Alex North is an exceptional writer who makes you want to continue turning the pages
The plot does go backwards and forwards in time so may not suit everybody
The characters are well developed
It as plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing

A thriller that twists and turns throughout its devious plot and makes it very difficult to follow .

“If you could see the future, would you want to?”. This is the question that, one afternoon, leads seventeen-year-old Katie Shaw to go to her boyfriend’s house instead of going home with her younger brother Chris, changing their lives forever. Chris’ brutal attack left not only scars on him, but also on Katie, who, fifteen years later, is still affected by the events of that afternoon and feeling guilty. Now a mother, she worries constantly about her daughter’s safety, seeing danger everywhere and she hasn’t spoken to her brother in two years. However, when her mother tells her that Chris has finally put his life back together, but has suddenly disappeared, Katie promises not to leave her brother alone this time.

In the meantime, detective Laurence Page is on the scene of a murder in a mansion half still in ruins from a decades-old fire. The victim is a philosophy professor, Alan Hobbes, who’s been brutally murdered in his sleep. And the only suspect is none other than Chris. While the half burnt house is peculiar, what’s strange is that the victim seemed to be obsessed with a decades-old serial killer, but even more bizarre that he seemed to know that death was coming and he was waiting for it.

The story is told from different perspectives, starting from the victim of the murder, and then Katie and detective Laurence Page, but also other characters whose role is slowly revealed, creating a puzzling narrative that kept me in suspense the entire time. I love Alex North’s novels and, while The Whisper Man is still my favourite, I really enjoyed The Half Burnt House. With paranormal vibes and twists and turns at every corner, I was completely engrossed in the story as both Katie and detective Page try to find out the truth: why was Chris randomly attacked? And what has got himself involved with this time? Why is a red car stalking Katie’s family? And was a 1950s serial killer really able to predict the future? The road to the truth is dark, disturbing, and suspenseful. The Half Burnt House is a gripping, thought-provoking, and exciting read and I can’t recommend it enough!

I read all of the author’s books in the last couple of years and I always found them compelling and intriguing.
The Half Burnt house is no exception and while it took me a while to understand who was who and their connections between the multiple times lines, I went back many times and everything that I was wondering made so much more sense.
I loved the idea of multiple pictures together making one big overall face but actually those little ones will always tell a story.
Unexpected murder investigation, two estranged brothers and small pieces of a bigger puzzle had me wonder what is actually happening and how will this story end.
I liked the last 2 chapters the most. Not only because I knew something bigger will happen but because so many questions had been answered. It takes time to understand this story, it’s a very well thought psychological thriller and if you’re really not into that, I can understand why it may not be for everyone.
That being said , I loved it and I will recommend it for anyone looking for a compelling book.


Arc review

1956: serial killer found dead in his cell; 2000: young boy randomly attacked: 2017: Philosophy professor stabbed to death. Isolated events or inevitably connected? Detectives Laurence Page and Caroline Pettifer are called to a murder scene in large country mansion still showing the damage from a fire in its past. The dead man, Alan Hobbes, is long retired from his job at the local University, and lived alone in the house. He had dismissed all of his staff the day before and had lain down in his orthopaedic bed, as if prepared for death. His specialist area was “Determinism”, a philosophy that considers that all events are programmed into the Universe, subject to the Laws of Physics, and so inevitable. His hobby had been the collection of memorabilia about the above-mentioned serial killer, Jack Lock, aka ‘The Angel Maker’, who believed that God exists outside the Universe and so can see everything happening, everywhere, all the time. That being the case, all human actions are foretold (including serially killing young girls), and going against your script would be blasphemy.
One of Hobbes’s employees, the last one to see him alive, is Chris Shaw, the boy who was randomly attacked. Perhaps those events aren’t isolated after all? Perhaps they were inevitable? A further coincidence (if there is such a thing) is that Page, as a young constable, was present at the scene of the attack on Chris. If Chris is not the murderer he is certainly a person of interest, but he seems to have disappeared. His sister Katie, who feels guilt because she should have been looking after Chris when the attack occurred, is looking for him now, but thinks she and her family are being stalked. Is there a connection?
It would be simplistic to say that this story is a psychological thriller, although it is. To some extent it’s a police procedural, but that isn’t a suitable category either. Some readers may see it as a family stalker drama, with the focus being on Kate, Chris and her family. However, if you accept Determinism, then the story is wandering into mysticism and the supernatural. Not to be left out, since much of the drama takes place in “The Half Burnt House”, there is a touch of the Gothic here too. In sum, this is a very complex plot which requires quite a lot of mental effort, but the effort is very rewarding.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

I had high expectations for this but sadly it missed the mark a little for me.
One issue I had was the amount of characters we follow. Sometimes this doesn't bother me. But here I found myself confusing some of the characters throughout.
While some POV made me lose a little interest, others brought me back into the story. So I feel there could have been less and focus on the story from a couple of POVs.
The story itself felt a little over all the place at times. In fact even by the end I'm confused why Michael was obsessed. Did I miss something? I feel like I missed part of the story with this character.
The ending having a supernatural element has me wondering what did I just read.
Overall I did enjoy this. But it didn't wow me.

