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haileyhardcover's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Holy crap this book was CHILLING. A serial killer who goes after kids is always going to be especially horrific, but North did an incredible job building up the anxiety as you realize the real horror of the situation at the same time as the characters do. There’s a really interesting supernatural element to the story (or, is there?) but by and large it is, unfortunately, an entirely plausible story which makes it all the more terrifying. At the end of one chapter in particular, my heart was beating out of my chest! No book has ever scared me like this one did.
There are also several reveals throughout the course of the story. Though a couple seemed a little obvious to me, there was one specific one where my jaw very literally, almost comically, DROPPED.
There are also deeper tones to The Whisper Man. Beyond the thrills and the horror, the story examines the complexity of father-son relationships from multiple, vastly different angles. It also does a great job of portraying the on-going battle of addition recovery (specifically alcoholism, but I think the portrayal would translate well to any addiction) and what the daily struggle to remain sober can look like for many.
I am giving this book five stars because, at the end of the day, it has accomplished what no book ever REALLY has and legitimately scared me, so it feels deserved; but I don’t think I would say it’s perfect. Listen, I award my stars how I want to. Deal with it!
The story jumps between five different points of view, which can be a little confusing at times, especially when you’re not always immediately sure whose point of view you’re reading. One point of view is Jake’s, and it did occur to me as I was reading that I don’t think North accounted for how differently a child might think and process these situations. There was a point when it was acknowledged that Jake had a better grasp on vocabulary than most other kids his age, which I think was a way of addressing this disparity, but it felt a little off to me. I also felt like the book had a slower start. While the first chapter gets your blood pumping, it slows down pretty considerably and for quite a few chapters after that. It’s all important story building, but the first third of the book or so is a little slow. Still, the chapters are short (often 3-4 pages!) so it is an easy one to binge and get through pretty quick!
If you have children or kiddos that you love in your life, keep in mind that this one is going to be a tough and terrifying read, but it is still really good and I absolutely recommend it. It’s one that is going to sit with me… probably forever.
If you have children or kiddos that you love in your life, keep in mind that this one is going to be a tough and terrifying read, but it is still really good and I absolutely recommend it. It’s one that is going to sit with me… probably forever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Abandonment
elderdragon_reader's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer
judassilver's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
1.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer and Abandonment
Minor: Stalking
catriona176's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
Not massively sure about Christopher Eccleston’s narration and the ending felt a bit underwritten but otherwise this is a pretty solid detective thriller.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse
ravenpuff's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
lcm_xo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
meeklovestoread's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book was fine. I saw it over the book/thriller side of the internet and everyone was raving about it. Saying how scary it was and how the twist was good and how this book messed with your head and whatnot. I enjoy a good thriller so I picked it up. And after finishing this book I'm so confused as to how anything was shocking. There were a few scary parts, but other than that I really didn't see how this book garner so much allure. Based on what I've heard I expected this book to be much scarier than what was actually presented so therefore I was highly disappointed when I got to the end and nothing crazy really happened. I also found it disappointing how this story centers around a copycat of the Whisper Man murders instead of just creating a story around the original homicides. Literally the kid gets abducted around the 75% page mark, around page 280, and then rescued about 40 pages later. And the killer being the son of the former killer is a very common twist that has been used a plethora of times so I'm surprised how many people claimed they were shocked by it. Also, I think the real mystery should've been how this kid is able to communicate with "spirits". It's low-key confirmed that he can talk to spirits considering he knew something only his dead grandfather could know. We never find out how or why this happens and are just supposed to roll with it. Also, that woman being a reporter the whole time still didn't sit right with me. Can't believe Tom went out with her after that. Overall it was an okay book. I read it pretty quickly. If you're just starting to get into horror books and you don't like scary stuff at all then I recommend this one, because there wasn't really much spooky behavior going on. Oh and also what annoyed me the most was that the reader would get no warning of when POVs switched. So starting the chapters I would get confused on who's perspective we were in sometimes, so be prepared for that if you choose to read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, and Cursing
sweetsygal'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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Kidnapping, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent
ggcd1981's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Rating: 3.75 estrelas
The whisper man foi indicado em uma das primeiras listas de recomendação de terror que li quando estava retornando a leitura. Só que não concordo que esta obra é terror. É na verdade um thriller que inicialmente passa uma ambiguidade de se existem elementos paranormais ou é apenas uma história de serial killer (SPOILER: É apenas um serial killer). Não sei se é adequado também chamar o livro de Mistério, pois os mistérios que existem (Quem é o assassino e porque mata) são revelados mais ou menos na metade do livro. A partir da revelação o foco da obra se torna encontrar a criança, Jake, que foi sequestrada.
É em geral um livro interessante, inclusive houve um momento um pouco assustador devido a narração (de Christopher Eccleston) do “boy under the floor”. A história mantém seu interesse, mas não posso dizer que ela atingiu seu potencial completo. A premissa de The whisper man é bastante interessante, mas a sensação que tive foi que o autor não queria cruzar a linha para que a história fosse mais Dark e honestamente mais realista (Desnecessário dizer que quando as vítimas nesse tipo de enredo são meninas MUITAS dessas linhas são comumente cruzadas). Ou seja, o autor manteve a história PG-13 e não cruzou a linha para o terror.
Gostei de como as relações de pai e filho, tanto de Tom Kennedy com seu filho Jake, quanto de Tom com seu Pai Pete foram retratadas. Não há muitos pontos ruins na obra. Acho que o mais frustrante para mim foi a sensação de que o autor tentou pegar leve na história quando esta poderia ter sido um terror. Da narração de Christopher Eccleston devo dizer que esta me deixou confusa, pois houveram momentos bons e momentos ruins. Eu ouviria uma narração dele novamente? Sim, mas não de um livro que eu esteja antecipando MUITO. Em resumo, gostei e estou feliz de ter lido, mas não é um destaque do gênero Mystery/Thriller. Dou nota 3.75 estrelas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Toxic friendship
casslibraria's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood