What a well written book...Alex North leaves a trail of breadcrumbs that has you following a story that has so many angles...The relationships between fathers and sons...how children are treated that carries over into adulthood...when children are ignored and predators pounce...The character of Jake is so well portrayed...The Whisper Man is scary good...

My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC..looking forward to more great books from this author.

My husband will be the first to tell you that I can be difficult to surprise when it comes to plot twists. I think it's because I've been involved in theater for most of my life and I'm ALWAYS looking for the plot twist. Alex North intrigues me. It's as though he anticipates that some readers will get the connections between seemingly disconnected characters and then throws in some extra surprises that you weren't looking for because you thought had all the surprises figured out!

Writer Tom Kennedy, in an effort to deal with his grief over his wife's death, buys a new house in the hope that he and his son Jake can begin to heal and find some new sense of "normal". Tom is especially worried because Jake's imagination seems to be running away with him; the boy can occasionally be heard whispering to a little girl who just isn't there.

Detective Inspector Pete Willis, fighting demons from his own past, is pulled in to help fellow DI Amanda Beck on a missing child case. When the boy's body is found, the circumstances surrounding his death and disappearance are eerily similar to five cases from twenty years earlier. The only problem is Willis already arrested Frank Carter for those crimes. Carter confessed and is already doing time for those murders even though the body of the fifth boy was never found. The press had dubbed Carter "The Whisper Man" due to the fact that each boy, in the days before he was abducted, reported a man whispering to him from outside his bedroom window. The mother of the most recent victim tells a similar story to DI Willis. This new case rekindles the speculation that Carter might not have been working alone all those years ago. Is this his accomplice striking again after a 20-year hiatus? Or has a copycat somehow gotten ahold of crime scene details that were never made public?

Unbeknownst to Tom, he and Jake have just moved into a house that is at the center of "The Whisper Man" case and it isn't long before Tom realizes that his desire for a place to start over may have placed his own son right in the killer's sights.

When an author tries to tell a story from two seemingly disparate viewpoints, there is a danger that he or she will wait too long to bring the two pieces together, making the story almost annoying to read. Then again, bringing them together too soon could leave characters underdeveloped and might give all the surprises away too early in the book. North seems to have struck the perfect balance in this novel. I was genuinely invested in both parts of the story and felt that they merged rather effortlessly at just the right time. I was fully invested in both Tom's grief and Pete's daily struggle not to fall back into destructive behaviors from his past. And where some authors would have been tempted to add a subplot by having the two Detectives struggle for control of the case, North wisely does just the opposite. Beck and Willis are colleagues who respect one another and find a working rhythm rather quickly. When Beck learns about a critical piece of personal information that Willis has kept hidden, she simply makes a note of it and moves on, realizing that he must have had his reasons.

In the story, Jake seems to occasionally have visions or talk to people that no one else can see. There are hints of similar experiences in Tom's past as well. It would have been nice to see the author spend a bit more time with this connection between father and son. Jake's strange comments, unusual pictures, and conversations with imaginary friends are the reason Tom moves the pair to a new house. He believes that these behaviors are a part of Jake's grief. But Tom himself had imaginary friends that gave very real hugs and remembers seeing things that he couldn't possibly have seen. But frankly, the lack of development in this small piece really doesn't detract from the overall impact of the story. North has a hit on his hands with this one.

Wow! I was blown away by The Whisper Man! I was sucked in and so engrossed in this book, I was unaware of my surroundings! I love a great thriller and Alex North provided me with a fantastic one! It was brilliant, suspenseful, dark.... all of the things that make up a great thriller. I loved it.

**I generously received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review**

As soon as I read the publisher’s blurb for Alex North’s novel, The Whisper Man, I was hoping I would be granted my request for an ARC. The premise of the novel immediately captured my attention.

20 years ago, a detective named Pete Willis oversaw a case involving a serial killer who targeted very young boys. He was dubbed “The Whisper Man” because there were reports he would creep outside of his future victims’ houses at night and whisper things to them through their windows before ultimately kidnapping and murdering them. The Whisper Man was eventually captured, caught, and imprisoned for his crimes. However, he never revealed the location of the final missing victim, a fact that has continued to haunt Pete Willis all these years.

