Great story! terrible narration

The story was great but the narration is unbearable. Hope penguin gets their act straight

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Packet of special things

This story truly is a "packet of special things". It perfectly combines heartfelt conversations about parent child relationships and fear as experienced by adults and by children. The author delves into the subject of childhood trauma and it's bearing on adult life, therefore describing the development of a criminal. The narration matched the pained voice of the protagonist Tom Kennedy. This will definitely be etched in my memory as one of my favourite books.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Great story

well written... keeps you guessing until the very end, the plot twists are quite well spaced... totally enjoyed it. the narration I felt cud be better... but otherwise good read. 👍

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Thriller Novel with Paranormal, Mental Illness, Se

The gist of words that describe this Thriller Novel written by Alex North Would be paranormal, mental illness, serial killing, the relationship between a father and son, and, most importantly, the role of a father they argue with their son.

The whisperman waited long in my kindle shelf, reasons even I am not known to them. As the title and the beginning of the plot's first few chapters were nothing but mundane, the story starts reshaping when you start becoming comfortable with the level you do not want to hear.

Right from the start, you believe that the child Jake is somewhat unique, and this thriller is not going to him in any which way. All the characters that the writer has made alive are proper and required except Amanda's character in the last few chapters, which I felt was not necessary to go into that deep.

This is a thriller where you do not find one character who becomes your favorite character, which I found quite strange. Though some of the lines and sentences that the author has written are special, it is crucial to love even when we argue, especially when we argue. This gives a special message to the readers who live in this century where argument turns into a fight in an instant where we are always surrounded by social media and messaging apps.

The most peculiar thing I liked about this book is how the writer has defined the role of the father through the loss of a mother. This is the real bookmark of the The Whisperman.

For the paranormal fans, yes, there are many elements of the supernatural that the author has attempted, but they remain unconcluded till the end of the story. They are open-ended.

The book is quite a one time read for a lazy Sunday; I would recommend reading via an audio reader with a reading speed of 1.1x. As the initial story takes to build.

Overall I would rate it 3.5 from 5.

Thanks.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

The boy in the ground

“That’s what things do. Even in the toughest of circumstances, they keep living.”

My recent foray into the world of audiobooks led me to ask myself the question - how awesome would it be to listen to a really great thriller with a fantastic narrator at the helm?

I am glad to say that my curiosity bore fruit - and I had a great time with Alex North's 'The Whisper Man' narrated by Christopher Eccleston.

The premise of the book is not ground breaking, but is definitely one that is sufficient enough to keep you hooked. Tom Kennedy and his son, Jake, move to a new house in the little town of Featherbank, only to get embroiled in a high profile criminal case that involves a child abductor who goes by the name of 'The Whisper Man'. The resurgence of this criminal also brings back to the fold, the same detective who captured the original Whisper Man, Detective Pete Willis.

I love this book and the themes it explores. North does a great job of building up the tension surrounding the identity of the abductor, and explores pertinent themes of single parenthood, coping with the loss of loved ones, and the ramifications of child abuse. The author goes to great lengths to lay out the complex relationship between Tom and Jake with a pristine attention to fine details and nuances.

There are some notable plot twists by the halfway mark, and a substantial lack of them towards the end. It felt like the last few chapters of the book followed the usual thriller tropes, and I would have liked to see the author explore with a bolder climax.

Overall, this is a very good thriller novel that stick to the genre's tropes, but at the same time, meticulously crafts out its' main characters with love and care. By the end of it, you can't help but root for the father-son duo of Tom and Jake Kennedy.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!