Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The Whisper Man

Pros: fast paced, scary, does not have an idiotic “twist” that ruins the whole book.
Cons: Female characters almost nonexistent, writing was mediocre, audiobook was also meh

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collinsd's review against another edition

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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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the_disreputable_dog's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I really enjoyed this book. I actually didn't have time to review it a month ago when I finished it and have still been thinking of it all this time, hence my feeling comfortable to still review it. The book starts out slow, building a world with a single dad, and a sweet little boy moving into a new house while still mourning the loss of their wife/mom respectively. For Jake, the son, he's also having trouble making friends his own age, and the only thing helping him through the days is the little girl in the blue checked dress. For the dad, Tom, the thing making him most uneasy is that he can't see the girl in the blue checked dress, even though Jake swears she's real. They decide that moving house is probably the best way to move forwards, but at the new house all is not well.

In a parallel story, old wizened detective Pete Willis gets called in to assist on a case of a child disappearing. The crime appears to be related to a crime spree that happened many years ago in which he was the lead investigator. The catch? They caught the man responsible all those years ago. Now Pete is fighting against all odds to find the boy, even going back and re-checking his own work from the older case as well.

I really liked this book. The drama of the missing kid kept me in suspense, while the mystery surrounding the little girl in the blue checked dress and Jake kept me guessing what was happening. I liked Tom, Jake, Pete, and the girl in the blue checked dress quite a lot, and I felt like all of them were very well created characters. They weren't all knowing, or all-seeing. They made mistakes and got turned around and especially with the girl, they had very distinct limits to what they could do. I think sometimes in books, authors get all caught up in what they want the characters to do and making sure that the good guys win, that they forget it can add value to have the characters do what they don't want to do, or to have the characters not do something. I think it was very smart to have that included as well, because it made you, as the reader, get tripped up too. I hope to find more like this.

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