The Whisper Man by Alex North - Restarting September 20th 2021

[Ashleigh]

In this dark, suspenseful thriller, Alex North weaves a multi-generational tale of a father and son caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town.
After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. Featherbank.

But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed "The Whisper Man," for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night.

Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter's crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in prison: The Whisper Man.

And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window...

[Claire]

I hope it's ok if I join in on this! Been meaning to read this book for ages :D

Part 1
(view spoiler)[So creepy! I wonder how Jake learned about the Whisper Man rhyme if the girl he was was talking to was imaginary, he would have had to heard it somewhere.

The moving to a new house thing reminds me a little of the film Sinister. (hide spoiler)]

[Claire]

Part 2
(view spoiler)[HMMMMMM. Ok, so my immediate reaction is to say that that kid whose body was never found is the new 'Whisper Man' but that seems too obvious. (hide spoiler)]

[Claire]

Chapter 31
(view spoiler)[Wow. I can't believe I did not see that coming, seems to obvious in retrospect 😂

What a sucky father though lol, he only looks at a photo of him and his wife, not a photo of all 3 of them?

Things bout to get real dramatic, I'm sure. (hide spoiler)]

[Claire]

Chapter 47
(view spoiler)[I did have a bad feeling about Karen, I thought she would serve a purpose other than being a friendly fellow parents but did not expect her to be a reporter.

I wonder how Jake knows all this information he's not meant to know, I hope there will be a good explanation for it.

Since near the start I've assumed that the new Whisper Man is going to be the kid who went missing 20 years ago since in thrillers 'no body found' usually means 'secretly not dead' and they haven't even ID'd the skeleton so it could still be the case. Seems a bit obvious though. (hide spoiler)]

[Claire]

Chapter 54
(view spoiler)[Oh oof so it is Carter's son then and not the missing kid. I guess I should have figured that out ages ago since this story has an overarching theme of father and son relationships and their learned behaviours. (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Glad to have you! :D Who knows when we'll start this, we've got a few more books we want to get through first, but we will get it!

[Claire]

Thanks! No rush! :D

Finished!
(view spoiler)[Pete nooooo :<

I'm not a fan of stories focused on parenthood but this one was pretty great, I feel like we get way more mother and daughter books than father and son ones, so this is a nice change.

We got a good explanation for why Jake knew about all the Whisper Man stuff but we still don't know how he managed to be so knowledgeable about what was happening in the present day, information that was not told to him? It seemed like his mother/subconscious was telling him information that he shouldn't have known, like the true intentions of the new Whisper Man. This bothers me a bit.

Also, what the heck was the point of giving him the picture of the butterfly to copy? Like what did that achieve other than making him seem more like a spooky horror movie kid?

I dunno, maybe these things were explained and I just wasn't paying attention, please let me know :D (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

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Restarting October 10th 2020. Happy Reading ☺

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[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Ch. 1-35 (view spoiler)[Oh man is Jake really also doing these creepy voices? Like a multiple personality situation or maybe it’s not a made up voice 🤷🏼‍♀️ Wonder how this connects to the whisper man story and how did jake even learn that rhyme? Wonder if there will be a copycat situation. (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Ch 36-50 (view spoiler)[Wow he asked Pete, his dad to watch Jake? I mean how weird he doesn’t even know the guy anymore and kind of hates him for his own childhood. I imagine tonight will be the night the whisper man strikes too 😱 (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Is that pages or chapters Crystal?

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Ch 51-66 (view spoiler)[Holy crap how did Tom figure it out so quickly and easily lol. Thank god, especially as he saved his son getting hurt by this psycho. (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Finished (view spoiler)[This was good. Maybe not as scary or spooky as I was hoping for. There were also quite a bit of coincidental moments going on that together just take away from the story. Such as Toms wife having a history with the town and spooky house as well as Tom’s long lost father being part of the case. In the end I’m glad Jake was saved and Tom wasnt secerly injured as well. Hopefully this will bring the two together now more than ever and they can have the relationship tom never had with Pete, his dad. (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Maddie wrote: "Is that pages or chapters Crystal?"

Sorry, it was chapters. I fixed my posts 🤦🏽‍♀️

[Dannii]

I'm hoping to start this one in the next two days :)

[Mummy's Naughty Corner]

29%

(view spoiler)[ This has started out well. Still unsure if it's a person or if it's paranormal. Maybe I've read too much paranormal but you get the sense that the whisper man is more then a man . Plus the little girl may be a ghost. (hide spoiler)]

[Mummy's Naughty Corner]

48%

(view spoiler)[ So he found the boy buried in the garage. Also his dad is the cop. Wow what a mind twisting day. (hide spoiler)]

[Mummy's Naughty Corner]

78%

(view spoiler)[ Oh god no. Is this some sick kind of payback. You took my dad so I'm going to take someone important to you? (hide spoiler)]

[Mummy's Naughty Corner]

86%

(view spoiler)[ God so his mum was from there and that's who the imaginary friend was. that's heart breaking. (hide spoiler)]

[Mummy's Naughty Corner]

Finished

(view spoiler)[ Okay so no paranormal parts but it was still good. Apart from explaining the imaginary friend why the link to the mum as a little girl? Also was it payback taking his grandson even though they were estranged from each other? Did his dad make him do it? I'm still left with too many questions. (hide spoiler)]

[Mummy's Naughty Corner]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Ch 36-50 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Yeah I found it weird how he got his dad to babysit even after making out he was abusive. (hide spoiler)]

