This has to be one of the creepiest books I've read in a while. Paul returns to his small home town to his dying mother only to find red handprints in the attic and articles on murders that are copycats of what happened in his town when he was a teenager. Detective Amanda Beck is investigating the most recent copy cat and all roads are leading to some one who has been missing since the first murder.

When Paul was a teen a group of misfit boys followed the lead of Charlie Crabtree in learning more about lucid dreaming and how they could use it to avenge themselves from bullies. But what starts out as a game for some starts to take a sinister twist. The narration on this book was excellent and really took me into the story. The writing had just the right amount of tension and creep factor.

Unpopular opinion - I don’t have any idea what this book is about. And it’s not really the book’s fault.

I received this book to review from Netgalley as one of the first audiobooks offered on their new app. I was EXCITED… like beyond… not only did I get to read this book review, but as audio! This helps me enjoy more books because I can listen during work.

Anyway… The app glitched hardcore. It would pause itself, the sections wouldn’t line up with the chapters, and when pushing play shoots itself back to the beginning of a previous chapter (and not necessarily the one it was playing). So I spent most of the time trying to figure out where I was in the app.

For this specific book, which not only has a past and present perspective, but also tells parts of “lucid dreaming” where the character may not know they are awake. Additionally, there is a narrative involving a detective who is trying to solve a grisly murder that connects to the main story. So add in all those narratives and the above app glitch and you can probably understand why I was so confused.

That being said, I got the general gist of the book. But the nuances and twists were very much lost on me. Being a new reader of Alex North, I had only heard how much people liked Whisper Man so that made me want to read this one. Unfortunately, I think I need to read an actual copy to see if I enjoy this author or not to give it a fair opinion.

You can see my video review here:
https://youtu.be/Ey-blBDSjOw

I really wish I enjoyed this as much as all the positive reviews posted. First I found similar elements to Whisper Man. Detective Amanda Beck is called to case that is similar to a part case .....like Whisper Man. Then we jump back and forth between the present then go into the past and jump back and forth from that perspective. So this was all over the place with two different narrators in the audio. Some good creepy elements but I'm going between Beck's story then past and present perspective of Paul Adams, the murder of his friend from the past, disappearance of a friend, disappearance of suspected murder. Then we have Paul's mother saying Red Hands committed the murder. Had me going all over the place

I throughly enjoyed listening to this story. The duel narrators added a lot since the story had not only multiple points of views, but also switched between past and present. Having both a female and male narrator gave distinction to those shifts and both read in a way that was a joy to listen to. I say joy, but I mean that in the most creepy way, as this was a pretty chilling storyline.

The lucid dreaming concept was very cool and the Shadows/woods super creepy. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the slow build. The future parts added as many question as did the past as the story unfolds with the detective and Paul and his mother. The emotion builds along with the horror making it both profoundly sad and scary, powerful.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. It has been published in July 2020.

"The Shadows" by Alex North is a perfectly chilling horror story in which a gruesome murder from the past gets reenacted by a pair of copycat teenage killers, bringing the old crime under new scrutiny by the police and at the same time setting off a chain reaction that will lead to several more deaths and finally to the solution of a twenty-five-year-old mystery.
A few of the plot twists towards the end are a bit far-fetched, and I didn't particularly like the motivations behind Charlie's obsession, when they were finally revealed (I'm not going to spoil it for you, but they seemed quite simplistic and unoriginal to me), but overall this novel does for a very entertaining read.
The characters are highly relatable, although somewhat stereotyped, and the plot is intricate enough to take you by surprise several times over. There are plenty of scary scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the tension is masterfully built up through the narration.
I particularly enjoyed the atmospheres (the author nailed exactly what it feels like to grow up in a small village, or to be bullied by schoolmates during PE).
Extra points for keeping me wondering until the very end whether the story was going to go with the supernatural element or to explain it away rationally.
All things considered, a very pleasant read.
This was the first book by Alex North I read, and I will definitely check out his other novels.

What I Loved:
I loved the creepy characters in this story. Alex North does a great job of describing his characters and really allowing the reader to imagine each person. He makes them feel real, like they are coming right off the pages and being brought to life!

How I Felt:
The Shadows takes the reader into a story that starts 25 years ago when two teens were part of a murder. While one boy was captured, Charlie Crabtree escaped, disappearing without a trace. Now, Paul Adams, who was linked to the original crime, must return to his hometown to help care for his elderly mother. His mother keeps saying things about the murders…she seems to know more than Paul thought. When a copycat killer starts bringing up the past, Paul must face his past and question everything, and everyone.

This story was spooky and creepy, but I wasn’t absolutely terrified like I thought I would be. Which is honestly, fine with me. I don’t really like having to read with the lights on and my back against a wall! The plot was a bit complicated, and I think that it ultimately led to me being a bit less scared. The timeline jumps around, and there are people in the dream world as well as the real world. It created a very unique, but confusing story. I ended up never really settling into the plot and just falling into the world because I was concentrating so hard on where we were and with who. I think that this would be good to go back and read a second time. I might enjoy everything a bit more, already knowing who was who.

