This is probably the least thrilling thriller I've ever read.

Usually I will begin a book review with a summary, but I'm not 100% sure what happened. (Nevertheless, I will attempt...) A young woman's brother is attacked and disfigured, and years later their relationship is strained as the brother has issues with homelessness and addiction. Decades earlier, two sons of a serial killer take very different paths after their father is captured. And, in the present, these plotlines come together. And, something about a book that tells the future.
Sorry, that's the best I can do. I'm confused AF.

Alternating perspectives of too many characters combined with haphazard timelines create a confounding and unenjoyable reading experience with no pay-off. This is really unfortunate, because buried beneath the confusion, I think North might (?) actually have had a creative and decent plot.

I've never read any of Alex North's books, and I can't say that this has encouraged me to read another.

A solid 3.5 stars! I really enjoyed this book, and the audiobook narrator was great. As others have suggested, the multiple perspectives and characters was hard to follow at times.

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc audiobook!

I do love a good dark thriller when done right. I would say this is definitely a dark thriller/horror/ suspense novel that focuses on the beliefs and thoughts of a serial killer who believes that the future can be foreseen and should be followed.
I don't want to give the story away, but this book focuses on the murder of a prominent College philosophy professor Alan Hobbes.
Also, this book focuses on the relationship of two siblings Katie and Chris Shaw who are drawn into a twisted tale of a serial killer that goes back decades earlier. Katie is trying to clear her brother Chris' name because he at the time of Professor Hobbes murder works for him, and she has not had the greatest relationship with her brother and wants to clear his name.
As I mentioned this book is a dark thriller, so the content in regard to serial killer mindset, and the discussion of the crimes in regard to some of the victims may not be for everyone.
This story is not for the faint of heart, but the author keeps the reader's attention, and the pace of the story is good and intriguing. The author does a very good job of putting all the pieces together, and I really enjoyed it. Again, not for everyone but I enjoyed it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this Audiobook ARC in exchange for honest feedback!

I thought this story was overall good but there were some plot holes for me. I enjoyed the twists but I found them to be easily predicted. This wasn’t the strongest Alex North novel but it was still really enjoyable.

The narrator was excellent. I thought her portrayal of the story really drew the listener in and I would listen to her again!

Paranormal references and a bit of a disjointed cast of characters left me disconnected at times during the audiobook reading of this story, but the talent of the voice actor and otherwise decent fast-paced writing made it an overall engaging book. A young teacher who has been estranged from her brother, finds herself at the center of all sorts of danger. She works to locate the (former addict) brother only to discover the trouble he’s in has more to do with undiscovered family secrets than his own prior actions. The connections between the various characters left me still a little confused (perhaps an overly developed red herring.) Ultimately she is able to uncover the truth and save the day.

An advance review copy of audiobook version was provided in exchange for this review.

“It’s just an example, because I certainly do. But on an evening, when you’re deciding whether to have that second glass of wine or not, it might feel like you’re free to make up your mind either way. But you aren’t. What will happen will happen. What happens was always going to happen. You had no more choice than the pen did just then.”

QUICK RECAP 🖊️
A sister who is still living with grief of a brutal attack on her brother leaving him scarred is caught up in more than she could have imagined years later. A detective who keeps coming back to two old cases, trying to find a connection.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Thank you @netgalley @macmillanaudio & @celadonbooks for a copy of both the eARC and audio ALC. I was able tandem read these, Alex North has been on my radar since The Whisper Man so to receive these I was thrilled.
I will say this book is PACKED so I enjoyed reading vs. listening for this reason alone.

I did enjoy the narrator, but like I said, there’s so much packed into this book the book makes it easier for me to follow.

Thank you Netgalley and Celadon books for the gifted copy of this one in exchange for an honest review!
To be honest, this one was not for me. I wanted to love it, as I have loved both Alex North’s other books. I found myself getting confused and bored with this one. I struggled to follow along because it wasn’t keeping my interest. This one was a serious bummer for me.

The first two books by this author were a top read (The Whisper Man) and very good (The Shadows). The Angel Maker slipped as it was a challenge to follow (maybe partly the narrator of the audiobook) and the story was just average for me. Other than one significant twist, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat for this listen. It still had a steadiness with eerie suspense which is what I really like about this author’s books. He definitely still is a new release author for me and I am confident that I’ll enjoy the next book as much as the first two from the pseudonym author Alex North. I like the other title, The Half Burnt House, more for this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read Alex North “Shadows” book before this one and enjoyed it so I was excited going into this book. This book follows Kelly and Chris Shaw’s life, who has not had a walk in the park type of life. Katie has always tried to be there and take care of her brother but over time they have become estranged. Katie has found she maybe has had a little resentment in her life towards him. Everyone always has cared about Chris and treated him special and she has been left to fend more for herself.

