The Whisper Man is a solid slow burn of a thriller. From the first page, there's a moderate level of creepiness and suspense here. The story was entertaining and well-written, and the short chapters made it easy to read in bite-sized chunks.
All in all, Alex North makes a fine debut. The current blurb (6/28/2019) uses this quote from Booklist to plug the novel--"BRILLIANT... will satisfy readers of Thomas Harris and Stephen King." I agree with the "BRILLIANT," but I'm not so sure about the second part. The Whisper Man was just somewhat suspenseful.
If you think those authors' books are too scary, then The Whisper Man is probably up your alley. If you're looking for "training wheels" to help you get into vintage King, then try reading this book to get started in the genre. However, if you're a hardcore Harris or King fan, The Whisper Man might not frighten you as much as you'd like.
Four stars--your mileage may vary quite a bit, depending on your experience/comfort level with this genre.
Thanks to Celadon and NetGalley for giving me a DRC of this novel, which will be available for purchase on August 20th.
All in all, Alex North makes a fine debut. The current blurb (6/28/2019) uses this quote from Booklist to plug the novel--"BRILLIANT... will satisfy readers of Thomas Harris and Stephen King." I agree with the "BRILLIANT," but I'm not so sure about the second part. The Whisper Man was just somewhat suspenseful.
If you think those authors' books are too scary, then The Whisper Man is probably up your alley. If you're looking for "training wheels" to help you get into vintage King, then try reading this book to get started in the genre. However, if you're a hardcore Harris or King fan, The Whisper Man might not frighten you as much as you'd like.
Four stars--your mileage may vary quite a bit, depending on your experience/comfort level with this genre.
Thanks to Celadon and NetGalley for giving me a DRC of this novel, which will be available for purchase on August 20th.