecca was the one that was close to Jake and while trying to navigate a new life in a new town just adds to the story. While Alex North's Goodreads page states that this is his debut novel his writing style will make fans quickly. Alex North's writing is addictive, hooking the reader immediately, with its themes of fathers and their challenging relationships with their sons, grief, and loss, amidst a background of a child killer running rampant in the town it is a perfect read. There are twists and turns and well-written characters that make this easily a one day read. Five Whispery Stars! I cannot wait to see what his 2020 project is going to be like.
This book just took me all the way out. ALL. THE. WAY OUT.
So many things to unfold that I can't because I don't like spoilers but just know that internally I'm yelling. That ending. THAT ENDING.
For me, what this book does best, is get in your head. Holy shit, does it get in your head. It doesn't scream the scares you... It whispers them ( ha! ) and that's worse then a big old BOO!
HUGE thank you to Celadon Books for this ARC. Easily my most favorite ARC so far.
I'll be checking on my kids more than usual tonight LoL.