Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Whisper Man by Alex North

7 reviews

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. 

Spoiler

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, Murder, and Stalking

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Alcohol, Grief, Violence, and Abandonment

Minor: Child abuse, Cancer, Cursing, and Bullying

adiisbookland91's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

CAWPILE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫Enjoyed the book. Kept me wanting more.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Violence, Grief, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, and Stalking

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking

mkzach'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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Violence, Blood, Child death, Cursing, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Alcoholism

ceecee9093's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Cancer, and Cursing

yogomagpie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

It was a good story but I felt that it was a bit unbalanced. The build up took about 3/4 of the book and felt like a low simmer. The ending, while exciting, felt rushed. I liked the different perspectives for each chapter, but I couldn't really connect with any of the characters.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Stalking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cursing, Murder, Bullying, and Blood

Minor: Drug abuse

sonygaystation's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

4.5 stars y'all, this was book was really, really good. And also really freaking sad?! *cue friends theme song* no one told me it was gonna be this sad. It's graphic and creepy, and has kind of the same tropes you often see in crime-style thrillers, but they felt pulled off in a way that was interesting and introspective. At its core it's about love (so y'all already know I'm gonna love it just because of that) and the lengths we go to try to repair the things we care about. Grief is very hard and often even messier and lots of people tend to get caught in the fall out - it's just especially complicated when it's your six year old son also struggling with his own grief. I think that Jake (Tom's son) was sensitive and introspective, and Tom, even working through feelings that might feel frustrating from the outside, was a very empathetic character. The plot mirrors itself really well in its layers and comes together in a way that managed to make me actually feel sad for a person I'm sure many readers will feel doesn't deserve empathy at all. It's a story about the ways we keep trying to love our people when we aren't quite sure how to, and how we keep seeking the love we want from people unable to give it to us - all wrapped up in father-son relationship thriller. Obviously I loved every second of it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement and Cursing