When I started this book I found it difficult to get into as I felt I had read it all before, but I gradually got caught up in and enjoyed the complex and compassionate story

Thank you to netgalley and Penguin books for an advance copy of this book.

It has been 20 years since 'The Whisper Man', serial killer of little boys, was caught and imprisoned. The officer who finally caught the monster, DI Pete Willis, is still haunted by the case and the fact that the body of one of the victims has never been found. Meanwhile, widower Tom and his young son, Jake, move to the village of Featherbank, unaware of the macabre history of the place. The house Tom has bought for himself and his son to start their new life in looks a little strange from the outside and, unbeknown to Tom and Jake, has a disturbing history all of its own. It doesn't take very long at all for little Jake to start hearing whispers outside his bedroom window.

This is a very atmospheric and at times creepy crime thriller and father and son family drama with some wonderful characters. Highly recommended.

Stop the press! The Whisper Man is going into my top reads of this year! The perfect combination of supernatural and serial killer chills are exactly what I’m looking for in a book and I found it in this outstanding debut novel by Alex North. I devoured it in one sitting; there was no way I could put it down and carry on as usual until I knew what the outcome was going to be!

I loved Tom and Jake Kennedy – after the sudden death of his wife Tom is struggling with his new life as a single parent and Jake is obviously deeply upset at the loss of his mum. His way of coping with this loss appears to be in creating an imaginary friend to talk to but at times this friend tells Jake scary things. Tom hopes that a fresh start in the town of Featherbank is just what they both need to move on and create new memories but is oblivious to the fact that the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago a serial killer nicknamed The Whisper Man abducted and murdered five young boys, luring them out by whispering at their windows…admit it, you’ve got the shivers right!? The culprit, Frank Carter, was found and imprisoned but now a young boy has gone missing; did Frank always have an accomplice like the rumours suggested or is there a copycat on the loose? It is up to detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis to find the boy before history repeats itself but this means Pete has to delve into a past he would rather forget and visit The Whisper Man in prison. It all takes a turn for the terrifying when Jake starts hearing a whispering at his window.

This book totally got under my skin and I definitely triple checked all my locks before I went to bed that night. The thought of your child being abducted is nightmarish in itself and there is so much more in this book to give you the creeps. It is really difficult to review without being spoilery so I’ll end on saying that I am stunned this is a debut and excited to read more from Alex North. All the stars!!

This book creeped me out. I’ve read many psychological thrillers, as dark and broody as they come, and this was fantastic. The Whisper Man; I could hear him speaking, and feel his presence. The storylines were tightly woven and we’ll done. I liked the characters and felt like wrapping Jake and Tom up, and transporting them away. Great read and will definitely recommend. Thank you for letting me read and review.

The Whisper Man by Alex North is brilliant.

It hooked me from the first page to the last and maintained the tension throughout

The book is superbly paced and fully delivers on its promise

Definitely recommended

Tom and his seven year old son Jake move into a new house after Tom’s wife died suddenly. They are both devastated about their loss. But they also have a complicated relationship. Tom thinks about himself as an unfit father while Jake thinks his father is expecting more of him. Jake is very sensitive. He has imaginary friends. Or maybe he sees dead people. And he is hearing a whisper in the night.

Many years ago there was a killer in Featherbank. He seduces children by whisper to them in the night so he was called the Whisper Man. He was caught and is still in jail. His last victim’s body was never found. This tortured Pete, the detective who worked on this case then. Pete visits the Whisper Man regularly in jail but the guy takes great pleasure in torturing Pete with teasing him with cryptic information. Now another boy is missing and it seems that there is a copycat.

This book sounded just like something right up my alley. A creepy killer who whispers through the window in the night to little boys and some supernatural stuff. Yeah! But somehow this book never really captured me. Whenever I started reading I found myself getting distracted. I wanted to read, I liked the story and I wanted to know what was going on. But the book never really gripped me and I think it is because of the writing. It is written in a very slow and almost boring way. I also got bored after a while about all those toxic father and son relationships. It made me feeling grateful that I have only daughters and no son to struggle with my husband.

“The Whisper Man” is a decent thriller with an interesting story. It is just not told in an interesting style. It lacks something, some tension, something that really gripped me. I did not get very much involved with the characters. It did not touch me

Yet another excellent debut novel in this year of fine first novels. Alex North writes stylishly and this story is gripping from the start. His plotting is impressive and the characters are beautifully portrayed. Two seemingly unrelated strands are well-developed before the link between them is revealed in a startling way.

