This book was interesting and atmospheric, but overall it just didn't do it for me. I didn't feel the same tension and mystery that I did in Alex North's first book, The Whisper Man. The twists and the ending all felt a little rushed and while I started this book out strong, I ended with a feeling of dissatisfaction.

A great chilling, heartbreaking, insomnia-inducing novel! It's a page-turning, hard to put down story of secrets, murder, parental sacrifice, young love and dreams. I was pleasantly surprised to see the return of detective Amanda Beck (The Whisper Man) and hope we see her in future novels.

This book was so mysterious and thrilling. The beginning and overall premise was creepy as can be and I loved guessing how the mystery would unfold.
I feel like there were 4 big reveals and I really loved 2 of them and didn't enjoy the other two and I found the ending a little lacklaster.
Overall really enjoyed the creepy vibe it gave off.

Why I liked it:

It's seriously creepy right from the start. While we only have 2 books to judge, this seems to be an Alex North hallmark. He sets the scenes perfectly in these dying towns which are described as being lacking in purpose and opportunity. These are the places that people want to leave but often find themselves stuck in. These descriptions really add to the perception that the characters are going to become trapped in their situations.

I loved the twists in this book. It made writing the review a little tricky, because there's one piece of information about 75% of the way through the book and it makes the reader re-evaluate everything they've read up to that point (as all good twists should). Once you know, you can't un-know it, and I look forward to re-reading this title with that knowledge the second time around.

I also like that North gives the reader everything that they need to know for the story to make sense without twisting the plot too dramatically in an effort to shock the reader. I don't love when authors make the bad guy at the end an unknown entity with motives that the reader could not have known ahead of time. North gave us all of the clues and I appreciated that, even if I didn't catch them all at the time. I did peg one of the twists, but the second one caught me completely off guard and I loved that.

What I would like to change:

I wish that I had re-read The Whisper Man more recently before starting this. For me, Detective Amanda Beck started out as a stranger for me. I had to go back and re-read some reviews from the first book to remember her character. I really appreciated that she was there and that there was a reference to the “Whisper Man” case in this book, since it was like finding an Easter egg for the fans, but I really had forgotten a lot about her in the meantime. I didn't see anything in the initial blurbs about the book that let me know it continued in the same world as the first one, and it was weird to have the one uniting character be a side character in both stories.

The Shadows is eerie and disturbing, a perfect chilling read for a hot summer's day! Alex North has written another tense and gripping thriller and proves beyond a doubt that Celadon Books is one of the most exciting new imprints around. Bonus points for the outstanding (and very eye-catching) cover. This one is already in double digits for request at the library and I anticipate brisk (for a pandemic) sales at the store with preorder pickups already coming in. I'll be bundling this with other Celadon titles, including the extraordinary Saint X (different thriller wheelhouse, but I think it works together) for customer "surprise me" packages.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Celadon for this arc of The Shadows by Alex North.
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I like how North sets up his scenes and creates such a spooky ambience for his readers. Like The Whisper Man, The Shadows had some really eery, creep-tastic parts that made me feel truly thrilled. I suggest reading this late at night so you can scare yourself half to death! I always ask myself, "Why am I reading this scary stuff at night?!". Well - it adds to the whole vibe and that's the best part about thrillers!
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One of my favorite parts of The Shadows was the examination of lucid dreaming. This is a topic that has intrigued me my entire life and I find anything to do with dreams utterly fascinating. That was definitely fun and immediately interested me in the plot. Another bit that I liked was the character development. Unlike The Whisper Man, I felt that The Shadows had much more character-driven sub plots and I did root for Paul to survive and thrive!
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My least favorite part was the end. It felt entirely anticlimactic. I really thought there would be one final twist at some point, but there wasn't :(. So, boo! That being said, don't let that deter you from picking this up! This was a solid book for me and I found it to be even better than North's debut!

I enjoyed "The Shadows' much more than this author's first book, "The Whisper Man." This was very twisty and suspenseful. I hope that we have more to come from this author.

I will start off by saying this book will not be for everyone- it is strange, dark and the pace moves slow.⁣
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Paul Adams has returned home to say goodbye to his dying mother after being away for twenty-five years. He never imagined he would return to Gritten after what he experienced there in his teenage years. At age 14, Paul and his friend James started hanging out with two other boys- Billy and Charlie. There was always something strange about Charlie Crabtree and as Paul started to break away from the group he never could have imagined what Charlie was capable of. At a playground, a teen’s body was found with multiple stab wounds and bloody handprints were covering the sidewalk. Billy was later arrested, but Charlie vanished, never to be seen again. ⁣
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Now, 25 years later, there has been a copycat murder in the next town over. Detective Amanda Beck comes to Gritten to interview those that were closely connected to Charlie Crabtree to see if there is a link with the current case. Paul has worked hard to forget everything that happened back then, but being home and going through his old belongings brings up all those feelings he has suppressed for decades. As he helps Detective Beck with her investigation, he starts to wonder if Charlie could still be out there and starts digging for answers. ⁣
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There were so many unknowns in this story and I loved the twists. I was intrigued by the murder storyline as it isn’t revealed until much later in the book who was actually killed by Charlie and Billy. The dark woods definitely had a creepy factor, but honestly I wanted to be more creeped out. However, if you appreciate strange stories with strange characters this is the book to read.⁣
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Thank you Netgalley and Celadon Books for this advance reading copy. This book will be published 7/7/20.⁣

