One of my favorite ways to read books is to tag-team between ebooks and audiobooks. It’s the best of both worlds and means when I’m busy I don’t have to leave my story at a critical point. I was over the moon when I received my very first dual advanced reader for The Angel Maker from @CeladonBooks and @MacmillanAudio . I didn’t hesitate to download both platforms and get going. I was right…getting both the ebook and audio is as good as it sounds…awesome!!! Thank you so much!

Years ago Katie Shaw’s younger brother, Chris, was brutally attacked. This set him into a spiral of petty crime, homelessness, and drug abuse. Katie has grieved this relationship, as well as always feeling second best in her mother’s eyes. Now married with a young daughter, Katie becomes concerned when she believes the man who attacked Chris is stalking her family. Meanwhile her mother has seen Chris recently, he’s doing well and working. But he’s gone missing.

Told through current day, flashbacks, and multiple POV, Alex North has written a dark tale that asks us to question free will versus a preordained fate. What if you could know the future? Do all roads lead there no matter what, so your actions consciously (and subconsciously) ensure it, self confirming your own thoughts? Or can you toss a pebble towards the water, turn your back, and change everything? It’s this mind-muck of philosophical twisting that is interwoven throughout his character’s deeply disturbed motivations. The audiobook is expertly narrated by Roasalie Craig. I credit her skillful voice acting for a good portion of my goosebumps!!

I seriously overestimated my capacity for leveling up on the disturb-o-meter. I’ve been loving suspense-thrillers but think I aimed too high. I recommend for those that like their thrillers on the scarier side, and descriptive police procedural. I think it’s a fantastic book that would make a great movie!

Katie Shaw made a mistake in her teenage years that continues to haunt her, an error in judgment that resulted in an attack on her brother Christopher. Having trouble separating real threats from the imagined, will a phone call from her mother one day threaten everything that Katie holds dear?

Detective Laurence is lead on a case involving a deceased professor. When he sees a recognizable face on video at the professor's house, will the past come crashing into the present?

The Whisper Man and The Shadows were both well done thrillers, with a good amount of spookiness and suspense. The Angel Maker, unfortunately, just did not hit any of the high notes like their predecessor. There was a lot to unpack in this novel and it was just too twisty to make heads or tails of it. I never felt any connection to the characters and the plot from the beginning was sluggish at best. By the middle of the novel, I found myself struggling to finish. For this reason alone, I would not recommend The Angel Maker to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to read and review this novel was entirely my own.

Alex North has a way of creating scenarios and characters that give you the eeriest, tingling feeling down your spine. And the Angel Maker is no different. The plot of this book surrounds a book that tells the future, a madmen- or some madmen, and some supernatural elements that make it a good thriller, if that's your thing.

That usually is my thing- and Alex North books are usually a no-brainer for me. But, I did have a little more trouble with this one. There were too many characters to follow- added to the fact that sometimes they were called by something else. And a couple were so similar that I had a hard time telling them apart. The story felt a little more disjointed to me and it was hard to follow along with the multiple timelines. I think if I would have listened to this one on audio, it would have been easier for me to follow, so I may circle back and do just that.

I will still always pick up an Alex North book, because the stories he crafts are creepy and are perfect for a rainy night.

Tightly woven, tense, and intense. There's also something melancholy I can't quite put my finger on. It doesn't matter, I suppose, but it's bothering me. I'm left with a mild sense of unease.

Wow. This was one dark book and refreshingly so. Alex North's books make me go W.T.F. and I am always ready for it. I'm not a big thriller reader, but North's books are the perfect amount of dark for me.

The Angel Maker is a serial killer of children (thankfully no real details there), but he has been dead for years. How is he connected to all the other characters in the story? How are they are connected to each other? Is their future really foretold? The story is weaved flawlessly through these characters, bring them all together in the most thrilling way. While you know the connections of some and wait for the characters themselves to figure it out, you're also left wondering about the others. I devoured this book.

I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Complicated, twisty, and philosophical, this thriller is not my favorite by this author (The Whisper Man still holds that place), but it kept me reading all the way to the fiery end.

A serial killer that claimed to be able to hear from God and be doing his work, his two sons, and a younger generation are all tied together by the mysterious diary he wrote. The book jumps frequently between times and POVs, but as all the pieces are revealed, the story comes together. Short chapters are a plus in a thriller, making it easy to read "just one more". Or was it determined?

A little tough to get into - perhaps I'm just not in the right mood for this - and I've never read anything by North so this was an interesting intro to his work.

I loved both The Shadows and The Whisper Man, so when I saw Alex North had a new book coming out this year I was beyond excited! The Angel Maker has a similar otherworldly feel as The Shadows did, so if you enjoyed that one then I definitely think you will enjoy this one. At times the plot seemed a bit intricate with trying to remember how all the characters fit in, but regardless I enjoyed seeing the puzzle come together. In true Alex North fashion this book is packed to the brim with creepy scenes that will keep you up at night. Overall I enjoyed this one and if you are looking for a unique serial killer thriller that has a paranormal feel, then I highly recommend checking this one out!

Dark and thought provoking. I liked the philosophical elements, and the characters were well-rounded.

“If you could see the future, would you want to?”

If the cover didn’t already catch your attention, the prologue definitely will! Alex North has a way of writing thrillers that will chill you to your core.

Told by multiple POVs (big cast of characters), with multiple timelines, the Angel Maker is not for the faint of heart, or for those looking for an easy read. You have to hang in there for this demented ride, as it takes awhile for all the storylines to merge.