Fantastic thriller. Extremely clever and enjoyable.
I was hooked from beginning to end.
Lots of twists and turns.
Plot is about child abduction but much more - from the disappearance of Neil Spencer to
Frank Carter in jail for kidnapping and killing young boys years before.
The relationship between Jake and his father is beautifully written and complex with Jake’s packet of special things, his imaginary friend and the whispers.
The police investigations and their relationships with key characters adds a level of sophistication to the plot.
It is a complex storyline with some real surprises.
One of my favourite books of 2019.

A dark disturbing tale of child kidnapping and murder at times a straightforward mystery and then at others a horror tale with seemingly mythical beings in the background. A disturbed senior police officer seeking answers to a 20 year old case, an author struggling with his young son after his wife's early death, a boy missing at the start of the tale linked to the old case, a link between the policeman and the author all combine to keep it racing along. Full of twists this is one to keep you awake in the small hours!

Excellent. This was a very well written tense and spooky story that I enjoyed from the start. Highly recommended.

The book is told from several timeframes and perspectives, mainly Tom, a father having difficulty connecting with his young son Jake. The story starts with Neil, a boy who has been abducted, and a series of murders of boys which happened many years ago. I was gripped with this tense, thrilling story from the very first page.

When Tom moves into an old house with his son, he immediately senses another presence which makes him feel edgy and uncomfortable. However, Jake loves their new home, and not wanting to upset him, Tom decides to stay.

There are several interconnecting stories running through the book – Pete, a detective constable investigating the abduction of Neil, remembering his investigations into previous crimes. And a father trying to understand his son, and deal with strange creepy events which keep happening. When Jake starts hearing whispering outside his window, and has an invisible friend who he talks to, Tom becomes increasingly concerned.
Their home has a dark, graphic history, which is gradually uncovered keeping readers on the edge of their seat as the story unfolds.
The book is both thrilling and heartbreaking, with lots of twists and turns, increasing pace as the story unfolds. Well drawn characters and cleverly constructed story, this book had me enthralled from the very beginning.

This is a creepy and well=paced story about a little boy who sees someone nobody else can see, his recently widowed father who is battling grief and anxiety about his son's strange behaviour, and a partially solved decades old crime that still haunts the detective who worked on it. It's gripping and atmospheric. I think I've read so many thrillers lately that I found myself anticipating twists that weren't there and reading into things as sinister that weren't, but then perhaps that's part of experiencing the story through the eyes of a narrator who isn't always sure what is happening. It made for a compulsive read, and one that will have you double checking that the front door is locked.

With a synopsis that grabbed my attention and a promise from the publishers ‘GET READY FOR THE BIGGEST THRILLER OF 2019’ there was no way on earth I would not read The Whisper Man by Alex North. There is nothing more terrifying than a child being murdered, and the author expertly plays on these fears, creating a dark, creepy, and haunting read. Be prepared for a few sleepless nights, it takes a lot to unnerve me, but this book actually scared me silly in parts! (In the best possible way). Oh, and a word of warning make sure your bedroom doors are closed at night or beware ** If you leave a door half-open, soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken**

After the death of his wife, Tom Kennedy and his young son Jake move to the sleepy village of Featherbank, looking for a fresh start, unaware that Featherbank has a very dark past. Fifteen years ago a twisted serial killer abducted and murdered five young boys. Until he was finally caught, the killer was known as ‘The Whisper Man’. Each boy heard a man whispering to him before he went missing, and now Jake is hearing the same whispers, too. Alex Lane’s emotive, creepy tale is one that’s guaranteed to keep you turning the pages of this highly addictive crime thriller, the plots brilliantly constructed and steeped in menace.

Without a shadow of a doubt The Whisper Man makes for a spine tingling read, but what took me by surprise was the intense emotions that this book evoked? it’s a book that’s full of raw emotion, especially the scenes between Tom and his son Jake, these are incredible powerful and desperately sad. I adored Tom and Jake, their characters are sublime and perfectly developed. I like the fact Tom isn’t the ‘perfect’ father, sometimes his actions or conversations with Jake seem awkward and Jake miss understands them causing father and son much heartache. As for Jake he’s adorable, my heart went out to this socially awkward child, whose grief at loosing his mum is palatable. This book may be a crime thriller but it’s also the story of the unbreakable bonds between a father and his son.