One day Chris ends up missing and Katie’s mom calls her to ask her to check up on her brother. She thinks he’s in trouble and cannot let it go until Katie gets more information. Katie goes to his last place of residence and this is when she realizes in her gut something is terribly wrong.

Katie is stuck digging through their past to piece together all of the mysteries before it’s too late.

🗯️My first thought is I would classify this book more as a crime fiction versus a typical thriller. This doesn’t take away from anything but I sometimes think if not classified right it can set the wrong expectation. Anywho, I loved the setting of this gritty and dark book. It was fast paced and very twisty and I in no way, shape or form had any of it figured out. 😅 This is a book you have to pay very close attention to the different timelines. At times listening I got a little confused but it did work itself out when it all came together! I think Alex does such a nice job with his character development and his creep factor is on point! I also want to point out I really appreciate when an author brings in a unique idea and Alex does that with the topic of “determinism”. Bravo!

Looking forward to getting to The Whisper Man soon! 🤩

“A dark, suspenseful new thriller about the mysteries of fate, the unbreakable bond of siblings, and a notorious serial killer who was said to know the future.“

This in not my usual fare, but I’m glad I dipped my toe into the Thriller/Mystery genre.

The story itself was fairly convoluted, with lots of timelines and characters and points of view.

I enjoyed the different familial relationships – parent/child, siblings, spouses – and was happy with how several of them were resolved.

I also liked that, while this book is considered Horror, it wasn’t GROSS. I mean, it wasn’t a HAPPY tale, but the author didn’t revel in the literary blood-lust that some do.

For that I am eternally grateful.

The things I liked most, however, was all the philosophical talk of Free Will vs Determinism, and the question of whether or not the killer can see the future. There’s something nice about some of the parts of the story being left unresolved.

Lots of gristly bits on which to chew.

I’ve heard good things about his other book, The Whisper Man, so I’ll check that one out next.

7/10

Thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Macmillan Audio for this creepy ARC.

This was a different kind of thriller, but I also found it very confusing. Katie Shaws brother who once attacked by a crazy man, becomes a drug addict and has now gone missing. He’s somehow connected to another story going where two brothers have a long-standing feud.

This was a very confusing listen. Maybe it was the audio, but I think it was just the whole story and how they were connected. I couldn’t keep all these characters straight in my head, maybe partly bc Alan and Edward the brothers were referred to by their last names Hobbs and Leland as well.

Pick this up if you’re into figuring things out when you read and want to unravel the mystery.

I have to be honest… I really didn’t like book much at all.
A few reviews have mentioned how difficult it was to listen and multitask, but I was just driving and I still felt like the story was being told in a way that wasn’t working for me. I loved the narrator, so I don’t think that was my issue.
I do tend to avoid fantasy books on audio, but I can handle a complex thriller or a Stephen King novel with 7000 characters, so it’s not like I couldn’t keep up with what was happening. It was just frustratingly slow and needlessly intertwined and just not laid out in a way that I enjoyed.
Overall, I felt like the book was interesting in the end, but I didn’t like the execution at all.
I was so happy that the book was over when I finished. I wanted to love it and I am bummed that I ended up hating it so much.

THE ANGEL MAKER review

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🔥I read The Whisper Man back in 2021 and loooooved it so I was super excited to read the latest release by this author! While the writing in this one was definitely super creepy and gave horror vibes, I still prefer The Whisper Man.

🔥Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
When he was just a young boy, Chris was violently attacked by a serial killer but managed to survive. Now as an adult, the trauma he dealt with as a child has led him to make some questionable choices. When a well known professor is found brutally murdered, all signs seem to point to Chris. His big sister Katie is determined to clear her brother’s name and prove his innocence, until Chris goes missing…

🔥My main issue with this story was how confusing it was to follow on audio. Because I had an advanced copy, I only had access to the audio version and I think the physical/e-book would have been better for this story. It switches between the past and present very frequently and also changes POVs constantly. It was a lot to keep track of on audio and the ending all happened so quickly I was honestly confused and had to go back and relisten to the last 2 chapters. 😂 I liked the creepy, horror vibes of this one and would still recommend checking it out. Just go for physical or e-book instead of audio only!