The murder of Professor Hobbes , an academic,who lives in a house that had been damaged by fire many years earlier sets off an intriguing hunt for the police as they search for the killer . There are reports of somebody leaving the house with a book a few days earlier and it all leads to the 2 children of a serial killer many years earlier. There are too many twists along the way to get into details in a review.Unfortunately a more difficult read than his earlier works.

Kate always looked after her younger brother Chris - until she left him alone for one selfish afternoon, and their picture-perfect family fell apart. Although Chris survived the attack, the scars ran deeper than the ones left across his face. Now they're adults, and they haven't spoken in years. Then she gets a call from Detective Laurence Page. Page is facing an unusually disturbing crime scene, Alan Hobbes, a distinguished and wealthy philosophy professor, has been brutally murdered. Page has only one suspect, Chris, caught on CCTV at the house.

This is quite a complex read with quite a lot of characters to try and remember. There's a little supernatural vibe to this story. This is a well written book with a mysterious plotline. But the pace is slow. The last third of the book was by far the best part. This is quite a dark read. I think this is one of those books where your best reading it with only a little knowledge about it. I did like the authors writing style. I found this an interesting read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #PenguinRandomHouse #MichaelJoseph and the author #AlexNorth for my ARC of #TheHalfBurntHouse in exchange for an honest review.

This was creepy and quite terrifying. Past and present mix and I wasn't sure who was who and what the connections were. When elderly professor Alan Hobbes is found murdered the mystery begins. What is the connection to Christopher Shaw, a young man who was badly disfigured in his teens by evil Michael Hyde. And why is Michael back and stalking Chris's sister and her family? How does Peter Leland fit the scene. So much to get your head round and all linking back to evil Jack Lock - a killer hanged in the 1950s. Creepy. I could picture this as a TV drama. #netgalley #thehalfburnthouse

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

would like to say that i enjoyed this book but have to admit i struggled with it...it was a bit to deep for me thats not to say it wasnt well written i just didnt enjoy it

aw well there are bound to be books that we just cant get on with

As a big fan of Alex North's previous books, The Shadow Friend and The Whisper Man, I was really excited to read his latest release. The prologue had me hooked with that same eerie, dark atmosphere that I love about North's books, and I was so ready to be taken in by this haunting premise.

Sadly, after the prologue, I was absolutely lost. This is such a complex thriller that I couldn't keep up with it at all. I even had to ask somebody to explain the story to me, and it still made my head hurt.

Nevertheless, I've seen a lot of great reviews for this book, although most have said that it took them a while to get to grips with who was who. So my recommendation to anybody looking forward to reading this one is to make a few notes as you go, as I'm sure I would have enjoyed it if I could have followed it more easily.

As it was, the only time I really knew what was going on was when the detective gave a bullet-pointed list of his findings. There were definitely moments when I was really into the story, but it was just so much hard work overall, and I had no idea what had happened by the time I finished it. Massively frustrated by this.

A clever, complex and sometimes convoluted story with many layers that gradually build into a compelling conclusion. It's gently paced and detailed and explores family, fate and finality. It's suspenseful and shocking in parts with echoes of the supernatural. It isn't an easy read, but it drew me in from the beginning, and it's absorbing throughout. I like the complexity and the chilling nature of this story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This intriguing and very challenging read demands absolute concentration. The plot is so intricate and twisty, nothing is what it appears to be, this reader was as confused and bewildered as I ever wanted to be, but the rewards are plentiful, if you just persevere. I was on the point of giving up several times, but about 54% into this novel, everything started to get interesting, pieces of the jigsaw finally slid into place, and the truth of this story was more cruel and devious than could have been imagined at the outset.
This story begs the question of does Nature/ Nurture or possibly Cain/ Abel, plays a relevant part in this story of revenge and hatred.
Kate and Sam are girlfriend and boyfriend both still at school. Chris is her brother, usually Katie walks home with him, but on that day she goes back to Sam’s house and Chris is on his own when he is violently attacked, this decision taken by Katie has far reaching consequences for all .
Family trees do not always grow straight in this decidedly off kilter novel. Katie is brave. Sam is protective. Chris is the little lost boy.
There are moments in this story that are almost supernatural, the whole story definitely has its spooky and creepy moments, with many high risks taken by all throughout. The tension is continually being ramped up, each revelation makes the reader unsure of what they have just read. There are many flashbacks to further muddy the waters.
A marvellously tense psychological thriller, once the narrative begins to flows, it is nerve wracking, multi layered levels of bravery, determination, deception and spine chilling thrills..
A five star read. My thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph UK, Penguin Random House publishers for my advanced digital copy, freely given in exchange for my honest review. I will post to Goodreads and Amazon UK.

