Paul Adams reluctantly makes his way back home to Gritten -- and to the Shadows -- for his ailing mother's final moments. He's avoided his hometown since a horrible murder rocked his world as a teenager, but he's never really been able to forget... He hasn't forgotten James, his former best friend, or Charlie Crabtree, the sinister classmate who dragged them into a nightmare-ish world with the ominous Red Man and a dark potential for turning the dream-world into reality. Charlie vanished after the murder, which not only made the entire ordeal into an urban legend but also inspired copycats to cause the same death and destruction in the years since. Upon Paul's return, memories come flooding back -- as does a sense of foreboding and the feeling that something, or someone, is watching him... from The Shadows.
Thoughts: Alex North's The Shadows is proof that a horror/thriller can also have beautiful prose. With insights such as, "When you saw something awful, you had to put it away in a box. The box was something you kept locked in your head, and you only ever opened it to throw something else inside," readers are not only sucked into a suspenseful murder-mystery/thriller, but also deep into the psyches of the main characters. There are shocking scenes that will give readers goosebumps, but there are also beautifully-written perceptions, character points-of-view, and entire scenes that will remain in readers' heads long after the last page. We are treated to each main characters' POV, as well as flashbacks between past and present, making for a well-rounded story with an interesting pace. However, it was sometimes difficult to discern what time period and whose POV was being given at the start of each chapter if you aren't reading several chapters in one sitting. A true sign of a good story for me, though? I would recommend not reading this right before bed -- I'm a huge horror fan and even I had at least one nightmare!
Thoughts: Alex North's The Shadows is proof that a horror/thriller can also have beautiful prose. With insights such as, "When you saw something awful, you had to put it away in a box. The box was something you kept locked in your head, and you only ever opened it to throw something else inside," readers are not only sucked into a suspenseful murder-mystery/thriller, but also deep into the psyches of the main characters. There are shocking scenes that will give readers goosebumps, but there are also beautifully-written perceptions, character points-of-view, and entire scenes that will remain in readers' heads long after the last page. We are treated to each main characters' POV, as well as flashbacks between past and present, making for a well-rounded story with an interesting pace. However, it was sometimes difficult to discern what time period and whose POV was being given at the start of each chapter if you aren't reading several chapters in one sitting. A true sign of a good story for me, though? I would recommend not reading this right before bed -- I'm a huge horror fan and even I had at least one nightmare!