Haunting and Full of Twists

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This review does has spoilers, just so everyone is aware before they read on! This was a high four star rating for me and my July Book of the Month pick. I plowed through this book needing to find answers and solutions to the problem.
We have three different timelines, before when Paul is a teenager, the now 25 years later and after the events after the murder is revealed. Paul is the main character and most of the story is told through his point of view. We do have Amanda who is the second main character and there are chapters of her's woven throughout Paul's; unlike Paul's chapters, Amanda's are told from the third person.
Our main character Paul doesn't want to return to Gritten and hasn't been in the town since he graduated high school. When he was a teenager a murder was committed by two boys in the same class as Paul. One boy was arrested but the other boy disappeared. At first the cops believed that Paul was responsible for the murder, but later that night one of the boys turns up covered in the victim's blood.
Flash forward 25 years later and Paul has returned to Gritten, because his mother is on her death bed and he wants to see her before she dies. He meets up with an old friend of his, Jenny, who was his first love. The two of them catch up and we get the time jumping between the now and before to tell us the story of Jenny and Paul. I really enjoyed the character of Jenny and then my heart was smashed. I was hoping that Jenny and Paul would get together by the end of the book and Jenny would help Paul heal. Boy was I wrong; turns out Jenny was the victim of the murder committed all of those years ago. You go 85% of the book thinking that James (One of Paul's old childhood friends) was the one who was murdered, but no. Paul warns James to stay away from Charlie and instead poor Jenny ends up murdered on the way to Paul's house instead.
I got some major Slender Man vibes from this book and from Red Hands. When I was younger Slender Man and the attempted murder of a teenage girl made headlines (Circa 2014). The way that Charlie acted and the fact that Jenny was killed to try and reach Red Hands, really reminded me of elements from that case. Although miraculously the girl in the Slender Man case survived, whereas Jenny did not. You find out that Paul is seeing Jenny's ghost and he blames himself for her death.
Ultimately this book was wonderfully told. I didn't feel scared of the book at all, but my heart did race wanting to know more. I think this was a great follow up for North after "The Whisper Man", and I can't wait to see what he comes out with next!