A writer, Tom Kennedy, and his young son Jake have recently been through a lot. Tom lost his beloved wife suddenly and unexpectedly, and he is struggling to cope as a father in his new role of primary caregiver to young Jake. Jake, meanwhile, is also struggling. He’s withdrawn and quiet, and still traumatized by his mom’s death. He spends a lot of time in his head with his imaginary friend, or lost in drawing.

Tom and Jake try for a fresh start in a new house, a new school, a new town. Tom hopes he’ll be able to start writing again and that his son Jake will come out of his shell. But things take a turn for the worse when another young boy is kidnapped. And then Jake begins to hear the whispering....

This book was not what I expected. The author, Alex North, threw me for a loop several times with unexpected twists. What I particularly enjoyed about this book was the atmosphere of dread and tension the author so deftly conjured. I also grew to care for both Tom and, in particular, his son Jake. There were a lot of questions raised by the author, and while I don’t want to give away any spoilers, I will say I wondered many times if there was a supernatural element to the story.

I am a veteran reader of mystery and thriller novels. It takes a lot to make my skin crawl, but one particular character was so well done that this was seemingly effortlessly accomplished by the author. The ending truly sent chills up my spine. I also enjoyed how so many loose threads were tied up in the pulse pounding final moments of the book.

Overall, I was quite impressed by this novel. I will definitely look forward to future novels by Alex North. And at least one of the characters from this book may well appear in my nightmares.

5 stars

This book is more than a little creepy – but fascinating at the same time.

Twenty years ago Frank Carter, nicknamed “The Whisper Man” was arrested and convicted of the murder of several young boys. Detective Inspector Pete Willis was the man who arrested him and is forced to go see him in prison once a year to try to convince him to give up the location of the body of his final victim. But Carter (who will only talk to Pete), likes playing games and isn't about to give up the site.

Now a young boy, just seven years old named Neil Sanders has gone missing. Carter knows something about it, but he isn't talking. It is agony for Pete to talk to Carter and he has to fight his urge to drink again. In fact, the whole Neil Sanders thing has him contemplating the bottle on a daily basis. Of course, he gets sucked into the case to assist DI Amanda Beck.

Interspersed throughout the story are little vignettes from the killer's point of view.

People are reporting their children are hearing whispers. Tom Kennedy who is a writer knows this, for he has heard it too. His son Jake is a strange boy, and has been since the death of his wife a year earlier. He talks to himself – or is he talking to himself? He doesn't make friends. When they move to a new house (creepy house), the problems get worse. Jake shouts out that he hates his father. Jake is six years old.

Then Jake goes missing.

As Tom's feelings of rage and helplessness increase, the police investigation moves on. Pete and Amanda come to the same conclusion about the identity of the kidnapper/killer, as does Tom at nearly the same time.

The identity of the ne'er-do-well comes as a surprise in many ways. But also, he makes a great suspect.

This is a very well written and plotted novel. I thought Tom tried very hard to get along with his son Jake and Jake is very hard to get to know. His strangeness is explained later in the book and it is a very good reason for Jake's behavior. I really liked the idea of the reason for it all. This is my first Alex North book, but it won't be my last. He is a very fine writer. His character development is very good and the people in his book are very lifelike and behaved true to form.

I want to thank NetGalley and Celadon Books for forwarding to me a copy of this very fine book for me to read, enjoy and review.

The Whisper Man is a worthy read in the likes of Stephen King. A definite engrossing read with a strong plot and characters.

Tom has recently lost his wife and he and his son Jake need a fresh start. He's a good dad but not without his faults. Sometimes his temper is short, especially when he's trying to get his son to give up his imaginary friend. This new house is their chance to start over, only his son's imaginary friend has followed him.

Between his son's imaginary friend and unsettling events in the new, creepy house, things aren't going all that well. The house was already unsettling, to begin with, and all the new events make it that much more so. It makes for the perfect atmosphere when weird things start to happen.

In addition to Tom and Alex, we also have the inspector, Pete, who has been trying to solve crimes that happened decades before. If he can just catch his man, he can rest. Perhaps the man responsible all those years previous is at it again? We also have the current inspector, Amanda, and being her first major case, she wants it solved, and fast.

