While The Shadows by Alex North can be read as a standalone, it does have the same detective (Amanda Beck) that was in The Whisper Man, plus relatively the same setting so I ended up reading them in order. You don't get to know Detective Beck all that well, but it was nice to go a little deeper into her character in this book. I didn't find The Shadows quite as creepy as The Whisper Man for some reason, but it is definitely still creepy, disturbing, and complex.
I did the audio for this one as well, and I really enjoyed having two different narrators. Hannah Arterton voiced Detective Beck while John Heffernan narrated for Paul and I enjoyed them both. I do think this book might be better read though as once again I was a little confused at times just because it is on the complex side, especially when we start finding out who did what. I ended up having to go back and read certain parts of my physical copy just to make sure I understood what was going on. This could just be a me problem, but I think it is something to keep in mind.
I really enjoy North's writing style, and The Shadows was a solid read for me. The crime/detective fiction aspect was very satisfying, and I thought there was a bit less of the supernatural in this book, but it still gets a little creepy. Nothing scared me to the point of nightmares, but the lucid dream aspect was freaky and not something I would be interested in having happen to myself! There are two timelines and quite a few characters, and I liked how the author linked everything together, even if it did get confusing at times.
I would read The Shadows if you are a fan of this author, or if you are just looking for an engrossing crime fiction/police procedural novel. I liked it about the same as The Whisper Man and am looking forward to reading whatever North writes next!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance listening copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
I did the audio for this one as well, and I really enjoyed having two different narrators. Hannah Arterton voiced Detective Beck while John Heffernan narrated for Paul and I enjoyed them both. I do think this book might be better read though as once again I was a little confused at times just because it is on the complex side, especially when we start finding out who did what. I ended up having to go back and read certain parts of my physical copy just to make sure I understood what was going on. This could just be a me problem, but I think it is something to keep in mind.
I really enjoy North's writing style, and The Shadows was a solid read for me. The crime/detective fiction aspect was very satisfying, and I thought there was a bit less of the supernatural in this book, but it still gets a little creepy. Nothing scared me to the point of nightmares, but the lucid dream aspect was freaky and not something I would be interested in having happen to myself! There are two timelines and quite a few characters, and I liked how the author linked everything together, even if it did get confusing at times.
I would read The Shadows if you are a fan of this author, or if you are just looking for an engrossing crime fiction/police procedural novel. I liked it about the same as The Whisper Man and am looking forward to reading whatever North writes next!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance listening copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.