I love a good crime novel and this suspenseful novel by Alex North did not disappoint, The characters are well developed, and I love the complexities in the relationship between father and son. I am a huge fan of Stephen King and I thought to myself, on more than one occasion while reading The Whisper Man that this definitely contains features I often find in King's novels. I don't think you will be disappointed in reading this and I look forward to his future books!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The Whisper Man is a hybrid of mystery, suspense, thriller and supernatural. Tom Kennedy’s wife died about a year ago, and he and his young son, Jake, move to a new house in a new town for a new beginning. Unfortunately, they picked the town where a serial killer, The Whisper Man, preyed on young boys. While The Whisper Man has been in prison for the last 20 years, another little boy has disappeared. Add to that, they bought the so-called Scary House and now Jake hears someone whispering to him in the night. Is there an accomplice?

The story is definitely character-driven. Narration switches between Tom, Jake, the police, the suspects, the killer. The writing is solid and doesn’t rely on graphic violence. It is much more subtle, letting your imagination give you the creeps. The characters are well-developed, real-life people. Jake is a loner with just one friend, an imaginary girl. But how does an imaginary girl know the things she knows?

What I didn’t seem to care much for is that there is a lot of redundancy. Tom doubts his fatherly skills, repeatedly, and the policeman from the original case is haunted by the fact that they were never able to find the remains of one boy. He is a recovering alcoholic constantly battling his urge to drink again.

While this was a very creepy tale with some chilling scenes, I’m not sure I agree with all the 5-star reviews I’ve seen. It plodded along at times and, quite honestly, there was never an edge of my seat moment. There are a few plot twists, but you could almost see them coming. It was a good story and well-written, but I just don’t get all the hype. I do see this being a movie.

"If you leave a door half open, soon you'll hear the whispers spoken.
If you play outside alone, soon you won't be going home.
If your window’s left unlatched, you'll hear him tapping at the glass.
If you're lonely, sad, and blue, the Whisper Man will come for you."

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Hard to review. While it was ok it just wasnt enough. Felt flat. Considered DNF, but persevered.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this opportunity.

This was such an addictive page-turner. I could not stop reading and stayed up two nights in a row until I literally dropped my e-reader on my face and had to call it for the night. The short chapters made it so easy to just read one more, which then would turn into 10 more. I had a real need to find out what would happen next and, especially near the end, it was impossible to put down.

The suspense was made all the more intense by a serious level of creepiness. Serial killers don’t usually scare me, and this is a serial killer story, but there were a few things that seemed to possibly be supernatural that were seriously spine-chilling. I love horror and I don’t scare easily but this had a few parts that gave me the shivers. Unnaturally deep voices coming from children is a typical horror element that is right up there among things I never want to experience.

I enjoyed the perspective switching between that of the father and his precocious son and that of the police searching for the missing boy. With this type of switch in other books I have often wished for one to be over quickly so I could get back to the more exciting and interesting characters, but in this case both were equally compelling. I was surprised by some of the ways that these two perspectives tied together and one connection in particular was a real shocker.

This book kept me glued to the pages and invested the entire story. I was never bored or wishing that the story would hurry up and get to the good parts because it was all good parts. The high level of spookiness made this one extra special because I do love to be scared and it doesn’t happen very often. Suspense with a side of horror is just how I like it!

Thank you to Celadon Books for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

Very Creepy, but creepy good. I enjoyed this book Alex North did a great job.

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy for an honest review.

My Five-Star Review:

I’m a huge fan of the thriller genre, and the description of this book really made it stand out. I couldn’t wait to read it, and it lived up to my expectations.

This multiple-POV novel gives us a look into the minds of cop and killer, victim and family. The crime of today is oddly similar to a serial killing spree twenty years earlier by the Whisper Man. The psychological games between him and the detective who brought him to justice are just the beginning of this deliciously twisted tale. The way the author takes seemingly discrete characters and events and ties them together is clever and makes for a compelling read.

The characters are well developed, pace is well balanced. In addition to the crime elements, there are several interpersonal relationships and family dynamics that are brilliantly explored and got me right in the heart. This is so much more than a game of cat-and-mouse. I couldn’t put it down; read the book in one sitting.

Thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and the author for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

Such an interesting thriller, that actually had me scared and kept me awake some nights. It was just the right balance of spooky and great characters. You want the characters to prevail and you want the story to be told. It is well paced and well balanced. Definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys mystery thrillers.

“If you leave a door half open, soon you’ll hear whispers spoken.” I dropped everything to start this mystery & I’m so glad I did. It’s a police procedural thriller that borders on horror & is definitely the most frightening story I’ve read in recent memory without all the gore that despise. The characters and plot are captivating and I highly recommend it! Definitely one of my 2019 favorites!

Quite a creepy mystery! Multiple points of view help propel the story. A widower and his young son move to a new town and a new house for a fresh start, but the little boy has many problems and an imaginary friend who warns him about the Whisper Man. An older cop solved a case 20 years ago when the Whisper Man kidnapped and killed children, but the cop was unable to locate the body of the final victim. Now, a young boy has disappeared, and the police wonder if the imprisoned Whisper Man had an unknown accomplice 20 years ago. The characters are deeply drawn, especially the older cop and the widowed dad. The writing is descriptive and fast-moving, the plot riveting and suspenseful. Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley for providing a preprint copy.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
The Whisper Man stories are mumbled among the town’s children; the dark tales of a man who comes to visit children in the night, whispers to them and then returns to kidnap them from their beds. Twenty years ago, five children from the town of Featherbank disappeared and it wasn’t until Frank Carter was captured, that the town finally slept soundly. Now, Tom and his son Jake have come to Featherbank to start a new life after the death of Tom’s wife, Rebecca. When another young boy disappears, the town is once again up in arms, and the police begin to investigate it as a copcycat crime by one of Frank Carter’s fans. Then Jake starts hearing whispering at his window……
“The Whisper Man” by Alex North is a high intensity, pulse pounding, eerie crime fiction novel. Full of mystery, it has just the right amount of “double lock your windows at night” creepiness.
There are so many twists in this novel, I don’t even know where to begin. Some are predictable but most are not, and they indeed leave you guessing. The plethora of twists makes this novel slightly more unbelievable and unrealistic than you would expect, but it only adds to the intrigue of the plot.
Jake is a quiet, sensitive kid who is prone to imaginary friends and a very creative artist. Tom struggles to raise him as a single father, and the relationship between these two is heartwarming and utterly charming. Pete is the police detective who was previously on the Frank Carter case, and is still troubled by the body of the young boy who was never found. The characters are charming and honest, and most are likable regardless of their faults.
Getting to learn about Frank Carter (and to avoid spoilers, the ‘copycat’ of Frank Carter) was what fascinated me the most. His motives, the way he interacted with others, it all drew me even farther into the creepy plot. There can never be enough serial killer pathology in a novel for my liking. I always want more.
A novel with whisperings (pun intended) of Dennis Lehane and even Stephen King, North tells a creative and haunting tale that will make you think twice about the supposedly innocuous comments made by your children, and will definitely have you double checking the doors and windows.

Solidly written, and I liked that the chapters were short, given that they were told from 5 different points of view. However, I thought the choice to have one POV first person and the rest third person was an odd one, though it made sense after the hidden epilogue.

I did feel that the first 2/3 dragged quite a bit. It was very hard to get through and I considered abandoning the book multiple times. In the end though, I’m glad I finished, even if the ending did end up feeling a bit rushed.

Excellent writing!
This is a spine-chilling tale, with elements bordering on the macabre and a plot so twisted and intense that will have you glued to it till the very end.
The author makes the story come together in a brilliant manner.
Definitely recommend it.

I will rate The Whisper Man by Alex North 5/5 stars and then some. Whoa! If there was one word to describe this book, that would be it. I cannot express enough how riveting this mystery of a story was. I was hooked from the very first page. I read this book within 24 hours only stopping for sleep and to go to work. This was a fascinating, although somewhat creepy, book. The details of the murders of 5 young boys twenty years past was chilling and the idea that someone out there was creating a "copycat" of the murders twenty years later was haunting. This book kept me guessing who the copycat "Whisper Man" could be all throughout the story. Pay attention to the clues that the author drops along the way... One clue especially... Butterflies.