This review maybe altered slightly and edited prior to publication on my blog

This was a truly creepy book! You feel the terror and sadness of the father and the twists and turns are brilliant. A fabulous read! #NetGalley#TheWhisperMan

If you’re looking for a book that’s dark, suspenseful and gripping then I would recommend The Whisper Man - a tale that spans twenty years. Tom Kennedy and his done Jake need a fresh start. They move to the town of Featherbank and believe this is a new beginning. Previously a serial killer, Frank Carter, abducted and murdered five residents until he was finally caught. He lured his victims out by whispering their names at the window at night. As Tom and Jake begin to settle in, a bit disappears and it bears a striking resemblance to the previous abductions especially as Jake starts to hear whispering at his window.

This is a great book that really picks up pace during the second half. I read it over the weekend and enjoyed every minute of it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK Michael Joseph and the author for the chance to review.

An eerie chilling thriller that is well put together . A widower and his son move into an old house to make a fresh start , things start to go wrong from there with the son having problems at school and drawing pictures at home of things he seems to have seen . Events unfold around the pair until eventually all is revealed . No more detail but this is a brilliant psychological thriller .

A creepy and chilling police procedural that has pretty good twists and turns. I really enjoyed it, but struggle to really review it, as I don't read a lot of thrillers or police style books, and have no points of comparison. Good writing, no complaints.
Recommeded for fans of crime books.

Alex North is officially a must-read author! The Whisper Man has strong writing and a creepy plot with plenty of suspense. The story will keep you guessing throughout. Highly recommended to readers looking for an engrossing psychological thriller. Be sure to check out The Whisper Man today!

What a debut crime novel The Whisper Man turned out to be with Alex North penning a terrific page turner worthy of many established crime writers. A grieving father and son endeavour to make a new start in a village oblivious that bad things have happened, and are still happening. Child abductions, and worse still, murders are undoubtedly among the worse crimes for the police to investigate and although the perpetrator is behind bars the same pattern resumes. For father Tom Kennedy he has his son Jake's demons to contend with while DI Pete Willis has demons of his own in the form of drink, his failure at family life and the body of a child he cannot find. Then Pete is drawn into a new case of abduction which impacts on his life in ways he cannot foresee. This is a genuinely terrifying and heart-wrenching story. Thanks to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for an ARC.

This is Alex North's crime debut and what a impressive debut it is. It drips with atmosphere, a disturbing story of The Whisper Man, who over 20 years ago kidnapped and murdered 5 local boys in the small town of Featherbank. Frank Carter is the Whisper Man, incarcerated in prison, reveling in his notoriety and reputation, playing mind games with 56 year old DI Pete Willis, the man who caught him. Despite the emotional cost, Pete has persevered through the years, visiting Carter in prison, in the hope of a clue to where the body of victim, young Tony Smith, can be recovered so his grieving parents can at least achieve a small measure of peace. The monster that is Carter and his horrific acts, the creepy whispering outside his victim's bedrooms, have been immortalised in child lore and local nursery rhymes. Everyone thought that time of horror is over, but in the present, the troubled 6 year old youngster, Neil Spencer has gone missing. DI Amanda Beck is heading the desperate hunt to locate him, but there are eerie hints of the original Whisper Man. Did Frank Carter have a unknown accomplice or is this a copycat crime?

A grief burdened author, Tom Kennedy, is fumbling through the wreckage of his life after the devastating sudden death of his beloved wife, Rebecca. It was Rebecca that was the closest to their sensitive 7 year old son, Jake. Tom has struggled to connect with his vulnerable and creative son, a boy with imaginary friends, with an outsider status, unable to fit in with his peers at school, leaving him open to being bullied. Tom, with Jake's agreement, relocates them to Featherbank, with every hope that new beginnings are what they both need to come to terms with the loss of Rebecca and forge a new path. However, it is not that easy, for Tom finds that 'grief is a stew with a thousand ingredients, and not all of them are palatable'. His fractious relationship with Jake, whom he loves absolutely, is a tightrope with Tom hanging on in there by comforting his son that whilst they might fight and argue, his love for Jake is true. In a disturbing narrative, Tom is to find that moving house is to immerse him and Jake in the most twisted of a horror of a nightmare, one that places Jake in the gravest of dangers, where the legend of The Whisper Man grows ever stronger.

Alex North's writing is compulsive, hooking the reader immediately, with its themes of fathers and their challenging relationships with their sons, grief and loss, amidst a background of a child killer running rampant in the town. North's characterisation is stellar, as can be seen with Tom, trying so hard with Jake, making errors of judgement, slowly becoming aware of just how much Jake is like him, eventually beginning to make some inroads by getting some things right with his son. Then there is the odious Norman Collins, a collector of macabre serial killer murderabilia, obsessed with The Whisper Man, whilst there are traits that Tom finds that he shares with DI Pete Willis. A simply fantastic read, with some surprising twists, that will appeal to so many crime fiction fans. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.