I found The Half Burnt House to be a complicated read.

The story was told over different timelines and a lot of the time, I had no idea as to which timeline it was.

There were a lot of characters to try and get your head around and I had difficulty in remembering who was who.

I found the story to be extremely slow and just as it seemed to pick up, it would slow down again, which I found to be rather disappointing.

My thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a very clever twisty read. the more you dig the dipper you get. The characters are well thought out and the writing dark and mysterious. At first it did seem very complicated however I loved how the plot kept me engaged and guessing and all became clear at the end. If you like dark twisted thrillers and something to make you really think this book is spot on

Another exciting read from the splendid Alex North. The writing is excellent, the atmosphere dark and chilling and the plot engrossing. The characters are very well drawn and the revelations along the way intriguing. Superb!

I love a book that engages the brain as well as driving the senses. Alex North’s The Half Burnt House does that in spades. This is a book that takes some curious characters and interweaves them into a layered and unsettling story told across multiple timelines in a way that both chills and fascinates. It’s a deep dive down a rabbit hole and you’re never quite sure what’s going to be waiting for you when you emerge at the other end.

This is such a well-crafted narrative that incorporates philosophical questions with chilling atmospherics, a twisty and utterly transfixing plot and hovering over all of that, an intriguing question about whether we can ever be the masters of our destiny.

Katie Shaw was living her teenage dream. She was about to graduate. She and her long term boyfriend were discussing their future. Katie was a good daughter to loving parents until the fateful day when she decided to disobey their instructions just once. And that was when a stranger walked into her life and literally tore apart her brother’s face and with it her family’s rosy existence.

Years later, Katie has her own family; one that she protects fiercely. Never again will she be lulled into a false sense of security.

Professor Alan Hobbes’ baby son was killed in a fire at his home. He stayed living in that house with its centre still charred and destroyed from the fire, like a permanent accusation. When Hobbes is found brutally murdered in his home, Detective Inspector Laurence Page and his partner Det. Caroline Pettifer work the case. Hobbes was a philosopher, a determinist – a man who had no truck with the idea that we have free will. He believed that everything is pre-determined; part of our DNA. So has his belief informed his death? It certainly seems that way.

North raises some complex questions in an intricately plotted novel where the chills gradually creep into your soul.

Laurence Page also investigated Katie’s brother’s attack. Chris Shaw now seems to appear on security camera footage at Hobbes house. What was he doing there and where is he now?

Katie has been feeling anxious, worried that someone is watching and following her. Her fear for her young daughter Sienna is very real, but her husband Sam is concerned that Katie is suffering from anxiety. Then her mother calls on Katie to find her brother and she is determined not to let him down again.

Laurence Page can see that Hobbes in life has been through some pretty dreadful stuff and there seems to be a link between what he has suffered and what Chris went through. Is the link back to an infamous serial killer who claimed to be able to see the future? And who is the man in the red car?

North layers his intense, challenging narrative with a sense of the paranormal. Katie’s relationship with Sam and Sienna contrasts violently with another relationship between a father and his sons and the whole is both an incredible mystery and a gruesome, bloody battle between good and evil, free will and determinism.

Verdict: I absolutely loved this intriguing, chilling and brilliant storyline that is beautifully written and so well constructed that I am in awe. Alex North can pull me down his rabbit holes any time he likes.

This a great book, full of well drawn characters and seemingly strange motivations but all comes clear towards the end. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well plotted story. This is the first Alex North book I’ve read but it certainly won’t be the last.

This is a complex well written book which will keep you concentrating. I enjoyed it, it was certainly different.

Not entirely sure where to start! This is a really twisted web of a tale with good versus evil, nature versus nurture some deep philosophy and a dash of magic.
There is some really good food for thought about what path you can find your life taking and what influences, if any, your parents and people around you can have. I found it a little tricky to keep track of how all of the various characters interlinked but feel fairly satisfied with my overall understanding although at times it felt ever so slightly out of reach and I had to stretch to grasp the truths.
I loved the sense of inherent darkness present in the story and the mysterious qualities, I also really warmed to the main characters and felt I was on the journey with them. Definitely a recommend from me, although I’ve come out the other side a little dazed and confused like I’ve been doing brain gymnastics.