Published by Celadon Books on July 7, 2020
Genres: Fiction, Thrillers, Suspense, Crime, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Horror
Pages: 368
Format: Audiobook
Source: ARC
"This is absorbing, headlong reading, a play on classic horror with an inventiveness of its own... As with all the best illusions, you are left feeling not tricked, but full of wonder."– The New York TimesThe haunting new thriller from Alex North, author of the New York Times bestseller The Whisper Man
You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile--always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet--and inspired more than one copycat.
Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree--and his victim--were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and suffering from dementia, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home.
It's not long before things start to go wrong. Paul learns that Detective Amanda Beck is investigating another copycat that has struck in the nearby town of Featherbank. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago.It wasn't just the murder.
It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again...
I haven’t had the time to completely finish The Whisper Man yet, but when the chance to listen and review Alex North’s The Shadows popped up I had to do it. That synopsis alone had me hooked.
Atmosphere is everything in The Shadows. A decaying industrial town backed up to a forest that seems forbidding and unnatural. There isn’t anything spectacular or unique about the town beyond it’s slow, seemingly inevitable demise. North weaves a creepy, intriguing tale of murder complete with lucid dreaming while straddling that divide between paranormal and mundane. North kept me guessing throughout the entire book. Is it something paranormal or something more routine? Is Paul just a bit cracked from the pressure?
The detective’s POV felt a little extraneous as time went on. While parts were necessary for the story to tie small parts together, I didn’t require her box metaphor and angst regarding her father. I think my dislike of the character POV bled over into my reaction to Hannah’s performance. It was good, but I wasn’t blown away. It would be unfair to say it was due to her abilities, as I really do think it is because I didn’t need Amanda hijacking the story.
My highlight for this book has to be John Heffernan though! He did a phenomenal job of bringing North’s words to life. I’m positive I wouldn’t have been near as affected if I had read the book. Absolutely brilliant.
While I haven’t read the physical copy, I definitely recommend listening to The Shadows. Especially if you are in the mood for an eerie story expertly performed by a narration duo.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
