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 tale
Tom 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.
