Name: esme villanueva's review of The Whisper Man by Alex North
Item: The Whisper Man
Rating: 1
Author: esme villanueva

Alex North

If you leave a door half-open, soon you'll hear the whispers spoken . . . Still devastated after the loss of his wife, Tom Kennedy and his young son Jake move to the sleepy village of Featherbank, looking for a fresh start. But Featherbank has a dark past. Fifteen years ago a twisted serial killer abducted and murdered five young boys. Until he was finally caught, the killer was known as 'The Whisper Man'. Of course, an old crime need not trouble Tom and Jake as they try to settle in to their new home. Except that now another boy has gone missing. And then Jake begins acting strangely. He says he hears a whispering at his window . . .

The Whisper Man

If you leave a door half-open, soon you'll hear the whispers spoken. Still devastated after the loss of his wife, Tom Kennedy and his young son Jake move to the sleepy village of Featherbank, looking for a fresh start. But Featherbank has a dark past. 15 years ago a twisted serial killer abducted and murdered five young boys. Until he was finally caught, the killer was known as 'The Whisper Man'. Of course, an old crime need not trouble Tom and Jake as they try to settle in to their new home. Except that now another boy has gone missing. And then Jake begins acting strangely. He says he hears a whispering at his window.

Sarah 

In this psychological thriller, Alex North weaves a multi-generational tale of suspense, as a father and son are caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town. After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. Featherbank. But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed "The Whisper Man," for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night. Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter's crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in prison: The Whisper Man. And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window...

Ciara Janae ۵

Emily fowler

In this dark, suspenseful thriller, Alex North weaves a multi-generational tale of a father and son caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town.

After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. Featherbank.

But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed "The Whisper Man," for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night.

Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter's crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in prison: The Whisper Man.

And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window...

esme villanueva

i unfortunately did not care for this book too much. the writing felt hard to follow sometimes, the story didn't intrigue me very much. its less creepy scary and more just a law and order episode 

Sophia Rico

Eva Ströberg

It could have been more interesting than it is. Truly, I felt this book had potential. Serial child kidnapper/murderer? So scary, and the fact that the actual murderer was behind bars while the a new kid was kidnapped. 

A single dad with a troubled son moved into town and the son was haunted by the the whisper man and obviously he could see stuff that nobody else could see. 

It was such a great start, but somehow I feel the author failed to execute the story in more interesting ways. Oh well, it was entertaining anyway...

**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "WORKS BEAUTIFULLY... If you like being terrified, The Whisper Man has your name on it." —The New York Times, Editor's Pick "SUPERB" —Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review "BRILLIANT... will satisfy readers of Thomas Harris and Stephen King." —Booklist, Starred Review "POIGNANT AND TERRIFYING" —Entertainment Weekly In this dark, suspenseful thriller, Alex North weaves a multi-generational tale of a father and son caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town. After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. Featherbank. But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed "The Whisper Man," for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night. Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter's crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in prison: The Whisper Man. And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window...

A Novel

alexandria slocum

The Whisper Man was the first book to actually creep me out. I absolutely loved this book, i found it fast paced and so easy to get into. This book was spine tingling, keeping you at the edge of your seat, needing to know what happens next. The Whisper Man is about a father and son who move to a new town after guys wife passes. Not long after, a young boy disappears and it brings everyone back to yard ago when The Whisper Man had commited several crimes.

Tee Ng

Teba nabeel

** spoiler alert **
           Such a page turner! 
I found myself feeling very antsy and just wanting to tell them the killer’s name or do something to help.
When I started this book I expected it to be a horror book from a couple of reviews i saw of people saying how scary it was, it wasn’t a horror book but damn was it scary! 
Being scared doesn’t always mean having to read a paranormal activity kind of books or stories about ghost. It can also mean reading something real!
This book was real! Something that happened and continues to happen in out life, yes bad people exist and there are killers or potential killers on the loose so that’s why this book really scared me.
Apart from the amazing writing and plots of course.
Loved it!

Denaiir

2.5 stars
I think I had too high expectations for this one, it was supposed to be dark and it wasn't really, except that kids are kidnapped. And I don't care about kids.
The character were mildly annoying at best, the only one I liked didn't play such an important part.
I also really dislike thrillers where there might be a paranormal element but you don't really know if it's actually paranormal or if it will be explained later. 
Overall not badly written but it will definitely not leave a mark in my bookish landscape.
Oh and the narrator was not good, he had a monotonous tone which made the experience quite dull, I think the book would have gotten a better rating if it had been read by someone else like Euan Morton or if I had read it in paper format.

It was ok.not as much as I've heard about .The book is in horrible and mistery genre. It was attractive but predictable 

Shidehdeishidi

Colleen

5 Stars
 
*A gripping, suspenseful story of murder, mayhem, and the different ways the past can haunt us *

My 500th review on Goodreads! (Clearly I spend too much time one here!)


