“It was like looking at a selection of puzzle pieces. Some of them appeared to fit together, but for now he couldn’t tell which ones even came from the same puzzle.” - Me, reading this book

Shew I feel like I just did mental gymnastics to get thru this book. Ok I have to admit that 25% of the way in, I kept losing interest bc all the components of the mystery were so foreign to each other and I wasn’t really invested in any of the stories. 50% in and I had a very thin grasp of what was going on. I had already highlighted numerous unnecessary passages and was genuinely perplexed at where this was going.

The last 50% went much easier as things started to come together. Def more *mystery* with supernatural vibes than thriller.

I loved The Whisper Man, enjoyed The Shadows, but this one was a miss for me. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

Alex North’s writing is complex and beautiful. I absolutely love how he weaves his stories together. Every little thread has a place to make up the bigger picture.

I really enjoyed Angel Maker. I found the character work complex and addictive. I wanted to know where all these stories connected. I loved how everything played out in the end. It was beautiful done. The audiobook was a fantastic listen. The narrator did a fantastic job telling the story.

My only complaint was this book felt hard to get into. I didn’t find myself really into the story until about 45% through. Then the action picked up and felt like a race against the clock. So just know it’s a little bit of a slow burn in the beginning but definitely worth it in the end.

Overall I really enjoyed this book like I do most of Alex North’s work. I will continue to pick up his books. I just love how complex his writing style is. If you are into thrillers with multiple povs and timelines I would highly recommend this book to you.
3.5/5 Stars

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Alex North has become one of my go-to author and this book did not disappoint. This was a 5-star book for me, and I would highly recommend that everyone pick this book up, sit back, and enjoy the ride of The Angel Maker and all that it has to offer. If you want violence, there is plenty. Want horror, yep that is included. Want some twists and turns and mind-blowing revelations, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. 3.25 stars rounding down to 3 for GoodReads. Having read North's other two novels, I was quite excited to be approved for this one. Unfortunately, I'd have to say this is the weakest of the three. There are things I absolutely loved about this novel. I thought that the short chapters and hops between characters created the perfect atmosphere to keep the pace steady but fast as I worked my way through the story. I do, however, think that it may have been too many characters to follow for such a short book. I think the highlight of this book is the underlying theme and the philosophy discussed within the novel. The theme of whether or not we as humans are predestined for our entire lives already or have free will is one of my all-time favorite philosophical themes. And obviously by the end of this novel that is not answered because it never can be. But I do wish this had some type of wrap-up-style ending. I actually thought I was missing pages because I felt the story ended so abruptly. There were still many loose ends that could've been quickly summarized in a last concluding chapter. For fear of spoilers, I won't mention too much but the end was the most unsatisfying part for me. The plot was fine and moved in a typical thriller way but if you are looking for a super twisting, plot reveal book, this probably isn't the one for you. This felt more like characters discovering connections they didn't know they had but it didn't really feel twisty. I am still super interested to see what Alex North does next and I recommend this one to anyone looking for a quick, theme-driven thriller.

It took me quite some time to digest this book. No, not reading it - that was quick and easy. But taking the time afterward to ask myself "What did I just read?". I must admit that I love when books leave me in this state after reading them. It is a sign of a truly good book.

I haven't liked all of Alex North's books, but I felt this one sounded like a book I would enjoy - and I wasn't wrong. Fans of thrillers or mysteries will really enjoy this fast paced book. Mixing both old crimes with new crimes, the detectives have a lot to figure out.

I made it about 71% into the book and had to give up. There was nothing that was keeping me hooked and it jumped around so much that I was a tad confused at what was happening. Sadly I will be DNFing this book.

2.5 but rounding down.

What started out as an intriguing tangle of puzzle pieces became an unsatisfying mess. Such a strong start with lots of mystery and intrigue but unfortunately the several plot points were either unresolved or sloppily thrown together. There were more holes in this book than Swiss cheese. There was little to no character development or growth causing the story and it’s characters to fall a bit flat. The action scenes were very enjoyable, filled with vivid language and heart-pounding suspense. Was also let down that the most intriguing aspect of the book for me was glossed over and never fully explained. The ending left me feeling incredibly disappointed and frustrated, leaving me with almost as many questions as when the book started. I enjoy Alex North’s creepy, suspenseful writing style, but sadly this one wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Alex North, Celadon Books, and NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

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

A murdered old man. A mother asking her daughter to find her missing brother. A murder case from the early 20th century. A mysterious red car stalking a family. A missing book. All of it intertwined.

