The Whisper Man by Alex North ★★☆☆☆ #BookReview #BookBlog

 

Primary Genre(s): Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction
Published: 20 Aug 2019 by Celedon Books
Page count: 355
My Format: Audiobook via Overdrive
Cover: Good
Pacing: Okay
Ending: Flat
Would I recommend it: Not really
Commission Link: Buy The Whisper Man

My rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis (from Goodreads)
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…

My Thoughts
I am clearly in the minority here because I did not like this book. As a matter of fact, I thought it was so boring that I wonder if I read the same book that everyone else has been raving about! Here are my pros and cons for The Whisper Man:

Pros

1. The book has all the trappings of a great thriller – serial killer/kidnapper/child abuser, missing children, frightened children, dead bodies, imaginary friends, whispers at the window, new house that is reportedly haunted, deceased mom – and the premise drew me in for sure! Heck, it even had a creepy, sing-song nursery rhyme about the Whisper Man! However…

Cons

1. … while this book had tremendous potential, it never reached it. It is almost like the author threw too many things into the book and none of it actually developed into a thrilling story. None of the “ingredients” melded together well enough, in my opinion, for a satisfying, much less scary, story.
2. The majority of the book was way more father-son relationship drama than anything else. And while that might be interesting to read, it certainly wasn’t thrilling or scary.
3. This book didn’t challenge me at all. There were way too many convenient circumstances and the parts that were obviously supposed to be scary just weren’t.
4. The story had no buildup, no tension, no momentum. Everything felt tepid. Even the ending was completely flat for me… very anti-climactic.
5. I didn’t connect with the characters. Even if you look at this from a father-son story perspective, it still didn’t delve deeply enough to be engaging.
6. There was a hint of paranormal that completely fell flat. I think it would have been better to leave that part completely out of the book to be honest. Because ultimately, it made the book feel a little inconsistent to me – almost as if the author wasn’t exactly sure himself what he wanted his story to be about. Either go there (paranormal) or don’t – doing it halfway was ineffective.
7. This isn’t going to be a memorable book for me. I know that for a fact, because I finished the book just two days ago and I am already struggling to remember some of it so I can write this review.

Summary
I definitely bought into the hype about this book. I was really anticipating a 5-star read and I was excited to read what I expected to be a genuinely scary book for October!!! Unfortunately, this book was none of that for me. I don’t even know how to categorize a book like this. Family drama is all that keeps coming into my head.

I’m glad that so many other people found this book to be exciting and scary, and I’ve always said that not everyone experiences books the same way. All I know for sure is that I was left wanting more from this book in just about every aspect – more horror, more tension, more emotion, more thrills, more scares, and more depth. It really didn’t work for me on any level.

If you would like to read this book and form your own opinion, please consider purchasing through this link: Buy The Whisper Man. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks!

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(image from Goodreads)