The Whisper Man walked a fine line of having you wonder if there was something paranormal at play, it was very well-crafted. It's told in alternating viewpoints of our main characters and it gives you more of the whole story. It was near impossible to put down because you're desperate to find out who is behind everything and what is really going on. A great read.

Haunting and Suspenseful

This captivating story of a newly widowed man, Tom Kennedy, and his 6 year old son Jake trying to adjust to their new lives, in a new house, in a new town, will capture your imagination in a way that will leave you breathless. The characters are so real you want to help them, hold Jake in your arms and comfort him, and cry for the heartache they feel.

The town of Featherbank is its own mystery. A serial killer stalked young boys there 20 years ago, leaving 5 dead and one missing. Detective Pete Willis has never stopped looking for the missing boy, and visits the killer, known as the whisper man, occasionally with the hope that he will one day reveal the fate of the missing boy. Now another boy has disappeared, dredging up old memories and dread that it is happening all over again when the mother of the missing boy reveals that her son said he heard whispers at his window in the night. And now Jake is hearing them, too.

There is so much emotion written into the storyline that there is no way to describe it in a short review. Suffice to say this psychological thriller will draw you in and keep you in suspense until the end.

Thank you, NetGalley and Celadon Books for offering me an advance copy in return for an honest review.

This was wonderfully done. Read the book in one day and is my second book from Celadon that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Sharing with all of my social media contacts now. Looking forward to more books from the author.

Also shared my goodreads review on Facebook and in the FB group Between the Chapters.

Now that was an enjoyable crime fiction/thriller book. The writing style is smooth and captivating; it's not easy to tell a story that relies on events to from 20 years earlier to colour in details but doesn't use those events as key pieces of the modern day storyline. Somehow it works here. And the title is well used .. sort of a haunting and menacing theme to the plot. The book also does a good job of exploring fatherhood and redemption without getting too sappy or stupid. Overall, this is a very good book and worthy of jumping in .. though once you do, it will be hard to jump off.

Do not read this book unless you want to be tethered to it! Well written, very suspenseful, well defined characters, heart throbbing throughout. One of the best novels I have read and reviewed. Thank you Netgalley and Celadon Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. I highly recommend it!

5 eerie, outstanding stars to a novel that I absolutely cannot believe is a debut.

The Whisper Man, otherwise known as Frank Carter, is a notorious serial killer who murdered and abducted five children before being caught and jailed, he lured his victims by whispering outside their windows at night, earning him his title of The Whisper Man. Twenty years later, a boy is missing and there are startling similarities - but Carter is locked away in his jail cell - could there possibly be an accomplice as was thought many years ago, or is there a copycat? Tom Kennedy and his lonely son Jake have just moved to the town of Featherbrook (home of current missing child, Neil) when Jake starts to hear whispers from a monster outside his window.

Told in alternating perspectives from Tom, Jake & our police officer, Pete, the man responsible for capturing Carter twenty years prior, we are taken on a taught, tension filled ride through this journey. As the chapters progressed, I was on the absolute edge of my seat, arms filled with goosebumps.

For any thriller fans, The Whisper Man is a must, without a doubt.

Thank you to Celadon Books for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Omg don’t read this book at night! It was scary on the beginning, but it was so good I couldn’t stop reading it. What a page turner till the last paragraph. Missing boys, frightening house, good detectives’ job and concerned father. Just really, really good crime debut.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! Thrillers are not my number one genre and especially those with gratuitous thrills. That is not this book. The plot was inventive and extremely engaging with one hell of a reveal mid-book that had me yelling, “WHAT!?!? WHAT!?!? WHAT!?!?” There are parts I would recommend NOT reading at night. Ultimately a book about fathers and sons, it is an excellent murder mystery involving a serial killer, children, a small town, an empathetic boy, his widowed, haunted father, and reconciliation. Do not miss this one!! #TheWhisperMan #NetGalley #CeladonBooks