If you were like me and had an unpopular opinion about The Whisper Man I would definitely say give @alexnorth a second chance and check out The Shadows. I did enjoy it way more than The Whisper Man. The shadows has a dual timeline and multiple narrative with an added lucid dream aspect that captured my attention right away. I found this one to be addictive, bizarre with a bit of creepyness tied in. I loved the twists, vivid descriptions, imagination and plot of this novel, I will look forward to reading whatever North comes up with next.

Paul has returned to his hometown after a 25 year absence to tend to his dementia ritten mother. Paul's hometown brings horrendous memories of a brutally murdered teen that his friends were involved in. One friend was caught but the other vanished. Now Paul is dealing with his past as he tends to his mother and going through his old belongings. While a decetive is trying to solve a current murder with eerie similarities to the murder 25 years ago. Could these murders be connected? A copycat murderer perhaps or could the teen that vanished have been lurking in the shadows for 25 years and back with a vengeance.

Alex North is quickly becoming a favorite author for me. Typically I stray away from series, but North is a lot like Tana French. Each story is unique and different. Paul and Amanda are such relatable and well written characters and the atmosphere was always one that kept me guessing. I can’t wait to see what Alex North writes next.

Okay so I honestly still can’t believe I was approved for this ARC. I feel like I get rejected a lot for the ones I want SO BADLY. But surprise!! I got this bad boy!! The excitement was REAL for this one people!! I can’t say thank you enough to Netgalley for this read!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Now let’s get down to business....this book was SO GOOOOOOOD!! From the first chapter I was hooked. Alex has a way of NAILING the creep factor in books. I loved the characters, I legit feel scared of Charlie & Jenny. They were so pleasantly morbid at times. I love when an author makes you FEEL. The overall story line, plot and twists were so well done. There was one twist towards the end where I was like NO WAY! I also loved how they name drop the Whisper Man in that one chapter. So cool when authors subtly link their books together. All in all if you’re a fan of Alex Norths Whisper Man then this one won’t disappoint! I very much enjoyed this read and can’t wait to read Alex’s next book!

Let me start by saying this book is creepy, sinister and murderous all rolled into one. I can't just pick one word to describe this one because I don't think one word would do it justice. This book started with a bang on page one and continued with so many great and atmospheric twist and turns along the way. The build up was a little slow but so intense that it was hard for me to put down. It's definitely a book that you are going to want to read with the lights on at night.

Well this one was creepy! I made the mistake of finishing it at 1:00 AM because I couldn’t stop at the end!

Paul Adams has to come home to see his mother even though every part of him resists. She has taken a turn for the worst with her health but Paul still has trouble getting over what happened in his hometown twenty five years ago. His dark and twisted friend Charlie Crabtree committed a shocking murder and was never found... Paul soon meets detective Amanda Beck investigating copy cat murders in her nearby town. What ever happened to Charlie Crabtree?

The Shadows was downright creepy. From the eerie Forrest's to the sinister character of Charlie Crabtree I was definitely feeling a bit more on edge then usual! I also loved that there was a dreams element to the story. So interesting to read about and just added to the suspense further.

The stories narrative has past and present perspectives for Paul so we get to see how his past effects him as an adult. How different things would have been if one thing gone differently for him!

Overall, super creepy and fans of The Whisper Man will love it!

Plot

I absolutely adore the plot trope of a person who returns home after being gone for years and solving a decades-old mystery. The Shadows takes this trope and runs with it, giving it a fresh new take.

Like The Whisper Man, this novel is eerie, bordering on horror, and it’s atmospheric while still fast-paced.  As I read the novel, I noticed another similarity to North’s previous work.  It’s very difficult to tell if there are paranormal elements at work, or if everything can be explained away by fact and reason. This questioning of what is real and what isn’t adds to the novel’s mystery, making it one of a kind, and a must read of 2020.

The Shadows has numerous surprising twists. One of them was quite shocking, but also required just a little too much backtracking and explaining to make it plausible. That said, the twists at the very end of the book were perfectly executed.  The resolution was well thought out and I just adore a book that has plainly laid out clues that I should have noticed while reading.