That being said, this was still a really good story with wonderful writing by Alex North!

The characters that North creates are fabulous. He has this perfect mixture of personality traits that makes for just the right creep-factor. Charlie Crabtree is a terrible character, and I think we can all agree that he’s the root of all evil. Thanks Alex North for adding this man to my nightmares!

The plot had some great twists that I didn’t see coming. It will absolutely keep a reader on their toes, and while there might be people that can guess some of the twists, I think the plot will provide surprises for any thriller-lover!

Overall, I enjoyed The Shadows. The complicated plot did not completely stop me from enjoying the story, it just slowed me down a bit. I enjoyed the pace and the characters!

I listened to the audio version of this story, and I felt that the narrator did a great job of bringing the anticipation and heightened feeling nervousness to the plot! I would recommend the audio to readers that enjoy listening!

To Read or Not To Read:
I would recommend The Shadows to readers that enjoy a creepy mystery!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

The Shadows is the second novel by Alex North, the author of the highly popular The Whisper Man.

I have very mixed emotions about this book. Some aspects of it were excellent. North is a great writer, in the sense that his descriptions and prose are unique and fascinating. This is a stark contrast to the other thriller I read this month, Home Before Dark, in which I found the writing to be a bit rudimentary. In addition to this, North does do a great job of establishing an eery atmosphere. This book is quite creepy, which I don’t say about many books. I also found *some* of the plot twists to be quite surprising, though I also felt a bit let down by others.

Which leads me to the things I didn’t like about The Shadows. I found pretty much all of the characters difficult to connect with; especially the protagonist, Paul. He was definitely more of the Unwilling Hero archetype than what I prefer, and I found him to be boring and kind of frustrating. I also felt like the pacing was kind of all over the place in this book. Rather than building the tension slowly up to an explosive finale, this book was full of tiny explosions, followed by dragging moments. And, while there were some pretty great and highly unpredictable plot choices that North made in the second half of the book, I found the resolution to be a bit lackluster, personally.

In conclusion, I would say that I recommend this story, but only if you aren’t looking to be amazed, just a bit creeped out. There were some gasp worthy moments that I appreciated, but over all, I would have liked this story better had it turned out a bit differently. I’m hoping to pick up The Whisper Man sometime soon, and will hopefully like it more than The Shadows!

⭐️⭐️⭐️


This is a July Book of the Month pick. Also, thank you to Netgalley for sharing the audiobook with me!

Dreams are powerful. Lucid dreams are powerfully dangerous. The Shadows is haunting tale centering on one man psychological battle with murder from his past. What is real and what is merely a remnant from a dream is the story's central theme.

Simply stated, I could not put the audiobook down. I highly enjoyed the narration. Of note, Heffernan's inflection and description captured the essence of the story.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoy the study of dreams and would like to parlay in the field of lucid dreaming weaved into a horrific tale.

When I thought Part 1 and Part 2 were promising enough to be a 4 stars or 5 stars read, Part 3 was quite a let down. I rated this 4 stars anyway as the audiobook did a great job in adding up the creepiness.

The writing was very atmospheric and I adored the lucid dreaming concept very much. Character building was all that strong and it was the ending that truly disappoint.

This is my first book from the Author and I would be sure to check out The Whisper Man, since many have said it is a better story. All in all, I wanted to love this story, but I like it enough to recommend it to others :)

The Shadows by Alex North

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I recently reactivated all my accounts and subscriptions (including Masterclass). Picked up this #horror #audiobook coz I haven't read many books in this genre (I only remember The Silent Companions, which I enjoyed), and this one is a new release, also a BOTM.

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The story is about a group of four friends who take up for hobby, lucid dreaming! This involves them going into the woods, maintaining a dream journal and the main plan is to disappear into the dream world! (Am all for it 👍🏽) Things get murky after a murder, and subsequent disappearance of the Team Lead Charlie. Did he really disappear into the dream world? Or is he around... A psychopath, a serial killer using the same modus operandi to kill others? These are the answers you get at the end.

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The narration is great with different chapters and POVs having different (male and female) narrators. However, there was some issue with the App/Audiobook and the overall user experience was very poor. I think a chapter or two were missing. This didn't take away from the story but definitely reduced the overall enjoyable experience.
This could be a good horror recommendation for a young audience.

Okay. (July 2020)

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#qotd Do you keep a dream journal? I do 👍🏽

@the_bookish_islander on Instagram

I personally wasn't a fan of this book, because I felt like it was too slow and too all over the place for me. Maybe it had something to do with it being an audiobook, and maybe it was the narrator. I just honestly couldn't get into this book.