The Whisper Man caught me by surprise. I had seen the hype about it, but I picked it up on a whim. I’ve had terrible luck with Suspense/Thrillers lately due to the mass of generic copycat stories. Although I can’t say that The Whisper Man is wholly unique or genre-defining, I was absolutely captivated by this story. 

I do want to mention that a lot of people are labeling The Whisper Man as a debut. However, North already has several other books published under a different name.

Still grieving the unexpected loss of his wife, writer Tom Kennedy moves to a small English town hoping that the new location will help him and his young son move past their grief. But then a boy is found murdered, and Tom’s son begins acting strangely and talking about the boy in the floor.


  “If you leave a door half open, soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken.
If you play outside alone, soon you won’t be going home.
If your window’s left unlatched, you’ll hear him tapping at the glass.
If you’re lonely, sad, and blue, the Whisper Man will come for you.”

I won’t give away anything about the plot, but this was definitely a page-turner! I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. The characters were each deeply flawed but in complex and believable ways. One of things that bothers me about many modern thrillers is when the characters are all nasty for no apparent reason. But I was so invested in the characters of The Whisper Man. Even though the story had multiple points of view (another thing that usually doesn’t work for), it was a captivating story. Perhaps there were a few points that required some suspension of belief, but I was so drawn to this story. It kept me engaged, and it kept me guessing. And the atmosphere was creepy and excellently done! I highly recommend this for those who like suspenseful mysteries!


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 5 Stars
Writing Style: 5 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 5 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 5 Stars
Level of Captivation: 5 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

Boothby

** spoiler alert **
           Frankly disappointing that Karen wasn't in on it as a twist.

Alexa M

Evelina

I feel like all through out the book i knew who the "new whisper man" was and i was super happy with the ending pete got because he annoyed me a lot even if i wished he stayed for jake. But i loved jake's pov and his relationship with his dad was interesting.

Rachel Kanyid

Oo, I really enjoyed this story, and I liked that the author wrote in a more positive tone, rather than dark and creepy. The portrayal of the relationship between Jake and Tom was lovely, and I liked seeing the aspect of dealing with grief as a large part of the thriller.

Izza

3.75 stars | kudos for giving me the creeps late at night. However, It lost steam in the middle and the ending was pretty anticlimactic. I’m definitely going to read his next book, the shadows though.

An amazing read!!!! I had chills up my spine and everything! This book is definitely worth the read and I suggest everyone make it their next read 

Lizeth Esmeralda

McKenzie McWhorter

I thought this book was really well written and loved how creepy it was a times. All the different aspects of the story and povs were woven together perfectly and made for a fast paced enjoyable read. 

I did think part of it was very predictable but there was enough story added to it that I still enjoyed the ending.

Amazing book!!! Cannot recommend this enough!

Ahmed Salem

kate humphreys 

okay wow i really loved this!!! it’s been on my tbr for forever and i finally saw it on bookoutlet and immediately bought it. the concept of this really creeped me out and i’m basically never scared by a book. i enjoyed the fact that this wasn’t super predictable for me until the very end where i figured it out but in a good and exciting way? i’m super excited to read north’s second book as soon as i can get my hands on it!

Alfredo santos

Good plot twists. It's your basic serial killer novel, trauma, strange kids who suffered. But as good as it can get. If you're into the genre, i highly recommend it. The tension is non stop and that is a great achievement for such a "not that short book". Although I think it's under "horror" in the best of 2019 by goodreads, i classify it entirely as a thriller.

O Homem dos Sussurros

A 20 anos na cidade de Featherbank um assassino matou 5 meninos e 1 dos corpos nunca foi encontrado mesmo depois da sua prisão, esse crime não deveria interferir na vida de Tom e Jake que estão se mudando para a cidade depois que a mãe de Jake morreu, mas as coisas começam a mudar quando um novo menino é sequestrado e Jake começa a escutar alguém sussurrando para ele em sua janela.

Eu ganhei esse livro em um sorte do Skoob e decidi que era a hora de sanar a minha curiosidade sobre oque o livro falava e sobre como os eventos iam transcorrer.

O Final desse livro deixou em aberto uma questão sobre Jake que algumas vezes é levanto e como isso pode ter afetado os eventos finais.

A escrita do livro foi boa e fez com que a leitura fosse rápida e viciante ao ponto que eu queria ficar lendo em todos os intervalos do meu trabalho.

O livro é narrado do ponto de vista do Tom, Jake, o detetive Pete, a detetive responsável pelo atual desaparecimento e o sequestrador.

O livro possui um desenvolvimento muito grande no relacionamento do Tom e o Jake enquanto eles aprendem a lidar sem a ajuda da figura materna que os unia.

