Thank you to netgalley and Celadon Books for the ARC of this book!

I've previously read The Whisper Man and The Shadows and even though The Shadows wasn't my favorite, I LOVED The Whisper Man and was secretly hoping for another banger of a thriller from Alex North with this book.

I was unfortunately disappointed. I thought the premise was interesting, but right off the bat there were too many characters and too many POV's to keep track of. They all slightly intertwined with one another until the very end when I'm assuming they were all supposed to come clashing together and give the reader a "OMFG" moment...but that wasn't the case. I turned the last page expecting more because in my head there was no way the book was done, and then I hit the acknowledgments page...

I truly ended the book confused and I thought to myself "what did I just read???" I had a headache trying to keep everyone and their backstories straight and the fact that the POV changed with it also just kept me confused as all hell...

DON'T GET ME STARTED WITH THE PLOT HOLES - there were at least two side stories that we just didn't get any more information on? Like why were those characters explored so much if you were just going to leave me hanging??

Y'all, clearly I am salty about this book - but I will tell you one thing I did enjoy about reading this book. A big part of the plot was Determinism: "which believes that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will. This explores the idea that individual human beings have no free will and cannot be held morally responsible for their actions." This was such a COOL concept to read about and think about - which kept me intrigued I won't lie. But ultimately, I was left more confused than anything once this book was over.

Book Ratings:
1. The Whisper Man
2. The Shadows
3. The Angel Maker

Oof - hopefully next one will be better!

I was really excited to read this one, since I loved The Shadows and The Whisper Man. However, The Angelmaker fell flat for me. It was a slow start, and I felt like it never really got going. There were a lot of characters and storylines to keep up with, which I thought made the reveals more confusing than shocking. This one was just okay for me. I wish it was a little darker or more suspenseful. Great writing though.

Review to be posted on @readwithkendall on Instagram.

I'm really sorry but I wasn't able to finish it. It wasn't my cup of tea and I lost interest pretty quick. It was all over the place. It was just not for me I guess.

I loved Alex North's The Whisper Man. I didn't care much for The Shadows. The Angel Maker is somewhere between.
Thank you to Celedon Books and Netgalley for my eARC for review!
The first chapter winds up with a violent image, of a boy being viciously attacked with a knife.
The book unfolds with multiple storylines and timeframes intersecting. Compelling characters and creepy scenarios keep things moving quickly.
Personally, I struggled a bit to keep some of the connection lines drawn between the characters, and some plot points weren't resolved enough for me.
I enjoyed reading it, but I'm left with questions.
For release on Feb. 28.

I was surprised to read a number of reviews that comment (or complain) about how hard this book was to read because it jumps between timelines and characters, because I didn't think it was all that confusing. Yes, early on, there were a couple of times I had to reread a page to make sure I was following, or go on faith that something would make more sense later, but I quickly found myself immersed in the story and engrossed by the overall concept of determinism and good vs. evil. Is the future already written? Is free will a fallacy? If God asks you to do evil things to test you, is he really God?
Without giving too much away, the story has two main plots. One is the two sons of a notorious serial killer in the 1950's who claimed to be acting on the will of God, that his killings were a test of faith. One brother follows his father's teachings while the other tries to forestall the future his father claimed was already written. Their plot line transects the other, which focuses on Katie Shaw and her brother Christopher, who was attacked as a teenager. Seventeen years later, Katie still feels guilty for not protecting Christopher, so when evidence mounts that the same evil may now be targeting her young daughter, Katie feels compelled to take action. Gothic suspense at its best, I thought the pace of this thriller was excellent and loved the philosophical conundrums.

Received as a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher.

I love Alex North and was so excited to read the new book. It was a let down. The book felt meh and was not as good as his other ones. I didn't really like any of the characters and wasn't as invested in the story. The book did not feel suspenseful or a thriller. I would have not finished the book, but I wanted to give a review and was hoping I would come around and like it.

There was a bit too much going on here, and I spent much of the book confused. In the end all the pieces were wrapped up, which helped some. Problems may have been exacerbated by the audiobook format… Sometimes it’s easier to keep things straight when reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon for the eARC.