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Whisper Man by Alex North. This is much more than a police procedural novel - this is outright scary.
Tom is a haunted man. His wife died abruptly and he is the sole caretaker for his young son Jake. But Tom struggles with fatherhood, misses his wife, and can't seem to connect with the world.
Pete is a haunted man. His wife and child left him over twenty years ago. He is an alcoholic who dreams of taking a sip and giving up.
In a small village a young boy disappears and the police are doing all they can to find him. This disappearance is a reminder of serial kiliings that happened over twenty years ago. The killer is in jail; but this recent disappearance resembles quite closely his M.O. That killer was known as "the whisper man".
Pete was the lead investigator 20 years ago and beats himself up for not getting the killer sooner.
Tom watches as Jake seems to be talking to imaginary friends. And Jake seems to know alot about the serial killings. Jake knows about the whisper man..
And then the young boy is found and things start to really get spooky because someone else is whispering and no child is safe.
Excellent plot and narrative. From the first page to the last you will hold your breath - 5 stars RECOMMEND.

Whispers outside a child’s bedroom window. What could be more frightening? Rhymes that remind you to lock your doors so the Whisper Man doesn’t get you. This is the stuff of children’s nightmares. This isn’t just a nightmare though, this is real for the residents of Featherbank. 15 years ago a serial killer terrorized the families in Featherbank, abducting children. Now it’s happening again, but the serial killer is behind bars.

Neil Spencer is 6 years old and on a journey from his father’s house to his mother’s. A six year old shouldn’t have to make this journey alone. At six, a little boy should have a hand to hold. But Neil doesn’t. Neil is easy prey. And prey he becomes. It can’t be the Whisper Man, even though his mother recalls Neil telling her he was hearing whispers at night from a monster outside his bedroom window. No, the real Whisper Man is locked away forever. Yet Neil heard the whispers and now Neil is missing. Who is responsible?

This story strikes fear in parent’s hearts. When you have a child, one of your worst fears is child abduction. Even though Neil’s parents were less than perfect, they shouldn’t have to go through losing a child this way. So when Tom Kennedy and his son Jake move to Featherbank to escape the memories from the death of mother and wife Rebecca, they believe they are starting over. Starting over clear across the country in a charming little town and a strange little house. They don’t know the story of the Whisper Man.

The characters have their flaws. Tom tends to stay distant from Jake, feeling he isn’t the father he should be. Jake is worried that his father doesn’t want him now that his mother is gone. Detectives Beck and Willis each have their own issues. Beck is trying to climb the ladder, and Willis still harbors demons from the original Whisper Man case. These are real people who simply want to find their way.

The Whisper Man was frightening. The kind of story that sent chills down my spine and kept me up half the night to find out how it was going to end. A mystery is well-written when the guilty party is unexpected. A mystery strikes a chord when it is something that you fear yourself. This mystery has all those elements. It also has a few surprises along the way. It also wasn’t just about the mystery of the Whisper Man, it was a book about real people trying to make the best of bad situations. It was a very well rounded story that I enjoyed immensely (while chewing on my fingernails!)

This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com close to publication date.

The Whisper Man features seven-year-old boy and his widowed father who are both grieving the loss of Rebecca, beloved mother and wife. Jake is an imaginative, solitary child. Tom Kennedy, his father, is a writer who struggles to do the right thing as a single dad. He loves his son dearly, as he reminds him, “even when we argue.” Tom wants the best for his child, so he worries that Jake talks to himself, or rather, to a friend who isn’t there. He is concerned that Jake makes few friends at school. Tom is also a troubled that Jake would rather draw than spend time talking with him, and that sometimes, although he hates to admit it, he prefers it that way himself. And he is angry at Rebecca for dying and leaving him alone with their son to raise.

The Whisper Man is Alex North’s debut novel, and it’s quite a page-turner. It didn’t grab me from the onset, however. The style seemed stilted, almost didactic in the first few pages, but then the story settled into more of a rhythm. Tom and Jake move to a new home in Featherbank, a strange, somewhat spooky looking old place that got Jake’s approval, and Jake starts attending a new school. Jake’s imaginary friend, a little girl, shows up too, and suddenly, legend of the “Whisper Man” is the stuff of bad dreams. There is a rhyme that the girl has told him; it tells of the past. Does it forebode the future as well?

