Title: The Whisper Man
Author: Alex North
Publisher: Celadon Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
First Publication: 2019
Language: English
Major Characters: Tom Kennedy, Jake, Frank Carter, Amanda Beck and Pete Willis
Theme: Father-Son relationship, Serial Killing
Setting: Small town of Featherbank, England
Narrator: Third Person
Book Summary: The Whisper Man by Alex North
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…
Book Review: The Whisper Man by Alex North
The Whisper Man is Alex North’s debut thriller, and what an absolutely riveting read it is!
It’s some twenty years since Frank Carter began a life sentence for the abduction and murder of five little boys. Carter had earned himself the nickname ‘The Whisper Man’ after his sinister method of whispering at the doors and windows of his victims in order to lure them outside. Now though, another little boy has gone missing in similar circumstances, and the peaceful village of Featherbank is once again fearful of what the outcome may be.
“Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage requires fear.”
Tom Kennedy and his young son Jake are still drowning in grief a year after the death of Tom’s beloved wife Rebecca, but Tom is hoping that a move to the sleepy little village of Featherbank will help them start a new chapter in life.
The new house isn’t really what Tom would have chosen, it’s a creepy run down old house but when Jake saw it he wouldn’t look at anything else, he loved it on sight and Tom wanted so much for Jake to be happy. He was having a problem communicating with his son, (Rebecca was always the one that Jake turned to) and he hoped that this move would help bring them closer together.
“The devil finds work for idle hands. Bad thoughts find empty heads.”
DI Amanda Beck heads the new investigation into the missing boy, but DI Pete Willis ( the investigator in the original Whisper Man case) is also brought in to help. It’s always been thought that Carter may have had an accomplice and Willis’s intimate knowledge of the original case could be crucial.
Told from the Point of Views of Tom, Jake, DI Amanda Beck, and DI Pete Willis, The Whisper Man by Alex North is a deftly crafted and compelling thriller, where the author has grasped the importance of pace, combined with a narrative that wastes not a single word, each word being designed to hook you into the next, ensures that it’s a winner.
The Whisper Man by Alex North is most certainly a best seller in waiting, and Alex North should be justifiably proud!
