The Whisper Man: A Novel

I thought it was suspenseful from the get-go and made me feel like I was playing the role of the abductor for a moment. My sub-conscience asking myself "Why are you lurking around this innocent little kid, you creeper?!" But at the same time I was hopeful that the situation wasn't as grave as it appeared; that the abductor was rescuing the boy from a worse fate. *naiveThe writing is done as though it were a screenplay, especially when it comes to transitioning from one chapter to the next. It keeps the pace of the reading going with a smooth and clever transition style; each chapter ending in an episodic way either not giving you enough of the answer you were looking for, forcing you to continue or ending in such a chilling manner that you have to continue to be able to go about your day! Ahhh... so basically it's a quick read!It starts out a little creepy, then gets scary, then terrifying!!!The father-son duo is so sweet and grows stronger throughout the read. Both Tom and Jake, being so much alike, assume that the other doesn't care for them as much as they'd hope. That the other is not giving them what they need nor communicating in a way that they can understand. Both eventually having to learn the hard way (the impossibly intense end-of-the-world hard way) that they really do love and truly feel the love from one another.I cannot fathom the hurt of losing a young child, especially in such a horrific manner and this book had me rethinking my plans of procreation all together. I also think that it would be extremely creepy to read this as a parent - - steer clear padres. It's about young boys being carefully selected then abducted by a strange man whispering to them in the night through their bedroom windows and luring them outside; hence the name The Whisper Man.I tend to do most of my reading at night and circumstances had it that I spent most of this book's reading solo. *Perfect timing, Universe! I love my scary stories but oh my God this one had me reeling. I literally caught myself hallucinating in the pitch black before I fell asleep at night and realized in the morning that I had tiny black book residue on my fingertips most likely from excessively gripping the cover so as to not be sucked in fully.Kudos to Alex North who managed to create a gripping, perfectly paced, twisted story with incredibly beautiful and complicated characters. The names Featherbank and Carter will forever haunt me and my heart will most likely sink to my gut the next time someone whispers my name... yeesh! Equally, I fear that I may never see butterflies in the same light hereafter. Not necessarily in a worse light (with the exception of corpse moths) but in a different light with a new depth and appreciation. The appreciation stemming from the complete metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly; a process similarly found in the slow but dramatic development of the main characters lives and personas. They all grow through the hurt and emerge from their cocoons as their true selves.

I really enjoyed this book. The writing was great and really easy for me to keep up with. I loved the main characters. There are some sad parts and even some spots that kinda creeped me out. But the story was so good. I would definitely recommend this book and read this author again

Loved this book! If you want something spooky, thrilling, and unsettling, this is it!Just always remember to close your door.'If you leave a door half open, you'll hear the whisper spoken. If you play outside alone soon, you won 't be going home. If your Windows left unlatched, you'll hear him tapping at the glass. If you're lonely, sad, and blue, the whisper man will come for you.

