I want to like Alex North books, but end up just thinking they're okay. I think the audiobook needed two narrators, so you could differentiate between the women and the men. Normally it doesn't bother me, but for this story I think it's absolutely needed. Rosalie Craig does a good job narrating, but I kept being thrown off of whose POV was being read. She didn't really change her voice enough for the men's parts for my liking.

This is the third book I've read or listened to by Alex North, so I had rather high expectations going in. While it did have really great aspects for me, such as the character development and is a book I'd recommend, The Whisper Man and The Shadows are simply better. This audiobook didn't hold my interest as well and overall took me twice as long to get through than normal. It does have a small twist and I feel like it wraps up nicely, it is just lacking something that his earlier books had. For future readers, definitely start with this one so the others will be even better.

The narrator for this one did a great job! I struggled with the storyline unfortunately. I was so excited for this one, but the timeline shifts & multiple POVs were very confusing on audio. I would have liked to have a bigger cast for this one and that maybe would have helped. Definitely recommend trying the hardcopy for this story!

I LOVE thrillers.

There’s nothing better than a good thriller that throws you for a couple of loops and keeps you guessing throughout the book. The bad thing about thrillers, however, is that they HAVE to meet their mark. If they fall short, then they feel unoriginal and tired. A mediocre thriller feels like a book that you have read 20 times before.

That brings me to Alex North’s newest thriller, The Angel Maker. North’s book, The Whisper Man was one of my favorite reads of 2019. I had a copy of The Shadows in my TBR pile, but I accidentally packed it away with my storage items when I moved overseas. Whoops. My packing mistake made me all the more excited to read The Angel Maker. Since I had several books in my pipeline, however, I decided to request the audiobook version on NetGalley.

That might have been my fatal mistake. The Angel Maker has several twists and turns, which makes it very difficult to follow if your attention drifts. My attention drifted A LOT.
The story begins with a flashback, when a teenager named Katie Shaw is spending time with her boyfriend, Sam. Every day, Katie leaves Sam’s house to walk home with her brother, Christopher. That day, however, Katie decides to stay and get it on with her boyfriend instead. When she does decide to leave Sam’s house, Katie comes across a crime scene– A crazed man named Michael Hyde attacked Christopher on the way home and tried to cut his face off. Michael’s red car became a visual reminder of that awful day for Katie.

Fast-forward into the future, and we find Katie and Sam married with a little daughter, Sienna. Christopher’s traumatic childhood sent him down the dark path of drug addiction, and Katie recently stopped talking to him. Then, Katie finds out that Christopher is missing. The more layers that Katie pulls back, the more his disappearance doesn’t make sense. Then, she thinks she sees a red car following her and her family….

At the same time that Katie begins looking for Chris, two police officers begin investigating a murder. University professor Alan Hobbes was brutally murdered in his bed the night before. Hours before the crime, Alan took care of personal business almost like he saw his own death coming. Did I mention that Alan was a philosophy professor that specialized in determinism, or the belief that all events are driven by external forces that humans can do very little to stop? Furthermore, Alan was murdered in a dilapidated old house that was once owned by Jack Locke, a truly evil serial killer who ultimately passed down his “talents” to his son, Edward.
It doesn’t take an evil genius to realize that these two storylines are going to collide in some way. Unfortunately, the story failed to capture my attention enough for me to catch every twist and turn. There was so much going on that I missed important details left and right, which eventually left me confused. Even when I devoted my full, 100% attention to the story (at the end), I wasn’t thrilled with the conclusion. Some characters were underdeveloped, and the climax felt rushed and disjointed.

Not all books are good candidates for audiobook, especially if you struggle with mind drifting. If that describes you, you might want to consider the print version of The Angel Maker. Print would allow you to go back and re-read bits of the back story when you need it, catch important details, and hopefully follow along with the twists. The Angel Maker felt a little lackluster to me at this moment in time, but I wouldn’t be opposed to going back someday and reading the print version.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is my first book by this author. It definitely will not be my last.

This one had many POVs and timlines that overlapped and weaved. It could have been confusing, but it wasn't!

We have two sets of siblings. Katie and Chris Shaw who were living pefectly normal lives until ... when teen Katie heads off with her boyfriend and leaves Chris to walk home along. He is the victim of a horrific, brutal attack by a stranger and she never forgives herself. Alan and Edward were raised by a religious fanatic serial killer who believes fate is everyone's destiny.

