Very early in the book, a small, innocuous-sounding sentence immediately made me wonder if I knew who the Whisper Man could be. That early in the book, feeling like I might have an idea of how it works out, makes me excited to see if I'm right.
Alex North's writing style is really lovely. There is a lot of skill involved in creating verbal imagery, and Alex North has that skill in spades. For example, "The road was lined with enormous trees, their leaves lost int he darkness except for where the streetlights touched them, scattering the street with intricate yellow-green explosions that undulated in the soft breeze." What a beautiful passage! The words evoked, for me, an image of my own childhood and walking home at night in the summer, as the streetlights came on. Less than 10 chapters in, and I have multiple emotional connections and investments in this book. That is the sign of a great story-teller.
As I read about Frank's desire to see his wife and child, I have this sudden, sinking feeling that the new Whisper Man is Tony . I can't explain where this feeling has come from, but it's there. I think that Frank killed his son and Tony, the boy who could be anybody, took the son's place. I think that Tony has grown up and is re-enacting the way he was abducted.
Oh my gosh, is it George? Is Francis-Tony-Whisper Man George, from the school???
Throughout this book, I was constantly trying to figure out who was the killer and who the little girl was and what was happening next. There was an excitement when I got something right, and even when I was totally off-base. There was a joy in continuing the story and seeing where the plot went.
Something that North has done here is struck an ideal balance of serial-killer-crime-thriller and a PG-13 rating. So many times today, we see books and shows and movies that rely heavily on blood and guts and gore for shock value. When I read the description of a serial killer that targets children, I worried that this book may actually be too traumatic for me to read. However, while children are the victims, there is not a great deal of detail given to how they're injured. That was important to me, as I do not appreciate high levels of gore, particularly in regards to children. I am a mother of two young kids, and sometimes I just see them in the book. That can be upsetting, rather than interesting. So I applaud Alex North for writing such a well-balanced, engaging novel.
Overall, I thought this was a very entertaining read. Once I started, I found myself unable to put it down until I finished it. I highly, highly recommend.