Alex North can write at atmospheric thriller that haunts. I really felt the atmosphere and settings so strongly with this one.

Like others, this was difficult to grasp especially at the beginning due to the sheer amount of individuals involved in the story.

While not my favorite of his work, still a solid creepy read.

THE ANGEL MAKER is the first novel I have read by Alex North but it will not be the last.
⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
Fate/Free will, sibling relationships, and a serial killer all have a part to play in this dark thriller.

Kate has a charmed life with a boyfriend and a loving family when one day after school, her brother Chris is brutally attacked, & it all comes crashing down. The attack has reverberating effects far into adulthood when Kate struggles to let her daughter out of her sight. When issues with Chris resurface, Kate's fears do too, but surely not without reason.

Laurence Page was on duty when Chris was attacked and now another bizarre case is on his doorstep. A well-regarded philosophy professor has been found dead in odd circumstances that may have a connection to Chris.

I will admit my hesitancy to pick up a novel of North's, mostly due to the sinister covers! I do enjoy a dark suspense, but I have found I have certain limits. This atmospheric story didn't go past any of those for me, but rather fit my boxes neatly, in that slightly off way a good dark tale should. There was a deeper philosophical thread that pulled on the tension of free will vs fate in a way I enjoyed. I felt pressed in and almost claustrophobic with the Gothic feelings throughout, which was just right.

I was given the opportunity to read both the digital copy and pair it with the audio which has become my absolute favorite. The beginning was easier to start with the digital, but once I ot a handle on it, the narration was superb and took me deeper into the story. Rosalie Craig captures so much tense emotion.

Thank you so much @celadonbooks for sending me these advance copies through @NetGalley! I am not sure I would have chosen it, but now I am a huge fan! I should have known, as Celadon Books is a very represented publisher on my shelves.

I would recommend this story to fans of thrillers, obviously, but if you are craving a deeper mystery that engages your mind in the edges of reality and shadows, please grab this on February 28th!

Detective Laurence page has been called to the murder scene of a professor but something doesn't seem right. When him and his partner view the security film they find a face in the camera and Detective Laurence knows who it is. Years before he had worked a case of a young boy who had been attacked and badly scarred and it was the boy now grown. He has so many questions and too few answers but something about this case isn't what it seems.
Wow, this was a stay up all night and read type of page turner. Full of chills and twists that you just didn't want to put the book down. This is a very intense read and Alex North is now on my auto buy list.

What happened in this book? I really can’t even tell you so I shouldn’t really be writing a review about it. I did listen to the audio, so maybe there was a lot lost in translation and it was just too hard to keep up with characters and timelines for this one, but I couldn’t tell you much at all about this book. I’m struggling to even come up with anything to say about the twists but I can’t even figure out what the twists and outcomes were? There were so many plot lines and characters to keep up with I have no idea. That’s the review - I have no idea what’s happening.

Thirty years ago, Katie Shaw’s world was rocked when her brother, Chris Shaw, was the victim of a seemingly random act of violence. Now, she once again is forced into big sister mode when he goes missing. An elderly man dies alone in his room, his throat slit and nothing but a mysterious book missing. The only clue - Chris Shaw on the security footage. Two brothers who share a tragic past try to outwit each other over decades as they battle to prove if fate or free will win in the end.

There are so many moving parts to The Angel Maker, it was difficult to keep it all straight. Multiple points of view, multiple timelines, jumping back and forth between it all - it’s a lot. At least for my feeble mind.

The bones are solid and I enjoyed the mystery as well as North’s ability to build tension. But, because it was so much, it was also hard for me to connect fully with any one character and I felt “outside” the story the entire time.

Read if you like: sibling drama, philosophical debate

Let me start by saying I am a HUGE Alex North fan. I love the way his books make me genuinely scared to keep reading and of all things that go bump in the night. Not many books can give me that scare factor, but he does this so well.

The Angel Maker didn't hit all the chords for me. Was it good? Yes. Did it have multiple twists to keep you interested? Yes. Was it North's best? No.