The Whisper Man was not a figment of someone’s imagination. He was a real child murderer serving time in prison. We meet this man, Frank Carter, when the detective who worked the case goes to visit him in an attempt to get information to solve a new case of another missing boy. DI Pete Willis worked the case twenty years earlier when Carter’s victims were found – all but one. It still haunts him. Now another child is missing. Amanda Beck is in charge of this case, but Pete is very much involved. He is so tormented by his failures, personal and professional, that every night when he goes home to his lonely apartment, he stares at an unopened bottle and orchestrates an inner tug-of-war. The next day, he goes to the gym, then calmly returns to the job to do his best.

I wish we’d learned more of Amanda Beck. She seems quite capable and professional. If this turns into a series, I am sure we will.

Jake is superbly conceived and developed. I am not the first to say it, unfortunately, but all through the book, I kept thinking, “I see dead people.” Is Jake clairvoyant? Does he truly have a sixth sense? Or is he one of those extraordinarily sensitive human beings who notices things without necessarily being aware of their significance at the time? He is, after all, just a young boy. His relationship with his dad is warm, funny, sad, and heartwarming, while at the same time, distant. He obviously misses his mom, and at times, I wanted to pull him into a warm hug.

Tom. Bless him. He wants to be a good father. He’s really, really trying, but Rebecca, like so many moms, was the main parent until she fell ill. Now Tom feels lost. He misses his dear wife. He loves his son and above all else wants to keep him safe, but he is frustrated. Jake is seven!!! He lacks the tools to communicate his feelings. I wanted to alternately nudge and scream – Either go easy on the kid, or get yourself and your son into counseling! The dynamics of this relationship felt very realistic, especially with the outside threat of an unknown bogeyman who was snatching children.

The writing is taut with a gloomy cloud hanging over this little duo and over the police force and Featherbank. Frank Carter reminded me of Hannibal Lecter – he is so evil. He just enjoys watching Pete sweat and squirm as he teases him with non-answers. Who will have the last laugh?

There are some marvelous twists in this one, that, once they were revealed, I knew I should have seen coming. One final comment: the cover with the handprint really caught my eye. Upon closer examination, I saw that there are some images there that pick up on some symbol mentioned in the book.

This is a wonderful debut novel, and I hope we see more from Alex North. My thanks to him, NetGalley, and Celadon Books for this ARC copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

4.5 stars rounded to 5

The suspense, the horror, the thrill! I absolutely loved this book. It had me on the edge of my seat or laying in bed at night listening hoping not to hear any whispers. This book is gonna hit the shelves and be a huge success. It keeps you in suspense as you try to figure out who took the boy Neil if the Whisper Man is in jail. You will find your self with goosebumps and searching for the creepy crawlers in the dark of your own house. Absolutely amazing book to make your sense of fear and emotions go wild!

The story is about a killer called The Whisper Man who 20 years ago killed 5 young boys and finally got caught and put in prison. Except 20 years later another boy goes missing the same way the others did. All while Tom and his son Jake moving to this small town of Featherbank and all is going well until Jack starts to hear the whispers too. But how is that possible when the man who was the Whisper Man was put away 20 years before by Pete a local cop. Who has been searching for the last boy for 20 years.
Thanks to Net Galley and Celadon books for my ARC of the Whisper Man by Alex North coming out August 20, 2019! Make sure to grab it and have your big girl panties on cause it will give you the most amazing creeps.

If this book had a Tinder profile it would read something like this:

Cliché troubled detective haunted by previous case seeks unknown creepy boogeyman. Must have Daddy issues and enjoy torturing small children.

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Although I enjoyed this quick read, there's really nothing novel going on here. It's pretty tame compared to similar books in this genre. I was left wanting more. More darkness, more tension, more backstory.


I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What an incredibly good mystery/thriller. This was one good read.

Great characters, great storyline, and oh that little twist a third in. Damn, this man knows how to write a book. Its been a while since a book scared me or creeped me out. This did. And then some.

My only disapointment is that this appears to be Alex North's first published book. I'm hoping to see some of the chracters again. Hoping for a series, because I need more from Mr. North. So much more.