Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Shadows

CW: casual ableism, blood, violence, murder, child death, suicide, infidelity, addiction mentioned, alcohol/drug use, violence, gaslighting, toxic friendships, gore, trauma, abuse/bullying

I started reading this one with such hope, and i was enjoying it initially, but as it continued i found myself bored and could not stay engaged. there was both too much going on and yet nowhere near enough. a big issue, for me, were too many characters that all felt flat and too similar, and too many time skips back and forth. i also feel the detective parts could have been completely cut out and the story would've been much better. her povs just felt like a way to make the book longer and i am not a fan.

a couple of the twists in the end were pretty decent overall, but we get fade to black in a big action end scene that felt so disappointing. i was overall underwhelmed and i wish i wasnt. still going to check out other books by North, but this one was an absolute miss for me.

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beckyremillard's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Paul has not been to his hometown for 25 years. Now his mother is in hospice, and he’s back to face his past.

The story is told in Paul’s perspective both now and in the past. We also hear from Amanda, a detective who is working on a similar case that gets connected with the past Paul has been trying to avoid.

The book is okay. I didn’t predict everything and it was definitely a bit creepy. But nothing really stood out to me as anything special.

Two fathers in the Army who end up dying? One couldn’t be in a different military branch? I know it was decades apart but I had to read the page with Michael’s father again because for some reason I thought he was James’/Charlie’s father who committed suicide, thinking maybe he had faked it or something? I get it now, but the motivation behind Michael’s father murdering people was weird and there were two many twists to have smaller characters have the same defining trait of being in the Army.

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yomireads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I was genuinely spooked reading this book and the plot twists were spectacularly well foreshadowed, and yet unexpected. The resolution felt a little anticlimactic, but it still felt satisfying and tied the loose ends nicely.

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tarynreadss's review against another edition

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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.

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coryduude's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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sofhaz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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onemorepagecrew's review against another edition

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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

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literaryliaisons'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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