The Whisper Man by Alex North is one of the best crime fictions/ thrillers I’ve read in a while. Don’t miss it.

The plot:

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 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 into 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…

A lot of thought has gone into every little word. Beautifully crafted

CHILLS, RIGHT?!

I’m going to declare it: The Whisper Man has the most gripping prologue I’ve ever read. North has definitely started as he means to go on, keeping the reader on a high without a dull moment.

The story itself is fantastic. I thought I’d figured the plot twist out quite early and couldn’t be any further from the truth. It was such a manipulative twist, that you don’t know whether to give North a round of applause or send him to a psych evaluation.

I’m not going to lie, there were a few moments which had me on edge, and I’m a bit ashamed to admit that there were about three times when my heart genuinely skipped a beat and I had to sit up properly, with all the lights on and my back against the wall.

It was the sly little comments which got me all freaked out, and things with kids are just a big nope for my imagination, so others might not find this as scary as I did (I’m not complaining, though – give me all the nightmares!)

My only minor flaw is that when paragraphs would change to Jake, I felt like the tone wasn’t right for him. He seemed too mature, and although there are a few points about him being smart for his age, a few things didn’t sit right. Saying this, I adored North’s writing; it’s exquisite, and a lot of thought has gone into every little word. Beautifully crafted.

An incredible, sinister debut – I can’t wait to see more by this author, because whatever book he comes out with next, I’ll be buying without hesitation.

P.S. This would be an incredible BBC drama, so petition started to make this a thang.

The Whisper Man, Alex North, RRP £12.99 (hardback); Book Depository 

Pages: 389

Publisher: Michael Joseph // Penguin

Genre: Crime Fiction/ Thriller