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.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Not read anything from this author before but shall certainly be changing that. This is a really really good read that will have you hooked from the beginning. A worthy 5 stars

‘The Whisper Man’ has had a lot of rave reviews on social media and in the printed media. I read the synopsis for ‘The Whisper Man’ and it certainly appealed to me. I was a bit bothered in case the book didn’t live up to all the hype. Well I needn’t have worried because it lived up to its hype and then some. ‘The Whisper Man’ is a belter of a book. I absolutely chuffing well adored reading ‘The Whisper Man’ but more about that in a bit.
The characters in this book are a curious bunch. The first two main characters are Tom Kennedy and his adorable sounding son Jake. Both are recovering from the loss of Tom’s wife and Jake’s mother. Both are still grieving and Tom would do anything to take Jake’s pain away. In a way, both are keeping their true feelings buried. In an attempt to make a fresh start, Tom and Jake move to a new house. However when they move into this new house, things start to go wrong. I don’t really want to type too much more about what happens as I would hate to spoil the book for anybody. Then we have an emotionally damaged male detective, who tries to hide his emotions and he tries not to let his emotions affect his work, although that isn’t always possible. Last but not least, we have a psychopathic and twisted serial killer. I must say that when parts of the book focused on him, the hairs stood up on the back of my neck and he made my skin crawl. I certainly didn’t believe a word he said. If I could have jumped inside the pages of the book to accidentally on purpose deal with him once and for all then I would have done. All of the aforementioned characters come together and have a significant role in the story as it pans out.
Oh my flipping (not the word I was thinking but as my Mam might read this, I had better not use the ruder version of the word) goodness gracious me, ‘The Whisper Man’ was one hell of a read and then some. As soon as I began to read, I became so wrapped up in the story that I lost all track of time. Usually I have the attention span of a gnat and I am easily distracted but not in this case. My sole focus was on the book. In fact I was concentrating that hard on the book that the world could have ended and I wouldn’t have noticed. It didn’t take me long at all to get into this book and to become addicted to the story. In fact I would go so far as to say that by the time I got to the bottom of the first page, I was addicted to the story and my plans for the rest of the day were thrown out of the window. It would have needed something major to prise this book out of my hands. Woe betide the person who had tried to take the book out of my hands. My response would not have been pleasant! ‘The Whisper Man’ wasn’t exactly glued to my hands but it might as well have been because it came everywhere with me. It was as if I feared that by putting the book down I would have broken the hold that the book had over me and that I might have missed something. I am very nosy by nature and if there is gossip to be had then I will be right there.
The author’s writing style is superb. He grabs your attention from the start and he dangles enough bait in front of you to encourage you to read on. Yes, ‘The Whisper Man’ is primarily a crime novel but at the same time it also has elements of the horror story about it. Alex North has the ability to make you switch emotions at the drop of a hat. I found that certain parts of the book made me sad and then next minute I would be feeling frightened and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
Reading ‘The Whisper Man’ was much like being on one seriously scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. There were also a fair few surprises in the story- some I predicted and some that crept up on me and then bam hit me like a punch to the gut, knocking the breath out of me. Whilst reading this book I felt my blood pressure rise, my heart pound and I kept holding my breath in anticipation of what was going to happen next in the book.
In short, ‘The Whisper Man’ certainly lives up to all the hype. The book had me on the edge of my seat throughout and I was gripped by the story all the way through. I can’t wait to read what Alex North comes up with next. Here’s hoping that we don’t have too long to wait. I would definitely recommend this book and this author to other readers. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

This was one of my favourite books so far this year. The storyline gripped me from the very beginning, the characters were believable and the story flowed brilliantly. Highly recommended.

I read Alex North’s debut novel over three dread-filled evenings, on the final night the clock was ticking later into the night and my Kindle was telling me that I still had an hour to go. Could I put it down? No, I could not. When it comes to crime fiction I am quite a fussy reader and am only gripped by the very best, having become tired with the never-ending cycle of unreliable narrators and books alternatively told from ‘him’ then ‘her’ perspectives. The Whisper Man might not be a horror novel, but it creeped me out substantially more than most of anything else I have read recently. For much of the novel there is a very faint whiff of the supernatural which the author handles superbly. Considering this is a debut novel it is remarkably clever and assured work of fiction. Often I find crime writers mature and improve over a sequence of novels, Alex North truly breaks that mould and hits the tarmac running. This novel is no trial run and I’ll be surprised if I read a better crime novel all year.

Jaded crime readers may think the plot sounds a tad familiar, but kick that thought into touch straight away. The disappearance and police search for a young child is indeed a well-trodden literary path, but the way The Whisper Man weaves a compelling and thrilling story through the points of view of a number of characters is second to none and raises the book well above most thrillers. A major strength is the believability of these exceptionally well-drawn characters from the broken adults, to the exhausted police and the withdrawn children.

The novel opens with moderately successful novelist Tom Kennedy wishing he had a better relationship with his introverted six-year-old son Jake. He is recovering from the death of his wife, Rebecca, whom Jake found dead at the bottom of the stairs after a freak heart-attack. Tom struggles to cope with the boy and prays that when he starts his new school he will settle. He does not.

Much of the plot is also seen from Jake’s point of view and much of his thoughts mirror that of his father. He also wishes they had a closer relationship and the pain of the loss of his mother is too much for him to bear. The dynamics between the father and son is quite simply outstanding and as the story moves on very moving with Tom trying his best to be a good single parent. Jake is very sharp and is aware that his father is struggling, this makes everything more heart-breaking and when you throw in a seriously convincing invisible friend you will not be able to take your eyes from the page. You may even shed a tear for the little boy who remembers his mother with his Packet of Special Things, which he takes everywhere and his father is not allowed to look into. Many crime novels would cover these family interactions superficially, neglecting the compassion which is revealed in the detail, but Alex North really brings this heart-breaking situation to life.

Tom and Jake have recently moved to the sleepy English village of Featherbank and initially do not realise they have arrived at a very bad time as a six-year-old boy. Neil Spencer, who would have been in the same class as Jake has recently occurred. The two are wrapped up in their own problems and don’t notice the local media circus. This leads us to the next major character, Detective Inspector Pete Willis whom helps in the investigation. Pete is not in charge of the search but has a very special interest in it as the circumstances of the disappearance are uncannily similar to a case he led fifteen years earlier. A twisted serial killer, Frank Carter, murdered five young boys and Pete was responsible for catching him. However, he was never able to truly close the case as they only uncovered the bodies of four of the children. Vowing to find the body of the fifth boy, Pete’s life disintegrated and the case became an obsession.

The killer became known as ‘The Whisper Man’ as he groomed the children by whispering in their windows late at night. Some of these sequences were outstanding, and although The Whisper Man was behind bars, the scenes featuring him truly crackled. He became so infamous there was even a Freddie Krueger style rhyme about him sung in the school playgrounds….

“If you leave a door half open, soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken
If you play outside alone, soon you won’t be going home
If your window’s left unlatched, you’ll hear him tapping at the glass
If you’re lonely, sad and blue, the Whisper Man will come for you.”

Even though it is impossible the cases do seem to be linked and after the kidnapping escalates DI Willis and Tom Kennedy are thrown together in what was an expertly plotted books which kept the reader hanging until the bitter end. There were some very good twists and clever reveals which were backed up by compassionate characters which were very easy to get behind. This is a novel to be savoured over in a few nights and I am delighted to give it the five-star treatment it richly deserves.

Firstly I want to comment on how beautiful the cover is, it immediately caught my eye! The Whisper Man is phenomenal, great writing and flowed beautifully. Extremely chilling and thrilling! A clear five out of five.