The Shadows by Alex North is a clever thriller and I am glad I got the audiobook version. Hannah Arterton and John Heffernan both do a brilliant job with the narration and really bring this creepy tale to life. I first read Alex North's The Whisper Man due to the hype that novel was getting when it came out. I enjoyed it but perhaps not as much as most folks. I am happy to say that I enjoyed this novel far more than my first Alex North read and I applaud the author for this gripping story that is full of clever twists and surprises. I found the story to be imaginative and suspenseful. I was hooked as soon as i got through the first chapter and I enjoyed this fine story in one sitting. As for the narrators, this is the first time I hear from either of these talented voice artist and I hope it is not the last. I look forward to hearing their voices in future audiobooks.

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

The Shadows was suspenseful, had a surprising twist, and a creepy ambiance. I think that the atmosphere of the book was satisfyingly creepy, but the overall story was pretty tame. I wouldn't consider this a horror story. I mean people die, but I book isn't graphic.

This book deals with lucid dreaming, online crime buffs, and a missing person.

Charlie is a deeply disturbed boy, who draws others to him. Charlie begins to teach his followers how to lucid dream... and eventually to murder.

I don't want to give too much away about this story since it is a thriller, but I am happy that I read it.

I consumed this story as an audiobook, which I would recommend. I love listening to thrillers, and this book was not an exception to that. I really enjoyed this narrator's voice.

I received this audiobook from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book captured me from the beginning. I really did love it. The narrators were amazing. Unfortunately, there were just so many characters that it was hard to keep up with. I also do not know if this is a NetGalley app issue, but my book would randomly pause & jump back 5 chapters, so that was very annoying. Honestly, by the end I was just over it. Which stinks because this could have been a great book. I also thought that there was so much going on in the story that it was hard to follow.

After reading Alex North's first novel The Whisper Man and being blown away I couldn’t wait to get my hands on his follow up.

The Shadows is creepy and atmospheric and it gives a fascinating look into lucid dreaming initiated by Charlie Crabtree a young teenage boy who participated in a ritualistic murder, went missing and became a cult figure int the darkest corners of the internet. His notoriety leads to the gruesome copy cat killings of young boys.

Twenty five years later Detective Amanda Beck returns and we have also have Paul Adams a university lecturer who has returned to Gritten to see his elderly mother who is dying and suffering from dementia. Being in his mother's house again brings back haunting memories from the past and the time has come for Paul to confront the ghosts from all those years ago.

This was my first audio book and although I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I admit I had a vivid nightmare on the first night listening to this book I felt something was missing but my expectations were probably too high due to my love of The Whisper Man. I wonder if my experience would have differed if I had read the book and not listened to it? How great was the artwork on the cover, loved that too!

I wish to thank Netgalley & MacMillan Audio for a copy of the Audio Book in return for an honest review

Nowhere near as good as The Whisper Man so I felt really let down. It was okay, not amazing. I did a combo of reading the hardcover and listening to the audio version. I didn’t care for the male Marriott they chose better for a classic not great for this. Overall I just felt meh like it was ok. I did like the nod mention to Whisper Man. It kinda felt like a cross between Sleep Beauties and Whisper Man but with a lot less suspense than anticipated.

I had to stop this book early because of the intensity and Gore this would be a wonderful book for those who don't mind that. This book is very well written and I would recommend it for those who enjoy books that are from Stephen King that are more gory like pet sematary.

I finished this book in one day, goes to tell that the audiobook was quite good, it was an enjoyable listen, though the story was mediocre, I didn't hate it.
if I was judging the story my rating would've been 3 🌟 if I was judging the audiobook narrators I'd say 4.5 🌟

I think it's fair to say that this wasn't exactly what many of us were expecting. I don't know y'all... something just wasn't working for me with this one.

Let's just for minute contemplate the idea of "lucid dreaming", some might consider this just ludicrous. I however, I wanted to buy it, I wanted it to work, but for some reason, it just didn't come together here. At least not for me. Maybe there was just too much going on, and rather than converging, everything just seem to run parallel. Maybe I just need to think on this one some more. Hmmm...

As for the narration, I can't say this was as bad as with The Whisper Man, but perhaps it simply doesn't work well as an audiobook. There's not as much dialogue, so you find yourself getting lost in the narration. There's also not enough descriptive writing in my opinion to pull you in.

I want to thank NetGalley, MacMillian Audio, and Alex North for allowing me the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my review.

Alex North's newest novel is a great addition to the thriller genre. It's a compelling story with some great turns. I love the 'tormented adult who must return back to their home and past they've been avoiding' stories. Throw in a copy cat murder investigation and I'm sold.

The Shadows is perfect parts spooky and mysterious. It is told through two narrators, Paul Adams and the investigator of the copy cat murder. It is a compelling plot and a satisfying conclusion. It's super easy to read and get lost in.