I am not sure if recent world events are making it difficult for me to read, but I am definitely finding that certain books are not holding my attention right now. I tried to read "The Shadows" but it didn't grab me. None of the characters particularly spoke to me, and the mystery surrounding Charlie didn't interest me. I really wanted to enjoy this, but unfortunately, it didn't grab me.

I LOVED The Shadows by Alex North!! The vibe was extremely creepy. I liked the plot that dealt with lucid dreams. It was different than anything I’ve read recently so, definitely scores points for originality.

After Paul Adams finishes high school he gets a one way ticket out of town never to return. Trying desperately to escape the murder of his best friend, at the hands of Charlie Crabtree, he manages to stay away for 25 years. His mother, now dying, is what drags him back to his hometown and the past he’s trying to forget. Is there a copycat killer on the loose? And where exactly is Charlie Crabtree? He was said to have vanished and never was seen again......

I thought this was a decent follow-up to The Whisper Man, but I didn't enjoy this one as much. There are a few creepy moments, but nothing that gave me goosebumps like TWM did.

The story takes place in the present, in the past, in dreams in the present, and in dreams in the past with some characters appearing in all four timelines. While there is a novelty to that, I was not able to adequately weave those narratives together and I just ended up feeling somewhat lost and/or disinterested.

There also seemed to be instances where the narrative completely shifted (past to present/dream to reality) or new characters began speaking and I was taken aback so much by the change that I had to reread whole paragraphs to figure out where I was and what was happening. Maybe because this was a digital ARC the formatting wasn't 100% yet, or I just zoned-out in a few spots.

I did like the story itself and I look forward to what Mr. North has to offer in the future. I'll give this one 3 stars; it had it's moments but maybe this reader just wasn't able to perform the mental gymnastics required to fully appreciate it.

If you've read The Whisper Man, then by all means pick this one up and give it a read too.

I loved The Whisper Man last Fall and have been recommending it to everyone I know. I was so excited to receive and advanced copy of his second novel, The Shadows, but had my doubts to it being as good as his first. My doubts were blown away within the first few chapters. This was impossible to put down and had the twists and bends I loved from his last book. I also love there’s just enough of a supernatural suggestion to creep me out (especially when reading at night). I will be recommending Alex North for a long while yet.

Another chilling hit from Alex North! While, I think my favorite is still THE WHISPER MAN, I still found myself chilled to the bone, holding my breath, and gasping in shock in this book! You looking for a great chill fest of an author, this is your man! I guarantee you’ll have goosebumps, chills down your spine, and likely need a night light; but will also be unable to put it down! A must read! Highly, highly recommend, lots of chills, thrills, and shocks await!
Will make sure to buzz it up on all the platforms and use my low Amazon reviewer number when released!

It's always hard to review an author's second book. When you loved a debut, you anxiously wait for the next book hoping that lightning will strike twice. I was one of those reviewers shouting you have got to read The Whisper Man and was so excited when I heard Alex North's second book, The Shadows was coming. On a side note, I at least, do not know the real identity of the author, so this may well be his fiftieth book, but it is Alex North's sophomore effort.
Paul Adams was a teenager when two of his friends committed a brutal murder. As soon as he can, Paul leaves his family, friends, and hometown behind, hoping to escape the shadows this event cast. When he learns his mother is dying, Paul reluctantly comes home. He soon realizes that while Charlie Crabtree may have never been apprehended for his crime, his legacy is still casting an enormous shadow. Paul will have to face the past if he hopes to have a future.
So here is where it gets hard. It took quite a while for me to care about Paul. Of course, that is because the author doesn't spill everything that happened in the first chapter. But I couldn't help thinking about Tom and his son Jake from The Whisper Man. I was rooting for those two characters from almost the first page and that experience was so different from what I felt about Paul. Once one particular detail was revealed, I suddenly saw Paul and his subsequent actions in a different light. Even after my light bulb moment, I still never felt invested in Paul.
I did love the red hands, the lucid dreaming, and trying to figure out what would happen next. What the author did well was the creepy and intriguing vibes and it didn't end in any way that I imagined. Overall I liked the story, not as much as The Whisper Man but enough to be glad I read it.

I loved The Whisper Man and looked forward to reading The Shadows. I really didn’t enjoy this book. One element that I personally dislike is sick and dying mothers in stories, I skipped over a few sections since this bothers me. I had trouble with the time lines with the dreams. What was a dream? What was real? That may have been what North was going for but it didn’t work for me.

Alex North absolutely blew me away with his debut novel The Whisper Man so I jumped at the opportunity to read his follow-up novel The Shadows! Right off the bat, I want to say The Shadows was so darn good!!! The pacing was perfect with twists and turns I guarantee you won’t see coming! I found myself staying up waaaay past my bedtime because Alex North has masterfully crafted this book to be completely unputdownable! The Shadows is a solid 5 star read that seamlessly combines the mystery/thriller, horror, and supernatural genres brilliantly! I am so excited to see what Alex North has up his sleeve next!

This is a hard review to write. Here's why: I LOVED The Whisper Man, it's a favorite of mine. When I received a copy of The Shadows, I could not wait to get stared. A month later, I finally finished it. At first I thought it was because of the stress with COVID-19, but now I think that this story just didn't live up to The Whisper Man.

