Reviews

The Shadows by Alex North

jules60657's review against another edition

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5.0

I will read anything Alex North writes. Creepy, captivating, and has me guessing. More of this please!!

carri_lee's review against another edition

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4.0

“The shadows” by Alex North is the epitome of childhood scary legends made real. There were A few plot twists I didn’t see coming that had me turning the pages well after bedtime! If spooky legends, creepy woods, and murder interest you, it’s quite the read!

llk111's review against another edition

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3.0

This book had so much potential but the ending fell flat IMO

dr_dick's review against another edition

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2.0

meh! good start, but there was something about the presentation that increasingly grated on me. and talk about clichés, holy cow. after awhile i started counting them instead of concentrating on the thriller/horror story. disappointed.

whitneyklo's review against another edition

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5.0

Brilliant. North takes us on a grim dark journey through the mental nuances of a severely damaged young man. The state of a grey town both in look and emotion establishes such a depressive back drop for an equally dark and depressing character lineup - all whose lives have been affected negatively by the manipulative thoughts of Charlie Crabtree.

This book evokes such dark terrible questions; can we influence our dreams and do we have the power over the lives of others that we didn't think possible?

A quick summer read and one I did enjoy over the 2 nights it took me to finish it.

tinabt's review against another edition

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1.0

I was really enjoying this book until the big reveal of the “bad guy”. As the wife of a veteran, I am very upset that the author had to make this bad guy a murderous and suicidal veteran, as this reinforces so many negative stereotypes about those who have served our country. The bad guy could have been anyone. Why did it have to be a veteran? Shame on the author...

mrsrreads's review against another edition

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3.0

I really enjoyed ѓ??The Whisper Manѓ?ќ and was hoping this would be as creepy good. It was for a while but then seemed to get a little lost and long-winded at the end.

rmoreno0929's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

emmm626's review against another edition

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5.0

Overall, holy crap. This thriller was so well done. The story focuses on Paul, who as a teen was tangentially involved in a murder in town. Twenty five years later, he’s back in town to care for his ailing mother, and soon realizes that despite his efforts to forget what happened, the events of yesteryear are still causing ripples. His story is intertwined with flashbacks, and the POV of a detective named Amanda who is investigating a copycat killing in a nearby town. The story was so well written. I thought I understood what was happening, and suddenly my perception of the events was totally upended. I really liked how the author introduced an event in present time, then revealed more with a flashback, as this really tied the timelines together. As details were revealed, I noticed some intentional vagueness in the writing. As I read, I understood one thing to be true based on what was written. But realized later on when something else was revealed to have happened, that the author was very intentional about the words used. The reader is led in one direction only to be spun around later on. I also loved the theme of motherly love. The main character Paul had a lot of trauma and emotional pain that made him leave town. His mother never blamed him for this and instead held enough love in her heart for the both of them. This story was very interesting and surprisingly heartfelt. I loved the note from the author at the end that described his inspiration. A truly unique premise that will stick with me.

katielovesbooks134's review against another edition

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3.0

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this copy of The Shadows.
I thought the narration was spot on. Really enjoyed it.
As far as content, it was okay for me. Admittedly I don’t read a lot of horror. Parts of this were creepy, for sure. The woods/The Shadows as a character is definitely creepy/sinister. I would not want to go in there. I felt the back and forth timeline was a little hard to manage on audio at times, and further more difficult to manage back and forth timeline with lucid dreaming. I definitely didn’t like Charlie Crabtree and found him incredibly manipulative, so therefore I thought his character was well-written. I thought the last 1/3 of the book was better than the first 2/3. Overall, I would recommend the book to fans of the genre and let them experience the book for themselves. Lastly, love the cover art.