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jenpaul13's review against another edition
4.0
A creepy childhood rhyme seems to help explain the reason for the disappearances of young children from a quiet town in Alex North's The Whisper Man.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
In the aftermath of his wife's sudden death, Tom Kennedy thinks that moving house might be a good way for him and his son Jake to begin to heal from their trauma of losing Rebecca and try to patch up their barely functioning relationship. Purchasing a home that is lovingly referred to as having character, Tom and Jake move to Featherbank to start a new chapter in their lives. But little did they know that their quiet new town has a dark past that's making a startling reappearance. Twenty years past, serial killer Frank Carter, known as The Whisper Man for the quiet words spoken at the children's windows, abducted and killed five children. Having resided behind bars since then he makes an unlikely suspect for the current abduction of a young boy, but the specific details that are present hadn't been released to the press, pointing to someone that knows Carter well acting now. While the police try to get answers out of Carter about a possible accomplice Jake starts behaving strangely and hearing whispers, stirring fear in Tom that Jake could be the next target.
A quickly-paced story with elements of the supernatural threaded throughout, the narrative is fairly good at being entertaining and building suspense as it develops its depiction of dysfunction in several different types of father and son relationships; however, for those familiar with some basics of behavioral psychology and potential motivations behind criminal acts, the reveals in the text are rather lackluster as they are easy to anticipate to the point of being expected as the only logical progression. There are multiple perspectives offered throughout the novel in what seems to be an effort to portray the complete picture of the scenario, but there were too many characters narrating, with an inconsistent frequency, that left it feeling a bit unbalanced, which detracted from the eerie atmosphere that was gradually developing.
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
In the aftermath of his wife's sudden death, Tom Kennedy thinks that moving house might be a good way for him and his son Jake to begin to heal from their trauma of losing Rebecca and try to patch up their barely functioning relationship. Purchasing a home that is lovingly referred to as having character, Tom and Jake move to Featherbank to start a new chapter in their lives. But little did they know that their quiet new town has a dark past that's making a startling reappearance. Twenty years past, serial killer Frank Carter, known as The Whisper Man for the quiet words spoken at the children's windows, abducted and killed five children. Having resided behind bars since then he makes an unlikely suspect for the current abduction of a young boy, but the specific details that are present hadn't been released to the press, pointing to someone that knows Carter well acting now. While the police try to get answers out of Carter about a possible accomplice Jake starts behaving strangely and hearing whispers, stirring fear in Tom that Jake could be the next target.
A quickly-paced story with elements of the supernatural threaded throughout, the narrative is fairly good at being entertaining and building suspense as it develops its depiction of dysfunction in several different types of father and son relationships; however, for those familiar with some basics of behavioral psychology and potential motivations behind criminal acts, the reveals in the text are rather lackluster as they are easy to anticipate to the point of being expected as the only logical progression. There are multiple perspectives offered throughout the novel in what seems to be an effort to portray the complete picture of the scenario, but there were too many characters narrating, with an inconsistent frequency, that left it feeling a bit unbalanced, which detracted from the eerie atmosphere that was gradually developing.
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
ktjaeeee's review against another edition
5.0
While I was invested in the story from the jump, it became harder and harder to put it down as it progressed.
I did the bulk of this read in a day because it was that intense.
I really loved having the different POV’s, initially I wanted to know whose POV it was before starting each chapter but I understand the appeal now of not doing it. There was more excitement when you didn’t know whose POV was where.
Solid read. This satisfied a craving I’ve been searching for. It was creepy, exciting, and so suspenseful.
I did the bulk of this read in a day because it was that intense.
I really loved having the different POV’s, initially I wanted to know whose POV it was before starting each chapter but I understand the appeal now of not doing it. There was more excitement when you didn’t know whose POV was where.
Solid read. This satisfied a craving I’ve been searching for. It was creepy, exciting, and so suspenseful.
kingcarstairs's review against another edition
4.0
Creo que primero me tenía que leer este (preferentemente) antes de empezar The Shadows, pero creo que no hay mucho problema, no me perdí de casi nada.
Lo que sí tengo que decir es que Alex North tiene el poder de hacerte creer que lo real no lo es y viceversa y esa confusión o duda que deja es super mindblowing.
El desarrollo de este me pareció un poco más completa que la de The Shadows, incluidos los personajes y la forma de retratar la historia, sin embargo, la temática del segundo libro me sigue pareciendo superior, porque es original e interesante (o quizás mi opinión esta biased porque cuando se trata de sueños y esas cosas, I'm in) y me dio más miedo que este.
Solo quería hacer la comparación en esos puntos, ya que, en líneas más generales, The Whisper Man me pareció mejor en casi todos los demás aspectos.
Jake es mi personaje favorito y el final fue p o d e r o s o.
Lo que sí tengo que decir es que Alex North tiene el poder de hacerte creer que lo real no lo es y viceversa y esa confusión o duda que deja es super mindblowing.
El desarrollo de este me pareció un poco más completa que la de The Shadows, incluidos los personajes y la forma de retratar la historia, sin embargo, la temática del segundo libro me sigue pareciendo superior, porque es original e interesante (o quizás mi opinión esta biased porque cuando se trata de sueños y esas cosas, I'm in) y me dio más miedo que este.
Solo quería hacer la comparación en esos puntos, ya que, en líneas más generales, The Whisper Man me pareció mejor en casi todos los demás aspectos.
Jake es mi personaje favorito y el final fue p o d e r o s o.
gtriley's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mauraneandbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Un gros coup de cœur pour ce premier roman thriller de Alex North, recommandé par la merveilleuse Noelle Gallagher !! Il rentre définitivement dans mon top 3 de mes lectures de cette année. Outre l'histoire qui fait froid dans le dos, j'ai adoré les personnages et leur complexité ainsi que les différentes relations entre un père et un fils qui sont explorés dans le roman. J'étais vraiment attaché aux personnages surtout à Jake et Tom qui ont une relation singulière avec un destin tragique. + des petites touches poétiques par ci par là
Je n'ai pas réussi à le lâcher, et je l'aurais dévoré bien plus vite si je l'avais lu en français. D'ailleurs il a été traduit en VF.
Je recommande très chaudement !
Je n'ai pas réussi à le lâcher, et je l'aurais dévoré bien plus vite si je l'avais lu en français. D'ailleurs il a été traduit en VF.
Je recommande très chaudement !
liv_333's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
The Whisper Man is a chilling and suspenseful thriller that perfectly weaves together multiple POV’s, creating a complex and dynamic narrative. The eerie atmosphere and strong character connections make the story gripping and adds to its intrigue. I listened to the audiobook and found the narrator to be quite monotone and boring. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it if you’re a fan of psychological thrillers.
themysterymaven's review against another edition
5.0
What is it about scary rhymes set to children’s tunes that’s just so creepy?!?! Anytime the lyrical warning about The Whisper Man was present on the page in this book, I kept thinking of that good ol’ earworm from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies
vickymaldonado's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
hillybean82's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0