[Mummy's Naughty Corner]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Ch 51-66 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[That's a good point he did work it out a lot faster then the police. (hide spoiler)]

[Mummy's Naughty Corner]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Finished [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Yeah I liked it but felt a little lost at the end. (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Mummy's Naughty Corner wrote: "Finished

[spoilers removed]"

Mummy's Naughty Corner wrote: "❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Finished [spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Yeah I kind of didn’t enjoy it being the origins killers son. Almost seems a little too obvious like how did not one cop think to look into him more smh. Ok read but I def think my expectations were a smidge too high (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

I'm a bit late, but just starting this one and looking forward to catching up with all your thoughts :)

[Dannii]

First quarter - (view spoiler)[I'm really intrigued, so far. I wonder how little Jake and Ian's stories will intertwine, especially considering Jake is now hearing whispers outside his window. I'm also curious to see if Jake's friend is a supernatural entity or merely imaginary. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Second quarter - (view spoiler)[All of these characters are marked by tragedy and I feel so, so sorry for them. I'm still feeling a supernatural edge, especially with the voices both father and son have been heard. Jake also new of the boy's remains, hidden under the garage. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Ch. 1-35 [spoilers removed]"

The rhyme is seriously creepy. I was expecting a straight-up thriller but this is putting me right on edge!

[Dannii]

Mummy's Naughty Corner wrote: "29%

[spoilers removed]"

I definitely got the same vibes from this.

[Dannii]

Mummy's Naughty Corner wrote: "48%

[spoilers removed]"

The last few chapters have been mind-boggling in the best possible way!

[Dannii]

Third quarter - (view spoiler)[There are still abundant mysteries but it seemed like a lot was solved at the half-way mark and I was worried the pacing would slow and the suspense be lessened, from this point. This has remained just as compelling though.

Adam's mum is a reporter!!

I can't even begin to understand the amount of pain that must still be present, but I am glad that the rift between Tom and his father seems to be at least looking in the direction of mending itself. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Fourth quarter - (view spoiler)[Oh wow, Tom's son was taken! Every character should have better listened to their intuition. It was screaming at them that something was wrong (not that they were to blame of course) and I was left open-mouthed when I realised who Jake's captor was.

I also really liked the explanation for Jake's invisible friend. The reason behind it was so poignant but I loved she gave him strength during his time with George. (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Dannii wrote: "Fourth quarter - Oh wow, Tom's son was taken! Every character should have better listened to their intuition. It was screaming at them that something was wrong (not that they were to blame of cours..."

(view spoiler)[Glad you're enjoying it. I too was shocked by the identity of the kidnapper, the thought never once crossed my mind. I love being taken by surprise. Though as he was more of a hidden characters it didn't pack quite as big of a punch.

As for his invisible friend I also liked this. It still gave it a paranormal edge but the way it was also used to misguide us was a nice addition to the book. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Dannii wrote: "Fourth quarter - Oh wow, ."

I did not for a second consider him, as his character wasn't present in the book. It was a great reveal, I thought.

[Ashleigh]

Part 1 - (view spoiler)[Okay, a serial killer who targets children and grooms them by whispering to them through their window at night? Absolutely terrifying. I would die of fright if someone started whispering at my window at night.

Also, really upsetting for Jake to find his mother's dead body. Something no kid needs to go through. This is gonna be a rough read. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Ashleigh wrote: "Part 1 - ."

(view spoiler)[I agree. The whispering really spooked me. It made parts of this book feel more like a horror than a thriller. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

Dannii wrote: "Ashleigh wrote: "Part 1 - ."

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[It feels very much like a horror to start with. Just in time for spooky season (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

The perfect time for us to read this book :)

[Maddie]

Will be starting audio for this tomorrow, see how this thriller goes while I'm at work! But if I get lost I'm putting it on pause

[Maddie]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Ch. 1-35 [spoilers removed]"

The voices were so creepy!

[Maddie]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Ch 36-50 [spoilers removed]"

Yeah I knew something would happen because Jake felt it

[Maddie]

Ashleigh wrote: "Part 1 - (view spoiler)[Okay, a serial killer who targets children and grooms them by whispering to them through their window at night? Absolutely terrifying. I would die of fright if someone started whispering a..." (hide spoiler)]

Yes the whispers! Absolutely freaky! Even today I'd get no sleep!

[Maddie]

Review:
Pretty solid I guess. Felt slow to start, and as an audio I was rather confused with the swapping and changing of POVs, but I did really like the effect of the thriller as an audio, and was thoroughly spooked by Jake speaking with another voice. I never did really get that explained to me, which was a shame! Not as good as I thought it would be, as I've heard so many things, but not too bad. 3.5 stars. Not as scary as I wanted or thought it would be. I feel like the revelation of his imaginary friend was just so emotional <3

[Maddie]

(view spoiler)[Also no connection between the butterflies? (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Maddie wrote: "Review:
Pretty solid I guess. Felt slow to start, and as an audio I was rather confused with the swapping and changing of POVs, but I did really like the effect of the thriller as an audio, and wa..."

Sorry to hear you didn't love this one more. I found the audio really worked for me but I agree that there were a few more areas I would have liked some extra explanation on.

[Maddie]

eh idk it just felt slow haha hope I like the shadows more

[Saar The Book owl]

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Date changed. Restarting September 20th 2021. Happy Reading ☺

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