Alex North delivers a solidly creepy story in this debut thriller. The cover gave me major Silence of the Lambs vibes, and I was glad to see the butterflies weren’t just confined to imagery, but were incorporated in the plot as well. While not quite at the level of The Silent Patient, The Whisper Man is one of the better books among the genre this year.
Set in a small British town, you have to know there are going to be plenty of connections among the characters. A couple are predictable, but most took me by surprise. Not necessarily because they’re so out of left field, but because I think I expected everyone to secretly be a murderer hiding in plain sight. Sure, most people have their secrets, but those secrets all aren’t usually actual skeletons in their closets. The perspectives shift from Tom, in first person, and a handful of other characters in third person. It’s interesting, if a little confusing at first, but ultimately doesn’t take away from anything that’s happening.
On to the spoiler-y part:
I loved the look at relationships between fathers and sons. So many had such similar internal dialogues that seem to echo what we hear of ‘troubled’ young men now. There’s a real look at coping with past traumas and how different people respond to it. The disconnect between these boys & men and their peers or families can distort their perceptions of reality and fantasy. There’s so many “lost boys” present in this book that I don’t think I could name them all on the first go. The crimes being portrayed are horrible, but they’re also immensely sad.
It brings up an interesting debate of nature vs nurture. Did Francis do what he did because of a genetic predisposition or because of what he was exposed to at the hands of his father as a child? Were his actions inevitable either way? Basically, does what he witnessed make him who he is, or was he that person all along?
The part that bugged me, however, was Rebecca. What was even going on with her? North made it seem, at least to me, like Tom murdered her and left her body for his son to find, up until the end. Her death wasn’t really ever elaborated on besides that she was...near stairs? What? I just don’t know why there wasn’t more clear-cut information given on a woman’s death who ended up being little more and a narrative devise.
It’s a good book, overall. It feels eerie and precarious and I flew through reading it. If you pick it up, you’ll be compelled to finish it to the end.
Set in a small British town, you have to know there are going to be plenty of connections among the characters. A couple are predictable, but most took me by surprise. Not necessarily because they’re so out of left field, but because I think I expected everyone to secretly be a murderer hiding in plain sight. Sure, most people have their secrets, but those secrets all aren’t usually actual skeletons in their closets. The perspectives shift from Tom, in first person, and a handful of other characters in third person. It’s interesting, if a little confusing at first, but ultimately doesn’t take away from anything that’s happening.
On to the spoiler-y part:
I loved the look at relationships between fathers and sons. So many had such similar internal dialogues that seem to echo what we hear of ‘troubled’ young men now. There’s a real look at coping with past traumas and how different people respond to it. The disconnect between these boys & men and their peers or families can distort their perceptions of reality and fantasy. There’s so many “lost boys” present in this book that I don’t think I could name them all on the first go. The crimes being portrayed are horrible, but they’re also immensely sad.
It brings up an interesting debate of nature vs nurture. Did Francis do what he did because of a genetic predisposition or because of what he was exposed to at the hands of his father as a child? Were his actions inevitable either way? Basically, does what he witnessed make him who he is, or was he that person all along?
The part that bugged me, however, was Rebecca. What was even going on with her? North made it seem, at least to me, like Tom murdered her and left her body for his son to find, up until the end. Her death wasn’t really ever elaborated on besides that she was...near stairs? What? I just don’t know why there wasn’t more clear-cut information given on a woman’s death who ended up being little more and a narrative devise.
It’s a good book, overall. It feels eerie and precarious and I flew through reading it. If you pick it up, you’ll be compelled to finish it to the end.