What I enjoyed about this book:
The characters were all well thought out and very believable. The storyline itself is one that will draw you into itself and keep you there until the very last sentence on the last page.
I enjoyed the overall sense of mystery displayed within the chapters of this book and how the author was able to weave this story together and show how the characters were all so intimately connected. Usually, I am able to decipher an author's tricks as to who committed such heinous crimes in stories, but the way this author writes, I was thrown off of the current "Whisper Man" several times. My suspicions at one point were proven to be true with the intricate clues that the author drops throughout the chapters and I was highly pleased as to how this story played out.
I enjoyed that the story was told through so many different character voices. The author wrote this story so well that I did not become confused as to who was speaking in each new chapter. This is a difficult task for some authors to pull off, but this author did not miss a beat. Telling this story through the eyes of seven-year-old Jake, a confused, grieving and somewhat different from other children, brought life to this story. I enjoyed reading how Jake was feeling about living with his father, Tom, after his mother's, Rebecca, death. It was interesting to see his "imaginary friend", a young girl near his age with wind swept hair, a red scar on her knee who wore a white and blue dress, through his eyes and then how the world around him viewed her. I enjoyed finding out exactly who this little girl was towards the end of the story. I was under the impression that she was a friendly ghost, at first, but in reality, she was a ghost, a ghost of times long past.
I enjoyed the detailed description of how alcoholism can make a person lose everything that they once held near and dear to them. This was vividly and accurately told through the eyes of DI Pete Willis.
The author shocked me when they revealed who the current "Whisper Man" was. Wow... That's all I can say about that. Just wow. I would have never suspected this person and didn't when I first started reading this book.
This book had it all... Mental illness, weird obsessions, odd collections/fetishes, family drama, grief, murder, isolation... It was jam packed with so many emotional scenes. I could actually feel my heart thudding with fear when certain characters were afraid.

What I didn't enjoy about this book:
I have nothing to write about not liking this book. It was simply superb.

Trigger warning:
If you cannot read about murders involving young children, this book is not for you.
If you cannot read about child abductions, this book is not for you.
If you cannot read about alcoholism and domestic violence within family units, this book is not for you.

Thank you #NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read this book in the exchange of an honest review.

#Netgalley gave me a copy!! This book was so creepy good!!!! Murder,mystery and some ghosts all in one!! I really got into this book quickly. Great characters and a really great story! #thewhisperman

If you leave a door half open, soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken.” Oooo this book was a delightfully chilling treat; a slow burn with suspense that kept me engaged throughout. The writing was impeccable and everything I look for in a mystery. The hints for the twists and turns were subtle and I loved trying to piece things together as I read. Although it deals with child abduction and serial murders the reader is spared the gruesome details. Even if you do not enjoy horror stories, any lover of mystery will find this book to be thrilling. A common thread that the story examines is the underlying implications of childhood trauma and how our adolescent experiences impact us into adulthood. If you are interested in a police/detective thriller with supernatural elements then run and grab yourself a copy when it is published August 8th. Huge thanks to @netgalley, Celadon Books, and author Alex North for providing this ARC to review.

I will leave a review on Amazon Aug 20, 2019

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my fair and honest review.

This was the debut novel by Alex North, I found it to be very well written. Suspense/thrillers are one of my favorite genres, and this one was certainly a page turner. The title of the book was creepy in itself, then add in the rhyme which made it doubly so. This book kept me turning the pages, and I enjoyed the backstory. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

The Whisper Man. The name says it all. This book would have given me nightmares when I was younger. This book has psychological suspense that builds up and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The characters were creative and some just plain evil. A brilliant start for this author.

What an incredible story! I was hooked from the start. A story about a serial killer who kidnaps and then kills children, this book is terrifying and yet exciting at the same time.
Being a fan of horror and suspense, this book reminds me of something Stephen King would write. The plot line of a child killer, coupled with a creepy rhyme of the Whisper Man, is reminiscent of Freddy Kreuger, the Candyman, or Bloody Mary.
The story has multiple layers. It centers on the child killing but also involves a cop who is trying to redeem himself, a man who is trying to relate to his son, and a boy who is trying to find his place in the world. All of these layers combine to make this story so much more than just a horror story.
Definitely pick up this book today.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.