The beginning was a little slow for me. I was constantly getting distracted while reading, which hasn't happened with his other books. I am SOLIDLY in the story. Maybe it was the many characters you're following or the lack of "oh my gosh" moments, but it was hard for me to stay invested until about 60% through.

Once I got past that point, I could not put it down. Everyone's stories weave together great and although I guessed part of the ending, I didn't get everything.

The hype behind this book was insane. Was it overhyped or did it just not hit for me? I can't say for certain.

This is such a difficult review for me to write because I have absolutely LOVED everything else I have read by Alex North! Maybe that placed the bar a bit high for this one, but regardless… I was left feeling pretty disappointed!

I received an e-ARC and ALC for The Angel Maker and started with the audio. I quickly realized that the book had too many characters, connections and storylines for me to keep track of in audio format so I switched to the e-ARC! Unfortunately, this change in format did little to help with my confusion and I made the decision to DNF at 56%

I really did enjoy the glimpses of twists that were beginning to unravel but I was not invested enough in the story to push through the confusing aspects.

What a thrilling read! I enjoyed Alex North’s Whisper Man and found the Angel Maker to be just as suspenseful!

This novel follows Katie and her brother Christopher as they discover the mysteries surrounding their family’s past. At times the different characters/ storylines became a bit overwhelming but overall I enjoyed the plot and the twists that came along with it!

If you are looking for a thriller with a bit of a historical vibe (just a little one!), then this is a book for you! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Ｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 by Alex North
Published: February 28, 2023
Reviewed by: Mel
Format: Audiobook ALC

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you so much to @netgalley @celadonbooks and @writernorth for both the eBook ARC as well as the audiobook ALC! It was #gifted in exchange for an honest review. I ended up solely listening to the audio.

First off, I just want to say that I was a huge fan of North’s writing in The Whisper Man, and maybe my review is somewhat skewed by my 5-star review of that previous work? Either way, I agree with other reviews that I have read that reading…shouldn’t be this hard.

Let me explain. The plot is incredibly twisty, turny, and very intricate. There are a lot of characters and it’s very difficult, especially listening to audio [when you can’t flip around to remind yourself of a character or their connection] to keep the characters straight and know how they fit into the storyline.

By the end, I could tell most of the reveals were the shocking connections between characters — but the shock was lost on me because I couldn’t remember who anyone was. The character that stood out the most to me was Kate, and I understood that I should have been shocked to find out that her brother was adopted — but I couldn’t quite focus enough to figure out how that all fit into the larger plot line.

I could tell the writing was tense and captivating — I just wish the plot was more clear and direct, and the character connections were either more obvious or less confusing.

I was bummed that this didn’t live up to my expectations, but it won’t prevent me from reading anything else from North already on my TBR.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

This was just barely 3 stars for me. I was confused throughout most of the book and not in a good way like some thrillers. I found the characters to be pretty meh, and could not stand Sam at all. The plot could have been developed a little better and was confused about timelines with all of the characters. I did like Alan Hobbes’ back story that we finally see come together at the end, but that may be about it.

Wouldn’t recommend this one.

Dnf at 50%

Confusing and uninteresting so I’m throwing in the towel. I gave it a fair chance but it’s not for me

The predestination theory and supernatural elements leave me cold, so I am the wrong reader for this book.

Thank you to Celadon for sending me the audio and ebook of The Angel Maker. I used them both and I love when I can do that! This one publishes 2/28.

This book was entertaining but also it was super confusing. There were so many characters and so many plot lines it made my heat hurt. If you're planning to pick this one up, get yourself a notebook to keep tabs of all the storylines and the characters and let me know how that goes, because I wish I had done that. The premise was super intriguing but this one fell flat for me due to how complicated it was.

I’m really sad I didn’t enjoy this one as it was one of my most anticipated reads for 2023. However the story fell a bit flat for me. There was so much going on the whole time that I struggled to keep up. The story did not flow well for me and the multiple POVs is confusing. Unfortunately I didn’t connect this book or storyline.