I'm Not Scared, You're Scared!

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Alex North's debut is a multi faceted thriller that definitely is top shelf scary but not terrifying. That's good news because I have Bookish friends that are afraid to read it!
The story is told in well executed alternating narration primarily by Tom and his son Jake who are grieving the loss of their wife and mother. Jake begins to have conversations with a little girl only he can see and she shares information with him that he wouldn't have any way of obtaining. My only disappointment in this book was the under-development of this "paranormal" sub theme that is a bit lost in the story.
As The Whisper Man seems to have returned to perform his hideous acts on children the story ebbs and flows in all the right places to hold your interest without an overload on the horribly creepy, scary factor that would make it unbelievable.
While all the twists and turns are there to make this a well written thriller it also has a beautifully written element of the father-son relationship woven throughout that is quite touching and conveys a powerful message: The necessity that it be strong and positive as well as the struggle some men experience while trying to build and maintain one. It is rare to find such a strong moral message in a thriller as creepy as this and it added greatly to the story.
Depending on your fear factor The Whisper Man could definitely keep you awake at night, force you to close the windows in 90 degree heat, never leave a door partially open and develop an irrational fear of moths. It's one of the creepiest thrillers I have read in quite some time and I did have a couple of complete freak out moments.
A big plus is this story is tastefully written with no gorey graphic scenes. Therefore I would recommend it to anyone looking for their next great thriller.
I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily chose to write this review.