Characters 

I genuinely liked Paul, and I easily slipped into his head during the scenes written in his point of view.  It was refreshing to see a vulnerable, imperfect character who isn’t intentionally written to be “unlikable”, which is so common in thrillers these days. He was far from perfect, but I didn’t feel the urge to reach into the book and slap him in the face, either. An ideal compromise.

Language

Alex North writes with such a powerful prose that I got tingles while reading certain chapters, particularly towards the end as everything tied together perfectly and he revisited imagery that was introduced earlier in the book.  While I've found that novels with dual timelines often lag during the flashbacks, North's style made the past timeline just as compelling as the present day events.


I recommend this book to those looking for a spooky, almost-horror thriller about a decades old mystery that centres around a spooky small-town legend.
*This review will be posted to https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/ and other platforms on June 25, 2020*

I enjoyed this book because of the dream cult murders, which is a way cool concept. Some revelations in the last third of the story were pleasantly unexpected. I'm a stickler for endings, and this one was surprising and satisfying, so I felt like the last third of the story made it worth reading. However, in comparison to the author's last book The Whisper Man, this has a much slower pace and lower creep factor in general.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC!

The Shadows is a twisty mystery that made me think of the Slenderman story. Twenty five years ago a group of boys become interested in lucid dreaming, but one takes the whole thing too seriously and far. Charlie Crabtree is only shown to the reader through Paul Adams POV, but he's very easy to imagine. I do wish we could have heard from Charlie directly as the author does switch narrators between Paul Adams and detective Amanda Brooks.

I really enjoyed North's book, the Whisper Man, and this wasn't that book. I thought the crazy twists in that story were handled well. The Shadows has a lot of crazy twists as well, but some of the plot points don't fit as neatly in the end. However, I do think Alex North is great at his craft! Such creepy stories and the writing is engaging. I look forward to his future works!

With the news of his mother’s declining health, Paul reluctantly returns to his childhood home after twenty-five years. As hard as he has tried to forget the horrific murder that prompted his long absence, a copycat killing brings the grisly events of his adolescence back to the forefront. As strange occurrences begin to follow Paul around, he is forced to confront the ghosts of his past.
Pivoting between the present day and Paul’s former life, The Shadows is a fast-paced thriller/ghost story that competently weaves the two time periods together and kept me guessing until the end.
As is usually the case with many thrillers, I found the motivation behind Paul’s haunting a little weak, but for the most part, I was entertained and was happily surprised with a twist I didn’t see coming.
The weak point for me was the female detective character, whom I didn’t feel was very well-developed and half the time seemed like she belonged in another story.
If half stars were available, I would give it three and a half, but I’ll go ahead and round up since I appreciate a quick read.
Thanks to #celadonbooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars!
Paul returns home to Gritten when he learns that his mother is in hospice care. He moved away to uni after a tragic death that he was implicated in during his high school years and never returned. So it’s no surprise that the ghosts from his past start to arise when he finally comes back. Haunted by his memories of his friend group that went horribly wrong, strange omens suddenly start appearing at his mother’s house. When another teenager is murdered and connected to Paul and his old friends, a detective named Amanda is determined to solve the murder and figure out how Paul and his friends are implicated once and for all.

I found this novel to have the same type of creepy vibes that The Whisper Man did. I found myself liking Amanda a lot more than Paul, the protagonist. The character development of Paul’s friend group was interesting. North wove in the theme of lucid dreaming which created the opportunity for all sorts of eerie details. It wasn’t as twisty turny as I would have liked, but it kept me fascinated as North would drop in something freaky right at the end of the chapter. The ending was a little anticlimactic for me, but I really enjoyed the lead-up to the action. I liked The Shadows, but I loved The Whisper Man.

The Shadows is another gripping tale from Alex North, further showcasing mastery of the menacing atmosphere by the author. While a bit confusing, North alternates between the past, with a shocking initial murder, and the future with copycat murder, the reader is compelled to figure out who or what is behind it all. Also introduced is the concept of lucid dreaming to the mix, which brought a freshness to the tale.

Thank you to Celadon Books for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I received an ARC through NetGalley from Celadon Books. Paul returns home to Gritten after 25 years because his mother is in hospice. Upon returning he remembers all the pain that caused him to leave. As a teen, him and 3 friends explored dream diaries and lucid dreaming that brought about a ghastly murder. Now that Paul is back the horrors are starting to unfold again. Meanwhile Detective Amanda Beck is investigating a current and similar murder that has lead her to Gritten as well. Told between Now and Before, this was a plodding thriller that I felt tried to hard to impress its readers. It was captivating enough, but overall I felt the author being cunning with his twists and turns. The characters were flat and I wasn’t very invested. I thought The Whisper Man was better, but I would probably read another book by Alex North because his premises are so unique.