I just want to start out by saying I absolutely love the cover of this book. Who doesn’t love a classic black and white?! As much as we have been told to “not judge a book by its cover” I tend to be guilty of that quite often!
THE SHADOWS forms a story around a long lived murder case.. well, multiple murder cases, all centering around the notorious Charlie Crabtree. Charlie has a (very) unique personality: he is more of a loner, but with a bold attitude. 25 years ago, Charlie executed a murder that was so heinous it attracted the attention of many across the internet and changed the lives of the people of his town forever. Paul Adams has never quite lived his short friendship with Charlie and his “gang” (if you can even call them that?) down. He moved far away from his hometown and set up his own roots, only to be pulled back in when he received word that his mother was dying. It takes no time at all for the wicked to come for Paul again, which sends him into a tailspin of emotions and memories...
As much as I loved the story itself, I could not get with the alternate narratives between Paul’s past and present, along with the occasional chapter from Amanda Beck (detective). The book had some interesting twists to keep it *just* creepy enough to keep going, but it wasn’t until I was around 220 pages in that I got super interested in the story. I would have been interested to hear more from Charlie, he would have put in the perfect thrill where the story was lagging. This book is a slow burn as Paul sets up every piece of information that is necessary for later in the book; unfortunately, I just felt that the climax that I was waiting for was underwhelming and left me with many questions.
With that being said- I have heard fantastic things about THE WHISPER MAN, and can’t wait to dig into it ASAP
THE SHADOWS forms a story around a long lived murder case.. well, multiple murder cases, all centering around the notorious Charlie Crabtree. Charlie has a (very) unique personality: he is more of a loner, but with a bold attitude. 25 years ago, Charlie executed a murder that was so heinous it attracted the attention of many across the internet and changed the lives of the people of his town forever. Paul Adams has never quite lived his short friendship with Charlie and his “gang” (if you can even call them that?) down. He moved far away from his hometown and set up his own roots, only to be pulled back in when he received word that his mother was dying. It takes no time at all for the wicked to come for Paul again, which sends him into a tailspin of emotions and memories...
As much as I loved the story itself, I could not get with the alternate narratives between Paul’s past and present, along with the occasional chapter from Amanda Beck (detective). The book had some interesting twists to keep it *just* creepy enough to keep going, but it wasn’t until I was around 220 pages in that I got super interested in the story. I would have been interested to hear more from Charlie, he would have put in the perfect thrill where the story was lagging. This book is a slow burn as Paul sets up every piece of information that is necessary for later in the book; unfortunately, I just felt that the climax that I was waiting for was underwhelming and left me with many questions.
With that being said- I have heard fantastic things about THE WHISPER MAN, and can’t wait to dig into it ASAP