When I read The Whisper Man, I instantly fell in love with the story. It captivated my attention from the onset. I adored how eerie it was, and how interconnected the story was. The Angelmaker has a much slower pace at the beginning, which I know many people dislike. However, I felt the slower pace was necessary to really get all the pieces in place for the phenomenal ending. This book was confusing, unsettling, and at times a little disturbing to me. But it was a great read. I love a mystery that has a complicated puzzle-piece plot, and this was one of them. I will say this book definitely isn't for everyone--it took a lot of concentration to read, and it's complicated in a very niche way. Overall, I found it to be worth it. 4/5 stars.

This was a very fascinating thriller !!

There are multiple characters and storylines and how they were connected was really interesting.

I always wonder the significance of a Toronto a novel and this one is quite gruesome. I was confused at some times and have a bunch of unanswered questions.

I have made myself read many books, and this one definitely fell into that category. I found I lacked interest within the first few chapters. Nothing progressed I didn’t feel any attachments to the characters or the storyline. It was just a hard miss for me.

Reading this was a struggles and I wanted to DNF at so many points but I forced myself to power through. I found the book to be overly detailed, to the point that it hindered the pacing of the story. Although I enjoyed that the nonlinear timeline relates to the main theme of the book (the past, present, and future is all happening at the same time), I think that it adds to the confusion of the multiple plot lines. There were so many characters that they all suffered from being underdeveloped. I didn’t care for any of them and I didn’t care if any of them were to die, to be honest.

Too many point of views. Too many plot lines. Too many time jumps.

Thank you Netgalley and Celadon for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not my favorite by Alex North, but still a good one! It was well-paced and thrilling, just as promised. It kept me guessing all the way until the end.

3.5 stars rounded up

This book was thrilling, and I was unable to put it down through the last 50%. The POVs were intricately written, and I desperately wanted to find out how everything tied together. My only issue is that I feel like I still have SO many questions at the end of this. I will keep them to myself to save spoilers, but some of the plot lines I feel were not fully explained and left me hanging.

Overall, I enjoyed this read and I think that it provided a unique reading experience based on the woven together story lines.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley, but then waited to read the physical book. It's solid, but I enjoyed North's earlier work more. This focuses on Katie Shaw, who has always been very protective of her brother, Chris. As young adults, Katie had to care for her brother, who was always different, and she was somewhat resentful. The first time she took some time for herself, Chris was brutally attacked and the story starts there.

Chris' attack as a teenager appears to have been random, and we're taken inside Katie's somewhat dysfunctional family. However, as the scope of the book widens, we learn that the real cause of the problem is an even more dysfunctional family. Katie has to help her brother escape what others have planned for him.

When the book dipped into the philosophical and got into questions of predestination, I got lost. It's not a philosophy I can get behind, and I thought it was a distraction from the main plotlines. The book is interesting and moves quick - it's worth a read, it's just not as strong as I expected. If you haven't read Alex North's books before, start with The Whisper Man or The Shadows.

I had a really hard time enjoying this one. It was simultaneously too slow paced, but also convoluted. There were too many things going on between present time and the flashbacks and I found myself being mostly confused. I may revisit this novel again at a later date, but for now, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

As a fan of Alex North's previous work, I was so excited to read this as an early copy! Overall, I did enjoy this book despite having a few issues with it. It was rather confusing to follow so many characters and trying to keep them straight along side the multiple timelines that were happening. One or the other would have worked much better. I really enjoyed the detectives point of view and thought that was one of the best characters. I will definitely still be picking up whatever the author publishes in the future, even though this one didn't really work for me.

Alex North has become one of those authors I will read whenever a new book comes out, without reading the description of the book, judging the book by its cover, or sometimes even reading the title! I enjoy the creative ideas and storyline we get to experience as readers, each time we flip through the pages.

I was extremely excited to read yet another story, completely different than the other books written by this author. I was drawn to the characters from the first few pages, a young brother and sister, making choices in an instant that will choose the projection of their futures. Or were their futures predetermined by other means, no matter the choices made that fateful day? It was an interesting pretense. I appreciate how the plot line unfolds and the author gives you little breadcrumbs throughout the story. I love it when you get to the part of the story that starts making connections to these breadcrumbs and you tell yourself "I knew it!", until the next twist comes and you kind of only had an inkling but didn't really know why/who/what/where!

I suggest this book as a great page turner if you're looking for your next read while on vacation or have some spare time.

As soon as I heard about this book, I was excited to read it. I had hyped it up to my book club before even having access to read it. Alex North does not disappoint. Gripping from the first to last page.

Love Alex North’s writing and definitely was not disappointed in The Angel Maker. Twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat late into the night as I tried to guess which direction the story would go. Definitely worth checking out and it’s a nice one to when you’re not planning on going anywhere.

A solid thriller/mystery that borders on the paranormal. Not quite as good as his previous works but I still enjoyed it. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this review copy