This book is seriously riveting. Down right unputdownable. This author managed to keep me on the edge of my seat. I cannot wait for everybody to read this book. Just pick it up, trust me and read it. You will thank me later

Nursery rhymes by design can be extremely frightening. When you factor children in the mix of reciting old passages and rhymes of yesteryear, you gain a whole multitude of strange occurrences. Children had gone missing. A parents’ worse nightmare. It’s one thing to have one child go missing, but to have cold cases of children missing from over twenty years ago, and dare I say it, we’ve got a rather interesting story.

Tom Kennedy was a novelist struggling to write his next novel due to the grief he was suffering of his wife’s passing. It didn’t help matters that he was now charged with raising their son, Jake. Tom didn’t think he could do it alone because Rebecca always understood their son better than he ever did. How was he supposed to react to his son’s needs? What words was he to say when his son cried for his deceased mother? Would Jake listen to his father when he tried to give advice? These were all the troubles and woes Tom often thought about, so having his agent give him a deadline as to when his manuscript was due, was going to have to wait and be placed further on the back burner.

Tom and Jake needed a fresh start, so they began their search of new homes. Surprisingly, Jake found a house online that he loved right away. Tom wasn’t sure why his son picked this house because by all accounts, it looked extremely uninviting and a bit scary. As Tom learned after purchasing the home that the neighborhood kids said it was a scary house and no one wanted to go near it. Even though Tom wasn’t too excited about the new place, it was what his son wanted and he would stop at nothing to make sure his son had the best and was happy.

A new start was supposed to be fresh and old habits are hard to break. Jake began talking to himself, again. Tom was beside himself. He thought once they moved, Jake would stop speaking to his “imaginary” friend. But the ongoing conversations Jake was having with his “friend” appeared to get worse. And it certainly didn’t help when Jake went to his new school and the kids observed him “talking” to the air. Oh No, Tom thought. Not this again. If Tom thought that was nuts, he really was going to lose it when he discovered his son knew things that he shouldn’t be able to know. For instance, he mentioned to his father that he was talking to the “boy in the floor.” Say what now?

And this is where the story gets crazier. From what I’ve been reading online, this story is receiving rave reviews and called exciting and one of the best psychological thrillers to come around since Thomas Harris and Stephen King, and I have to respectfully disagree with that entirely. For me, this story was slow and extremely boring and I didn’t find it heating up until about 80% of the story. What I just described to you above comes near the end of the book, not at the beginning or the middle.

In fact, I found myself skipping over the unnecessary parts of the story of Tom’s father’s past dealings with the child murderer, Francis Carter, and his drinking problems. It appeared to have been repeated several times throughout the story. It would seem that once you’ve established the background of the character’s lives and how they relate and intersect with other characters, there wouldn’t be a need to continually bring those facts up? But here we are reading the same sections over and over, and I didn’t find anything exciting about that.
Actually, Nerds, I’m a bit on the fence with this. I struggled with whether to give this story three or four stars. Eventually, I settled on four because North is an exceptional writer. He demonstrated this well, but therein lie part of my problem. He was too good of a writer where he appeared to write things over and over and I didn’t feel it was needed. That’s a personal preference of mine, but other readers may not agree with me. Obviously so, since so many reviews I’ve read gave this story five stars. I don’t feel it warranted that in my opinion.

Was this a bad read? Absolutely not. In fact, it was a damn good one—I just felt there were too many things repeated for my tastes and that caused me to lose some interest. Again, that’s a personal thing with the way I like to read, but that may not be every reader’s view. Overall, I felt this story was pretty good and it really grabbed my attention near the end. The ending was shear brilliance.

The Sexy Nerd gives The Whisper Man four quiet stars. In my honest opinion, I didn’t feel this book was that exciting to the point it was the best psychological thriller I’ve ever read, but it was good enough to keep me tapping the Kindle pages. And at the end of the day, that’s all anyone can ask for. This would be a great summer vacation read!