Detective Laurence Page and his partner in the meantime is investigating a strange death of a professor that is linked to Chris Shaw.

You realize early on that somehow they storylines will connect. We follow along with the detective work. There are many twists and turns and the suspense is high!

This is one of those books that has you hanging on the edge of your seat to see how it ends. I could not put it down. I'd love a chat with this author - his mind is twisted!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this, as well as BookishFirst for a paperback copy!

Let me start off saying, I read a lot of books. I can easily read a book a day. For it to take me three weeks to finish a book, it has to be boring or hard to grasp. This one was hard grasp and hard to get into. I thought it was going to be a mystery but and it was but it was also a lesson in theology. It was an interesting book once you finally get into it.

I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest review.

This was a delectable story that twists and turns. I enjoyed the characters and was pleasantly surprised by their twist and turns. I think this one had tension and fear that Alex North's previous work. It's my favorite of his stories to date.

I did not love this one as much as I wanted to. I will, however consider purchasing the written book as I feel this story had more potential. I wasn’t crazy about the narrator as there were not a lot of inflections to change characters and the story ran more like a slow burn which made it hard to stay tuned in.
This story has potential but id probably give the physical book a shot over the audio book.
The plot seemed solid, the characters had the ability to be relatable but I feel reading the book would have given them more definition for me

⭐⭐.5/5

• psychological thriller
• really slow burn

I had high hopes for this one because I really enjoyed both The Whisper Man and The Shadows. I switched between my physical copy and the audio version. I found my mind wandering when listening to the audio - I couldn't get fully engaged and I kept getting confused. 🤷‍♀️ The plot moved quite slowly. Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me.

🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley, @celadonbooks and @macmillan.audio and for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC and audio! All opinions are honest and my own.

A full review is coming for this book (publishes 2/28) on my Youtube Channel. I LOVED The Whisper Man by Alex North and this was also a very enjoyable read. I will post the link to my video review when it is published but for now I will say that this was a great, thrilling, and terrifying read! Alex North has a way of making a thriller very dark, engaging, and isn't afraid to scare you. One of the better books I have listened to so far in 2023!

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this audio book in exchange for my honest review*

This is a thriller that really packs a punch! There are many layers to this complex tale that really comes together perfectly! I can't wait to read more by Alex North! I alternated reading and listening to this book!

A captivating story of a woman and her fight to protect her family, and her discovery of her brother’s past mistakes and choices.

This is the first book that I have read by Alex North, and I was very happy to receive a preview of the audiobook from Netgalley. Although I really enjoy audiobooks, and seem to listen to quite a few, this one was difficult to follow. The premise was intriguing, and the sections of the book that focus on Katie and her brother, Chris, were basically what kept me going, this book jumped around to the point that I felt lost much of the time. It was very difficult to keep track of the various characters and the timeline, which also was confusing. This particular book might have been easier to follow in book format, as I could have gone back and reread those parts in which I became confused. I did, however manage to finish the book, but naturally, I still wasn't exactly sure that I knew what happened. Maybe die hard Alex North fans will appreciate his style more than I did, but this was a tough one for me.

DNF at 48%...there was no way for me to keep up with the characters and their stories. With each new chapter, I just continued to feel confused and struggle to connect the characters. It might have been easier to follow with reading it, however I listened to the audio and was lost the whole time. I did really like the narrator, Rosalie Craig, but I just couldn’t go on past the half-way mark. I’ve heard such great things about this author, so I’m pretty disappointed that I couldn’t get through this one, and not finishing a book is very rare for me. I do plan on giving his other books a try, but this one is a no-go for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan audio, and Alex North for providing me with this gifted audio in exchange for my honest review.

Dark and disturbing novel that is one of the best I’ve ever listened to, definitely my favorite by this author. This novel was so well written (like all his others) that it really makes you think about family and what is important in life. This story spanned many different years and timelines but the story was brought together seamlessly with excellent narration. Katie and Chris are siblings, having grown up in a loving family Katie thrived. Chris wasn’t so lucky, always a little awkward but well loved and watched out for by his big sister. In the aftermath of a terrible seeming random attack on Chris everyone’s life changes forever. Fast forward years later when a professor with no known enemies is brutally murdered and Chris has ties to the man. With the guilt she feels for her brother’s attack when they were kids, Katie will do anything to help Chris even if it puts everyone she loves in danger. This audiobook is impossible to stop listening to, highly recommend.