Spoiler Free. The Whisper Man would qualify as a either a thriller, a mystery/procedural or a family drama but is perhaps a strong example of none of these. It never quite made up its mind as to what it wanted to be. The overall story seems to be about a young boy that has gone missing in a small town, which has an eerie similarity to a series of crimes committed by a serial killer 20 years prior which left several young boys murdered and another missing young boy never found.The mystery part of the novel is procedural and told from a third-person perspective of (mainly) two detectives – Pete Willis and Amanda Beck – who are working the case of the missing boy in the current day story. Pete was the detective who worked the similar case 20 years prior and has been brought in to assist based on the similarities of the cases. Are the cases connected? Is it a copycat? The new case brings out a resurgence of interest in the prior case, especially to unresolved questions. What happened to the boy that was never found? Was there, perhaps, an accomplice? Can they find the young boy in time to save him?The thriller/family drama part is from the first-person perspective of Tom Kennedy, a man who has recently lost his wife, and his strange experiences in a new house he has moved into with his young, eccentric son Jake. They are attempting a fresh, new start in a completely random town and place they find in real estate listings – unlucky for them, they move into the town where this boy has gone missing and end up involved in the case. From Tom’s POV, you get strange events in the night, creepy visitors, and an overall feeling of paranoia as he attempts to figure out what's happening in his new home and, of course, with his young son. Tom and Jake’s role in the overall story is somewhat confusing and highly coincidental. How they relate to the town and the case in question is bizarre at most. The coincidences cannot be revealed without giving spoilers, but I eye-rolled my way through revelation after revelation. Their story (and even how they relate to the town) is a highly emotional account of a man and his son coping with their broken family. Some of the strongest, most beautifully written scenes in the book includes all the family drama and that’s not just limited to Tom and Jake. I saw strong promise here in the writing style. However, these are almost some of the most confusing parts as there is much hinted at that is never resolved - these parts slip into a paranormal (?) realm that is mostly ignored in the overall plot.Overall, there are way too many perspectives happening that brought this one down for me. Besides Tom and Pete, you also get random other perspectives thrown in that are only a couple of pages long and more distracting than helpful. Switching from first (Tom) to third person (Pete and everyone else) is highly problematic and hard to pull off. In this case, the book suffered from it. Scenes that should have been suspenseful (mostly from Tom’s POV) simply weren’t. The various genres and POVs within a single novel seemed to fight against each other rather than meld together. I didn’t find the book creepy save for a few scenes. I could see the plot unfolding from a mile away and was disappointed with a lack of surprises. As the ending unrolled, more eye-rolling from this one as the most obvious course happened and the coincidences continued.On the positive side, the author has a talent with words and I could see the promise of a really good novel in this one. It’s almost two books in one (the serial killer and procedural vs. the story of Tom and Jake) and I wish he had picked one and let it shine as center stage. The same story could have been told either way. I also did read it in one sitting as I would call it a page turner. The premise was good in theory (though the more I thought about the whispering, the weirder the concept became in reality). I might recommend this one as the format seems to have worked with a lot of people who rated this pretty high and there are many brilliantly written pages. For me, it came in just about average.

A thriller with a bit of the « supernatural », but then it all makes sense in the end. It also examines the complex relationship between fathers and sons. Quite good.

Excelente livro.

I have been reading crime and horror books for many many years now, and this was like nothing I’ve ever read before. The story was compelling, dark, creepy in parts and had a real sadness at the depths of it. Alex North’s writing draws you in immediately and you go on such a journey with these characters. I absolutely loved it!

Ich habe zuerst The Shadows gelesen und war da schon begeistert. The Whisper Man war nicht weniger mitreißend. Seit dem bin ich Fan.

“The butterflies didn’t have a choice, after all. That’s what things do. Even in the toughest of circumstances, they keep living.”― Alex North, The Whisper ManRatings: ❤❤❤❤.5/5Who doesn't like a nice spooky thriller that gives you a creepy vibe all along the read, and some chills while on the journey? I know I do!!!This book revolves around Tom Kennedy who wants a fresh start for himself and his son Jake to cope with his wife's sudden death. They move into a new house in a small English town called Featherbank. Little do they know that the town which looks like the nice place to be at is hiding its own dirty scary secrets.20 years ago, "The Whisper Man", had abducted and killed several young children. Now in present times, history is repeating itself, except- "The Whisper Man" was caught 20 yrs ago and is now serving his time in prison.The mystery starts to unravel when Jake starts acting strangely and claims he heard whispers at his window.There is no denying that this book reminds me of "The Shining" at certain instances, but it was an entertaining read. It was spooky just as much - I mean to think of a 7yo boy casually saying - "The boy in the floor told me things!!!" --- eeppp scary! (This is exactly what Alex Norths' son just casually said one day😅... I just idk what to say about that....Also, came across this on Goodreads!!)Even so, it is not a continuous horror show, it portrays the father-son bond across different generations and some super interesting police proceedings.The story is told via multiple POVs, again not usually a Multiple POV fan, yet I bloody loved it here!! The pace, the narrative collectively makes this a great one sit read! (Cause that's exactly what I did 🤷🏻‍♀️)I hope you guys read this and love it as much as I did...and be equally spooked...!!Happy Reading 💕!!!