🔥Thanks to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for my copy of this one! It publishes everywhere February 28, 2023!

This one was a little hard to follow on audio but it was enjoyable. I liked all the characters stories and was left guessing until the very end. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! I started listening and didn't stop till the mystery was revealed.

It was kind of challenging keeping the characters' relationships straight in the beginning, especially with the flashbacks, which I do find are a little more difficult in audiobooks, but I figured it out.

Without giving anything away, the pacing is steady, similar to Alex's previous novels. The action does get bogged down sometimes with the allusions to the past, but nothing that took away too much.

There was a point where I wanted to tell a character to just call the police to get help, because it would have solved A LOT, but, well, then there wouldn't have been that element of danger in the plot.

Overall, I found this to be an entertaining read.

I want to start off by saying that I received early audiobook copy. In return for my honest thoughts and my review. I have listened to this author previous books. The Shadows and The Whisper Man. So when I saw this on Netgalley. I knew I had to listen to authors new book.
This audiobook didn’t disappoint me. I couldn’t stop listening to this book. Needing to know who and what.
Yes there is multiple POV. Yes I had to make sure that I was paying attention while listening so I didn’t miss anything. The narrator does amazing job. Keeping wanting to know what happens next. To read about a killer who sees the future creeps me out. But these types of books makes you think.
About Book:
Katie Shaw still lives in the past when comes to her younger brother who was attacked when he was younger. When Alan Hobbs is murdered. Is Chris the prime suspect and why were the detectives looking for him. Katie and her mother haven’t seen Chris for years.
This a book that I highly recommend. Yes there are multiple POV. This book comes out February 28,2023 highly recommend this audiobook. My review is up everywhere amazon and goodreads and bookbub.

Thank you to the author and netgalley for allowing me to listen amazing book.

This is my first title from this author, and I had high hopes based on reviews of friends for their other works. However, this missed the mark for me, I just really never got invested in the story. I think there were good bones to the plot, but I found the plot lines hard to keep straight, and I never really gained any interest, even as the story progressed.

THE ANGEL MAKER by Alex North is a gripping psychological thriller that will keep you on edge from start to finish. As the investigation unfolds, the reader is taken on a dark and twisted journey that explores the depths of the human psyche and how far a sister is willing to go to save her brother. North masterfully weaves together multiple storylines and characters, creating a rich and complex narrative. The characters are well-developed, with their flaws and vulnerabilities adding to the sense of realism. The writing is taut and evocative, creating an atmosphere of unease that persists throughout the novel. Mr. North has once again proven himself to be a master of the psychological thriller genre and I will probably be scared of going to bed for a few days. 😧

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio!

As a devoted Alex North fan it has been exceptionally difficult for me to give The Angel Maker two stars.

From the start of the book it is difficult to follow and all over the place, because of this it made it really hard to get invested into the characters and the situations at hand.

Overall it just felt very disorganized and all over the place.

In regards to the narration it felt very standard. Although at times even the Narrator sounded bored.

Thank you, Celadon Books, for the gifted copy of The Angel Maker {partner}

Genre: Horror
Format: 🎧📖
Pub Date: 2.28.2023
Star Rating: ☆☆

"An interest in death, a desire to touch evil from a safe distance - where it can't touch them back."

Ohhhh, boy, this book was just so many things, and I can't say any of them were good. I enjoyed Alex North's first book - The Whisper Man, but his last couple of books have been a miss for me. So, let's examine why The Angel Maker wasn't for me.

I started out reading this book ad was invested after the first chapter but then the pacing started to slow, and there were all these characters added to the story, making it hard to follow. But I wanted to give the audio a chance. I'm glad I did because it prevented me from completely DNFing The Angel Maker, so if you need help, try listening instead.

There were few clues about when the story switched between past and present, so I needed clarification about where I was in time with almost every new chapter. Some characters had similar names, and some appeared in the past and the present, making it practically impossible to figure out.

I also thought the book was going in one direction, but then it went in a completely different direction, which made very little sense. The Angel Maker had a lot of potential to be good, but it just tried to be too many things.

By the end, I had no idea what was happening, and I still couldn't tell you what characters were involved in which storyline. It was just an overwhelming flop for me. I will give Alex North one more chance, and then I will move on from his books.