O livro tem um tema principal sobre o relacionamento de pai com filho e o sentimento de inequidade que se pode sentir no caminho de entender um ao outro, as consequências do vicio e do caminho para a sobriedade, o luto e como vai afetar os mais próximos em conjunto com as consequências do abuso emocional de pais nos filhos.

Bianca Pereira da Ponte

A 20 anos na cidade de Featherbank um assassino matou 5 meninos e 1 dos corpos nunca foi encontrado mesmo depois da sua prisão, esse crime não deveria interferir na vida de Tom e Jake que estão se mudando para a cidade depois que a mãe de Jake morreu, mas as coisas começam a mudar quando um novo menino é sequestrado e Jake começa a escutar alguém sussurrando para ele em sua janela.

Eu ganhei esse livro em um sorte do Skoob e decidi que era a hora de sanar a minha curiosidade sobre oque o livro falava e sobre como os eventos iam transcorrer.

O Final desse livro deixou em aberto uma questão sobre Jake que algumas vezes é levanto e como isso pode ter afetado os eventos finais.

A escrita do livro foi boa e fez com que a leitura fosse rápida e viciante ao ponto que eu queria ficar lendo em todos os intervalos do meu trabalho.

O livro é narrado do ponto de vista do Tom, Jake, o detetive Pete, a detetive responsável pelo atual desaparecimento e o sequestrador.

O livro possui um desenvolvimento muito grande no relacionamento do Tom e o Jake enquanto eles aprendem a lidar sem a ajuda da figura materna que os unia.

O livro tem um tema principal sobre o relacionamento de pai com filho e o sentimento de inequidade que se pode sentir no caminho de entender um ao outro, as consequências do vicio e do caminho para a sobriedade, o luto e como vai afetar os mais próximos em conjunto com as consequências do abuso emocional de pais nos filhos.

Brittney Browne

** spoiler alert **
           Not my usual genre, but in a sudden spur of the moment urge to find new reads, I downloaded a bunch of thrillers. so here we are. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. This story checks almost all of my boxes. A well paced plot? Check. Amazing, fully developed characters? Check. Good writing? Check. I devoured this book and was hooked almost the whole time. Are all thrillers like this? If so, I’m in. 

I did have one MAJOR issue with the plot that really confounded me. **Spoiler** After Jake is nearly abducted, with the fingers through the mail slot and ALL THE NO’S, how ON EARTH could his dad think it was okay to go out for a drink and leave his child home with a babysitter???? Like, the next day???? And not just any babysitter, but his recovered alcoholic father he doesn’t know at all???? This whole part REALLY took me out of the story. It was completely unbelievable under any circumstance. I just simply can’t imagine any parent leaving their child at such a harrowing time. 

Having said that, the rest of the story is absolutely phenomenal and that was probably the only time I wanted to throw the kindle across the room.

Shan

I could not put this book down. Although it was predictible at times, I thoroughly enjoyed during on the edge of my seat. With plenty of character development, mystery, thrills this book was perfect to start off spooky season

courtney garrison

This is an unexpected new fave. I wasn’t really sure what this was about and I went into it not reading the synopsis. I was completely blow a way. Also after I finished I learned this was a debut….A DEBUT! Alex has absolute amazing writing talent. They way he sucks you in and your so terrified but you can’t help but continue because you want to know what happens. The shock throughout this and the ending is just…wow. 

The story is set between 3 different POVs Pete (DI Willis), Tom Kennedy and Jake Kennedy. You don’t get a lot of chapters with Jake but there are some in between Pete and Tom. Tom and Jake are a perfect duo just trying to put pieces back together when they move the Featherbank. Pete is a detective and when i local boy goes missing it is just like the whisper man cases twenty years ago. The problem is Frank Carter (The Whisper Man) is in jail so who kidnapped the little boy. 

There is an old rhyme that has been told ever since the first 5 boys where killed by The Whisper Man. “If you leave the door half open, soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken. If you play outside alone, soon you won’t be going home.” *Shudders forever.

This book….gah it puts you through so many emotions and your gutted at the end. I was terrified, sad, angry, emotional, relieved, and then it starts all over again. What really got me is I really thought I had the ending planned out by the end and IT DID A COMPLETE TURN and went a different way than I expected.

I will say this the first half of the novel does drag but its giving you background and setting it up for the second half. My god the second half is roller coaster of a ride. The Shock, Thrill, Mystery of it comes together and everything is put in to place.

Alex is a phenomenal writer and i cant wait to see what he comes up with next. He is now a new favorite and i can’t wait. I got a copy from botm this month and I plan on rereading it because it was so good. I hope you pick this one up.

Courtney 💛

Emily fowler &
The Whisper Man by Alex North

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