The Shadows by Alex North

"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 Times The 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...

Paul Adams returns to his hometown, where he hasn't been in a very long time, to visit a mother he had no idea was gravely ill. He had zero plans to ever return. He wanted to forget all about the things that happened with his friends 25 years prior. Now things are happening all over again and it's time to figure out what's what.

When this was first up for grabs (on Bookish First) I knew I was going to use my points because after reading (and absolutely loving) The Whisper Man last year, I knew I had to have it. Do I regret that? Not at all. Did I love the book? No. Did I hate the book? No. Am I comparing this to The Whisper Man? No. The book was simply just okay. It's a psychological thriller so I expect the way this was paced. It's supposed to sink it's claws into your brain and you notice way too late. I felt more like..i was mostly reading to see what happens at the end. I couldn't really immerse myself in the now of the book. I can absolutely see why people are loving this but for me it was just okay. This, by no means, mean that I won't be as excited whenever he writes another book.

2/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon Books for sending me an advance copy of this novel

I really wanted to love this thriller since it sounded right up my alley. In the beginning it had a very true crime vibe to it which I LOVED and is one of my favorite things in thrillers. Eventually this book just fell flat for me especially the ending.

Charlie Crabtree has a dark imagination and a sinister smile. Twenty five years before the beginning of the book, he did something awful. He coerced his friend into helping him commit a murder in hopes of leaving this world for one of dreams. Charlie disappeared after the murder and was never seen again causing it to be one of the most talked about on internet—inspiring more than a couple copycats.

Paul Adams, our protagonist, remembers the case more than anybody else because Crabtree, the other murderer, and the victim were all his friends. While Paul never fell for Crabtree's menacing philosophy, his whole world because wrapped up in this one person and he vowed to never let Crabtree have the power over him again. Paul has slowly put his life back together away from the city that caused him nightmares. But his mother took a turn for the worst. Though every part of him screams to be as far away from the murders as possible, he knows it's time to return to the place of horrors.

This book had such an interesting premise but what originally put me off is the timeline. There are chapters that take place in current day and others that are flashbacks to 25 years ago and while that itself isn't confusing, the author managed to make it so. Paul in current day would often refer back to things that happened 25 years ago but each was drawn out so much it resembled that of a flashback leading to confusion.

The writing in this also resulted in me feeling not much suspense. The pacing was just a bit off and made me feel more bored and curious. The ending also didn't really impact me that much and seemed a bit lackluster. I feel like the author could have ended similarly but if he just went about writing it (i.e. using different characters to reveal some things) it could have been more of a big boom rather than a sad sizzle. This book also tried to tie in wayyyyy too many things (his mothers health, creepy house antics, copycat murders, flashbacks to old murders, Charlie's disappearance etc.) and I felt like some of them seemed to be forgotten and weren't fully explained. Sometimes authors do this so everything is not wrapped up in a neat bow but it didn't feel intentional.

With all of that out of the way I do want to get into some positives in this book. I did really enjoy learning about the copycat murders which was done from the detective perspective. I honestly wish I had a bit more of that to cut down on the emotions of Paul's POV. The flashbacks were also quite nice because you actually got to see Charlie which made the reading experience feel more grounded. Charlie was show to be really disturbed which really added to the atmosphere of the whole novel.

There are two things that were hinted at that could have been explored and way more detail and I think would have been a lot better of a focus than some of the other things. The first is the creepiness of the house and the feeling of Paul being watched in it. I definitely think there could have been more which would have aided the atmosphere but the bit we got was really enjoyable. The creepiness was also explained away in a manner I didn't particularly care for, so I wished it would have been for a different reason. I also think it was hinted at that a lot of the online followers of the case seemed almost cult like which could have been amplified a bit more. It would have added more reasoning behind the current day murders and overall would have made the story flow better.

This book was by no means bad but it also had many ways it could have been improved. This is nothing to write home about and there ware much better thrillers out there then this one. The Shadows just tried too hard and was doing too much to focus on any one topic to flesh it out enough.

3.5
I was actually spooked from some parts and enjoyed his writing style. The ending although bittersweet wasn't satisfactory though. I was hoping for a better reveal though but there was an unexpected twist and good cliffhangers throughout.