Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Shadows by Alex North

24 reviews

beckyremillard's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Paul has not been to his hometown for 25 years. Now his mother is in hospice, and he’s back to face his past. 

The story is told in Paul’s perspective both now and in the past. We also hear from Amanda, a detective who is working on a similar case that gets connected with the past Paul has been trying to avoid. 

The book is okay. I didn’t predict everything and it was definitely a bit creepy. But nothing really stood out to me as anything special. 

Two fathers in the Army who end up dying? One couldn’t be in a different military branch? I know it was decades apart but I had to read the page with Michael’s father again because for some reason I thought he was James’/Charlie’s father who committed suicide, thinking maybe he had faked it or something? I get it now, but the motivation behind Michael’s father murdering people was weird and there were two many twists to have smaller characters have the same defining trait of being in the Army.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death and Suicide

yomireads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was genuinely spooked reading this book and the plot twists were spectacularly well foreshadowed, and yet unexpected. The resolution felt a little anticlimactic, but it still felt satisfying and tied the loose ends nicely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Homophobia

ellarroz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Suicide, Blood, and Murder

tarynreadss's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I LOVED this book! I read the Whisper Man by the same author and it definitely has similar vibes to this. This book was dark, mysterious, heart-pounding, creepy, and kept me guessing. I thought I had it figured out a couple of times throughout the book but I was wrong every time. This book gives major fall/Halloween spooky vibes and it's amazing. It felt like a fever dream at some parts. I think you'd like this book if you're looking for something to keep you up at night and be scared to go to sleep! I absolutely loved this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Torture, and Blood

onemorepagecrew's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I first read Alex North’s earlier book, The Whisper Man, about two years ago.  It legitimately scared me, cost me some sleep, and became a benchmark in thriller for me.  It’s probably the reason it took me so long to read another of his books – I didn’t think it could stand up to the first one I read.  Finally, earlier this month, I borrowed The Shadows on audio book from Libby and ended up finishing it in one day.  

 

The bottom line (for me) – in terms of mystery and twists, it is as good as The Whisper Man.  In terms of tense moments and creepiness, it is less jumpy.  In terms of dark and disturbing, it’s on par. 

 

In The Shadows, the protagonist is Paul who switches between two timelines: his teenage years and his current adult years. The book opens with the murder of children and alludes to the crime being committed by other children, though it takes the duration of the book to fully understand it all.  There’s a current day copycat mystery, a slow to reveal picture of the past murders, and an ambiguous sense of who you can trust throughout.  There’s also a paranormal element that add to the creepiness factor.  

 

Overall, the mystery held throughout.  The ending was satisfying with a bit of a twist, maybe even two twists depending on how well the author distracts you from reality.  If you enjoyed The Whisper Man and were holding off on this one – go ahead and give it a go. 

 

Content warnings: Murder, Death, Violence, Child death, Animal death 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death

literaryliaisons's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia

kingsteph's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Torture, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide

kris386's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol

book_banter's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I didn’t see the twist coming so that was great! I did find the characters a bit flat, though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death

awalls143's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The overall plot was good. The chapters were a little confusing between the switching point of views and time periods. There is a twist towards the end I feel I should have seen coming but totally didn’t. It changed the way I saw the characters in a good way. Definitely recommend for someone who likes darker books, some scenes are pretty graphic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Animal death