Title: The Whisper Man
Author: Alex North
Publisher: Celadon Books
Release Date: August 20, 2019
Pages: 368
Book Source: Scribd
“After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. Featherbank.
But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed “The Whisper Man,” for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night.
Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter’s crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in prison: The Whisper Man.
And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window…” Amazon
Jessica’s Review
I first heard about The Whisper Man by Alex North from the Book of the Month Club’s website. I’m not an active paying number, but I frequently visit the website each month when the latest titles are released. I found some great reads that way! Something about the description of this book made me eager to get my hands on a copy. I almost signed up for the subscription because this book was considered an early release and well I just didn’t want to wait. BUT, for the sake of my wallet and my already growing collection of books, I stopped myself.
The Whisper Man is obviously considered a thriller and I believe this is the author’s, Alex North, debut novel.
The (condensed) synopsis from Goodreads reads:
“In this dark, suspenseful thriller, Alex North weaves in multi-generational tale of a father and son caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town.
After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. Featherbank”
….
And so it begins! What Tom wasn’t aware of was the past of Featherbank… he wasn’t aware of “The Whisper Man” aka Frank Carter and how 20 years prior he abducted and murdered five residents. The thing is Frank Carter is in prison.
Now a young boy vanishes… in an oddly similar way as those abducted 20 years prior “reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice.”
I have you on your toes, don’t I? Good.
The thing is after I finished this book… I can’t say that I would give it 5 stars. After digesting the book, I still wouldn’t give it 5 stars, but I would give it a solid 4 to 4.5 stars. The deduction is simply because I didn’t get that eager excitement at the ending that I get when a thriller really takes me by surprise. You know, when you are completely out of breath because you just couldn’t devour the book fast enough?
Don’t get me wrong, The Whisper Man is still excellent and I would recommend it, there was just a small something missing for me and I can’t really put my finger on it.
The story intertwined several characters and there were a few times I was thrown for a loop. If you read the book, you will know what I am talking about. You have Tom and his son Jack and their story, along with Detective Amanda Beck and Pete Willis who have their own story that intertwines with Tom and Jack, but also Frank Carter…both in the past and present.
I would say this book is a lighter thriller. There really isn’t that much gore and while you have a serial killer… North doesn’t really delve into detail on the crimes etc… For someone like myself, I read a lot of thrillers and suspense, I could have handled a little more of everything. I guess I can put my finger on it after all.
All in all, this is an excellent book. Just be warned that if you are an avid thriller/suspense reader, this may be on the lighter side of what you are used to. The story is written well, the intertwining of characters was done nicely, and the story-line is enjoyable.
Disclosure: Some of the links we use are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.