Detective Laurence Page brought some much needed humor to a rather dark thriller. He was probably my favorite character, next to Katie. It also helped that within Laurence’s chapters, the reader received bullet points of found information needed to solve this convoluted mystery.

While I loved The Whisper Man, The Angel Maker was… different. (Too different?) I enjoyed solving the mystery and I appreciated the nod to murderabilia from his previous work. But… I’m not sure I loved the slow burn journey it took to get to the end. One thing I do know is this book won’t be for everyone, however, it could make for some pretty interesting book club discussions.

Thank you to Celadon and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⚠️ Trigger Warning: Harm to children

All opinions are my own.

Great book! A blend of family secrets and bonds, dark pasts, and a bit of a murder mystery. This book starts out with a flashback related to a tragic event that happened to Chris, who may have just been at the wrong place at the wrong time, and how it affected his sister. Then we pivot to the story of two sons of a serial killer, one good and the other destined to follow in father's footsteps. The serial killer also has a bit of a religious mission in his acts, which also adds to the story. As the two stories unfold, we learn how they are related in ways you would not have imagined, and the author gives you just enough detail to reveal details and making you want more.

I liked this one okay. I had trouble getting into it and keeping going, but I knew from this author’s previous books that the reveal would be worth it. And it was! It just took awhile to get there. There were a lot (too many) points of view in this one, and I was getting confused about what was happening and when. I am glad it came together in the end.

First, a big thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a huge fan of The Whisper Man, I was really excited to read another book from Alex North. The Angel Maker, however, didn’t quite work for me.

One major pitfall is the amount of characters it follows, paired with the minimal development of each one. I’d have a hard time 1) listing all of the characters, or 2) telling you anything about their personality. There were elements of some characters I thought were very interesting, but not a lot of payoff throughout the book. We also jump around in the timeline, but not in a very cohesive way, and it really made it hard to focus.

Next, the plot is quite convoluted. Trying to decide on a basic plot summary is proving to be a challenge because there are so many different threads, but they don’t all tie together quite as neatly as I expected. Ultimately, a violent event in childhood alters the course of Chris Shaw’s life, and leaves his older sister, Katie, with lingering feelings of guilt. We fast forward to their adulthood, and the siblings have drifted apart. However, their stories get thrown together when Chris disappears & Katie is left to figure out why. Then there’s a plot line with an old serial killer religious fanatic who believes he can tell the future…

There is a lot thrown in the pot, yet the story felt really long and honestly quite slow. There was also a sort of random supernatural element that felt slightly undeveloped and honestly out of place…it just didn’t work for me.

This is one time where I wish I kept to the physical or ebook version, instead of listening to it. While the narration was great, I had a hard time staying focused and I got lost a bit. Even though I know the ending, I think I'd like to read this book again in a few months to fully get the story. (3.5 rounded up to 4)

The parts of the story I did understand, I thought were great. I really like the way Alex North writes. I thought it was a slow burn with good twists. I don't necessarily think it was a thriller though!

This was my first book by Alex North and it won't be my last! I actually bought The Shadows and am so excited to read it! I was lucky when it came to this book, I have so many copies! Thank you to Celadon Books for my physical and digital copy, and to Macmillan Audio for my audio!

“The Angel Maker” by Alex North
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I enjoyed yet another suspenseful read by North. You had the past coming and meddling in the present and causing all kinds of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. Katie can’t get past the fact of not being there when her brother was attacked years ago so when called he’s missing she’s on the case. Laurence the detective on the case years ago is now on a murder that has some alarming similarities and the history of a serial killer is emerging making him wonder what the connections may be. The weaving of this story and characters is done so well and left with this sense of eerie all the way through that had you racing to finish.

*thank you Celadon books for this beautiful arc.

Well, I had really high hopes for this one but it just didn’t do it for me. It was confusing at times and felt pretty slow for most of the book. It didn’t really pick up until the last 50 pages. It was entertaining but I don’t think it will be one I recommend. Thank you netgalley for my free copy.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. It was my first book by this author and I look forward to reading more in the future! This book was a tad confusing at first with all the timelines, but once I sorted out the characters it was easier to follow. The twists and reveals had my jaw on the floor and I was invested in the ending and the fate of the characters. It was creepy and I was a bit bothered by some of the religious sacrilege but all in all I really enjoyed it and found it to be a good story.

I'm keeping this review short because NetGalley logged me out after I had written most of a long review but before I hit "Send Review" so I lost the review. The Angel Maker was my third Alex North novel and I have enjoyed each of them. This story took place over two timelines, one mid-to-late-1900's and the other current. The two are tied together by a modern day disappearance. I found the two different timelines pretty easy to follow and was equally interested in both. My average rating is due to the lack of enough character development to get me invested in anyone. Lack of development made me question the likelihood of many decisions or beliefs of characters, which kept me from fully immersing myself in the story like I prefer for my 4 and 5 star reviews.

I had high hopes for this one. I absolutely loved the whisper man but honestly this one just didn’t do it for me. I pushed through because I don’t DNF books but this one was hard.

I really enjoyed Alex North's The Whisper Man so I knew I had to read The Angel Maker. I really enjoyed this book overall, but I thought that there were almost too many characters. In the beginning, I was struggling to keep up with who was who. And they were all men besides Katie and a detective, who was hardly involved in the book. I also feel like there was a lot more that could have been involved regarding the father and how his two sons grew up. There just seemed like a lot missing that could have been included to make the story a little more intriguing.