REVIEW: The Whisper Man

The Whisper Man
Author: Alex North

It took me awhile to get my hands on a digital copy of this book. The wait list at the library was longgggg. I had to wait twice, in fact. Covid19 had things so crazy at my job that when I finally got to the top of the list to check out the book I missed the deadline to do so.....and had to wait again. But that's ok....I waited on the audio version the second time. I can listen to an audio book anywhere even when work and homelife is a bit unsettled and chaotic.

This was a suspenseful story well worth waiting for -- twice! :)

If you leave a door half open, you'll hear the whisper spoken.
          If you play outside alone soon you won 't be going home.
If your Windows left unlatched, you'll hear him tapping at the glass.
          If your lonely, sad, and blue, the whisper man will come for you.


A playground sing-song telling the story of a local murder still haunts Featherbank when Tom Kennedy and his young son move there to start over. After losing his wife, Tom wants them to have a new life, to begin again, to get past her death. But it's not that easy.....Jake is talking to people who aren't there. And....a little boy disappears. The murderer from all those years ago is in prison....so is a new killer starting up the kidnapping and murders of children all over again?

There really isn't anything new here....jaded, grieving and exhausted former detective moves to a new town to start over....only to end up embroiled in a case. And Jake, reeling from the death of his mother sees people that others do not, making it difficult for him to fit in at a new school. It's been done before....BUT....Alex North tells this suspenseful tale perfectly! I was engrossed in the story from start to finish. 

I listened to the audio book version of this story. I wanted to read the first novel before I moved on to North's newest book, The Shadows. Narrated by Christopher Eccleston, the audio is just over 9.5 hours long. I love Eccleston as an actor on screen, but I have to be honest and say I did not enjoy his performance as a book narrator. His tone is often flat, verging on monotone. I love the accent....but he just didn't seem to put much umph into his reading performance. The story was captivating enough to keep me listening, even though I really didn't like Eccleston's narration. This is just my personal opinion/preference -- others might feel differently about his performance. For me -- it just didn't work. 

I love the front cover art for this book! Publishers hire such talented artists!

Great book! I have The Shadows on audio all ready to go! Can't wait to see what new creepiness Alex North has lurking in wait for me!