This is the best Alex North book to date. Complex characters, fun and twisty plot, mystery, Good vs evil, and enough suspense to keep you up late reading. The narrator was great.

🎧3⭐️

After loving The Whisperman, I was all over a new book by this author.
I had the audiobook version read by Rosalie Craig.

The previous books have flirted with a supernatural element, this one jumps in with both feet.

There are quite a few characters and strands which doesn’t make it easy to keep track, I’d go as far as to say I found it confusing. It’s slow and rambling, and rapidly moves time frames. It’s complex with very subtle hints and clues, you need to really concentrate, perhaps not best suited to audiobook format unless you are able to concentrate 100%. This one might be appreciated more by reading. I perhaps need to read this too, I’m just not sure I have the patience. I found with shadow friends it needed reading twice to appreciate it fully. Life’s too short to have to read books twice to get the most out of them.

There’s a serial killer who knows the future, a victim Alan Hobbes a philosopher who lectures on Determinism, that life is pre ordained. As he waits to die he thinks about three people whose journeys are interlinked with his own,
Siblings Kate and Christopher, Kate is still traumatised by an event earlier in her life which Christopher bore the results of.
DI Laurence Page who is investigating the murder of Hobbes.
I found this one weird, the themes explored seeing into the future, life being predestined and parallel universes felt like an overload although I can appreciate that they are linked theories.

I’m beginning to think that the author isn’t going to be able to match The Whisperman for me. So anticipating that this will be my last early read, I’ll wait for others to rave about a new book before giving it a try.

Alex North's latest, THE ANGEL MAKER, is a slow-burning complex, dark, chilling, and twisty psychological thriller with multiple storylines and characters.

It will take significant concentration to keep up, especially listening to the audible version.

Set in the UK, meet Kate Shaw, age seventeen. She had a boyfriend and a younger brother. Her life is quite pleasant in the English countryside with big dreams.

Until that when an impulsive decision changed her life and those around her. She was supposed to care for her younger brother, Chris; instead, she spent the afternoon with her boyfriend.

Chris was attacked by a stranger, Michael, who attempted to cut off his face.

Now in her 30s, Kate still feels guilt. Her mother informs her that Chris has gone missing. He has been troubled and has become an addict and a criminal. He needs her.

Kate now has a child of her own. She is pulled in all directions, struggling to separate the real threats from the imagined. Chris continues to be involved in criminal activity or caught in and around it.

We then meet Detective Laurence Page handling a gruesome crime of a distinguished professor, Alan Hobbes, of fate and free will, who has been murdered after firing his staff. Did he expect to die?

This connects with the old case and attack of teen Chris and a notorious serial killer known as The Angle Maker, who is known to see the future. How are these cases connected?

They are indeed connected in mysterious ways.

Totally creepy and a bit confusing, serial killer, a brother, and a professor. A whodunit and motive. I had to rewind multiple times to see if I had missed something. There are a lot of evil characters, and you may need a scorecard to keep up.

I am not a fan of the paranormal, horror, and creepy; however, I did enjoy the narrator, Rosalie Craig, who delivered an engaging performance.

Thank you to #MacmillanAudio and #NetGalley for a gifted ALC.

Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 3 🌟Stars
Pub Date: Feb 28, 2023

Alex North is back with another edge of your seat thriller. This was dark and creepy with cult vibes and a slowly unraveling story. What happens when life doesn’t follow its prescribed course and bucks fate?

I wasn’t a huge fan of how quickly the story ended and there was one plot point that never quite came around. I also struggled with characters going my multiple names and had to flip back a couple times to make sure i kept things straight! I did like the layers and suspense that kept me turning pages until the very end. The red herrings were well placed and played into the suspense.

I loved reading this with book club friends!

Katie is about to graduate high school and has an idyllic life until her brother, Chris, is the victim of a violent attack. As an adult, Chris struggles with addiction/mental health and Katie has no relationship with him. When Chris goes missing, Katie realizes her family is in danger and begins looking for her brother.

The logistics of the book were a bit off for me. It was really creepy at times and I liked getting the killer’s perspective. However, Katie irked me. I did like the detective and I could almost see this becoming a series.