So. I'm going to separate the two and really try to just review The Shadows. I loved the idea, and how the story twisted back and forth between present day and 25 years ago. Lucid dreaming and murder? Yes, please! I think what fell short is the first 150 pages where there really wasn't anything happening or there was, but it happened slowly. The last part of the book picked up and I devoured it, though I was slightly disappointed with who the killer was, I finished the last 50 percent in one night! I was also really pleased with the writing, which was very well done. Because of this, I have chosen to give the book 4 stars and of course, Alex North will always be on my must-read list for his future novels.

A delicious thriller that keeps twisting and turning until the end. At first I thought the book was heading towards the supernatural, then it changed course into a thriller that kept me at the edge of my seat right until the last page.

The Shadows, by Alex North, might turn into your most enjoyable nightmare yet!

Twenty-five years ago, a boy was brutally murdered by two of his friends in the town of Gritten. This murder was fueled by an ritualistic and occultist nature. In the present, Paul is forced to return to Gritten after his mother's condition deteriorates. He thought he had escaped his horrendous past, but he soon figures out some nightmares are never truly over.

This book had me hooked from the first page. It is so dark and mysterious, that I just couldn't get enough. In my opinion it's even better than North's other novel, The Whisperman. I love reading about dark rituals, and this one surely dove hard into that genre.

The two timelines worked together excellently. I enjoyed reading Paul's story in both the present time and when he was fifteen years old. The whole lucid dreaming ordeal is so fascinating to me, that I had to spend some more time researching it even after I was done reading. This book will surely stay with me for a while!

5 out of 5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon Books for the review copy.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC. I was a big fan of the Whisper Man and was super excited when I heard that Alex North had a new book coming out. The Shadows tells the story of multiple murders over the course of 25 years. The story alternates between two different timelines, the original murder that happens when the main character Paul is a teenager, and current day. Filled with an interesting premise and a heavy focus on dreams and what they mean. The Shadows is a good addition to the world of mystery and should be included on your summer reading lists.

I thought this second book by the author of The Whisper Man was much better than the first. While this story also was told from multiple points of view and switched time periods, the story never lost its cohesion. In fact, I think these elements added to the suspense. And, it was extremely suspenseful.

In this book, we again have Detective Amanda Beck investigating a horrible murder. And, while the police do play a large role in the book, it is not a police procedural. It is the story of a man trying to come to terms with his past and the horrible crime committed in his hometown 25 years ago. It is also, surprisingly, a story about parents and their children.

Well written, fast paced, with twists and turns in abundance and a creepy setting and even creepier characters, this book grabs you from the first chapter. Plus, that cover! I couldn’t put it down.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

The premise of this really interested me and I liked the horror aspect that gave some clear nods to Stephen King. It starts with a bang and there's some good solid creepy stuff throughout the book that I liked - the mother's dementia, the red hands, the young Charlie (who honestly felt like a young Charles Manson). I'm not generally a huge fan of detective stories because I usually find that the detectives and their own personal issues become a deviation from the story and cause the flow to lag a bit. I didn't find that to be quite as much the case here so that was good.

I also really enjoyed the ghostly/supernatural aspects and wondering is this real? Is it not? Is this mini-Charlie Manson character just that good at manipulating everything around him? That was done well I think because I honestly didn’t know and continued to wonder throughout the entirety of reading the story.

I felt like there were some structural and continuity inconsistencies and at times it felt like the dots were only loosely being connected, but overall a solid 3.5 that I read over the course of a couple days and kept me interested. Mystery, thriller, and detective fans will enjoy this!

The Shadows by Alex North is creepy and will keep you guessing. Have not read his first book but might definitely need to now.
***
Charlie was that kid, the one that made others uncomfortable and worried. Twenty plus years ago Charlie committed a crime so shocking and evil, then disappeared creating a mystery behind what he did and the, then, boy himself.
Paul has spent that last twenty five years since he left his home trying to forget what happened and the friend he lost but when his mom’s case worker calls to let him know she’s taken a turn for the worse he returns to a place that haunts him still. Strange things are happening, copy cat murders of what Charlie did have cropped up, and Paul is left to wonder if it’s connected to the things Charlie showed him before committed his crime. Are the things he dreamed up as a teen real or is there a more current and real explanation? The line between dreams and reality is muddled and Paul might need answers more than he thought he did as past and present clash.
***
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good scary thriller and Alex North has not let me down yet. I was up late shivering with this one. If you liked Whispering Man, you MUST read this one!

This was AS GOOD, if not BETTER, than North's debut Whisper Man. It was spine-chilling, bone tingly, and suspenseful. There were twists, turns, and thrills. Just like the debut. I enjoyed reading about the storyline just as much as the characters. I very much thought this was a welldone psychological thriller that will be very easy to handsell. This was an amazing sophomore novel and I will be highly anticipating the next one!

A clever and scary tale that takes place between the sleeping and waking life. This one is really about the past and how you can’t run from it forever.
When our protagonist returns home, after a quarter century away, to say goodbye to his dying mother it sets off a series of events that will scare the paint off a wall. The story is a reminder of how the past doesn’t disappear, no matter how much you pretend it doesn’t exist.

Alex North has done it again! I loved "The Whisper Man" a lot, and he comes through again in "The Shadows". Set in two different time lines, encompassing 25 years - this thriller revisits Paul's story about his English childhood and an old murder, and the concept of "lucid dreaming", which I found fascinating. It's a gripping read, and it's alternating timeline really works. It kept me up way past bedtime! Highly recommend! I received a free e-book from Net-galley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

Many thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the ebook! This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed following Paul’s journey as he returned home to see his dying mother. Things became really creepy after his return to Gritten. I was very surprised by a twist in the story that I didn’t see coming. I really enjoyed the book and will definitely add it to our collection.