The Whisper Man by Alex North is one of those books that you don't even try to slow down to write down, blowing through it at record speed. I, myself, finished it all within one sitting just as the kids fell asleep. I found that I just couldn't put it down. I had to have every last detail of what was going on.
I'll be honest, at first I prepared myself for a wannabe horror book: a devilish charismatic serial killer sitting in a prison discussing a case involving another serial killer sounds WAY too familiar, right? But honestly it was so much more, it's where all the similarities ended and unique qualities began.
The Characters
This book is all about relationships. Relationships between fathers and son. Relationships between a detective and serial killer he helped put behind bars. Overall, a good human element. Because when you have characters that you care about, well then you don’t want anything to happen to them. Which this book does well because it plays off of your own emotions. The natural human aspects of feeling flawed, burdened, troubled, and vulnerable. I identified in it with the father/son relationship through my husband and son. When I thought about if I had died when it was just the two of them, the book depicts exactly what I think it would look like - both confused and not knowing what the hell to do with each other. Plus, when it looks as if they may be in danger, your heart brings to pound as the words pour over in your head.
The Plot
I thought that the book was pretty well-crafted in it's story telling. It had smartly organized twists and turn that lead to a fast, unable to put down, and shocking story-telling. I think that what really set it apart from so many other cookie-cutter books that falls in it's same category was it's ability to pertain to reality. Especially in it's characterizations. The author really had a unique ability to explore the psychology that falls behind every character's action without compromising the terror he wanted his readers to feel. Which I really did feel. It was packed with strange, creepy, and evil atmospheric vibes that left a chill in me. I remember even at the beginning of the book, I had been reading - getting into the first pretty creepy part when my husband called me on his lunch break, and I jumped. I mean really jumped. I was scared to my core and that's exactly what I want to feel from these type of books.
Critique
I think that the only huge critique that I have is that it was easy to tell who the bad guy was pretty early on. I had my suspicions as soon as he was introduced. And I was right, which usually ruins a book for me but I did like the ride the came along with book with all of the twists sprinkled throughout. Plus, it's not the author's fault that I always try to make the guess, read way too many crime books, and watch a lot of scary movies.