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tarynreadss's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
I LOVED this book! I read the Whisper Man by the same author and it definitely has similar vibes to this. This book was dark, mysterious, heart-pounding, creepy, and kept me guessing. I thought I had it figured out a couple of times throughout the book but I was wrong every time. This book gives major fall/Halloween spooky vibes and it's amazing. It felt like a fever dream at some parts. I think you'd like this book if you're looking for something to keep you up at night and be scared to go to sleep! I absolutely loved this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Torture
thetruthatallhazards's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
fast-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? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Suicide, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting
Minor: Death and Death of parent
onemorepagecrew'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
I first read Alex North’s earlier book, The Whisper Man, about two years ago. It legitimately scared me, cost me some sleep, and became a benchmark in thriller for me. It’s probably the reason it took me so long to read another of his books – I didn’t think it could stand up to the first one I read. Finally, earlier this month, I borrowed The Shadows on audio book from Libby and ended up finishing it in one day.
The bottom line (for me) – in terms of mystery and twists, it is as good as The Whisper Man. In terms of tense moments and creepiness, it is less jumpy. In terms of dark and disturbing, it’s on par.
In The Shadows, the protagonist is Paul who switches between two timelines: his teenage years and his current adult years. The book opens with the murder of children and alludes to the crime being committed by other children, though it takes the duration of the book to fully understand it all. There’s a current day copycat mystery, a slow to reveal picture of the past murders, and an ambiguous sense of who you can trust throughout. There’s also a paranormal element that add to the creepiness factor.
Overall, the mystery held throughout. The ending was satisfying with a bit of a twist, maybe even two twists depending on how well the author distracts you from reality. If you enjoyed The Whisper Man and were holding off on this one – go ahead and give it a go.
Content warnings: Murder, Death, Violence, Child death, Animal death
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death
blouviere4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
literaryliaisons's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Bullying, Child death, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Pedophilia
staceyisbooked'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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Self harm, Violence, Torture, Death, and Murder
caseyemorgan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Torture
addiclaire's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
jordan_fri's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
bookswithjk's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-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
4.0
North always writes his stories teetering on the edge between the supernatural and reality. Half the time I expected Charlie to really be a murderous, vengeful ghost. However, unlike The Whisper Man, I felt the events in this book a bit hard to follow - whereas the detective in the prior book had a connection to the first person narrator, Amanda did not, and her chapters felt almost like an unnecessary addition to the story. Nonetheless, I loved the twist about the victim’s identity (unless it was clearly obvious from the start and I just missed it).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder