The Whisper Man

June 1, 2019

DEBUT North's first novel explores the life of a father raising his young son after the tragic death of his wife mixed with a town in turmoil owing to kidnappings in the area. Frank Carter, known as the Whisper Man, was responsible for abducting five young men and was eventually captured and incarcerated. Tom Kennedy moves to a house to get a fresh start for him and son Jake, but their arrival coincides with the disappearance of a young boy in a manner eerily similar to those of Carter's previous crimes. Has the Whisper Man returned? Did Carter have an accomplice? Then Jake starts hearing whispering near his bedroom window. North has written a powerful and scary story that will haunt readers long after the final page is turned. The terrifying villain and characters who seem authentic only add to the horror. Lyrical writing also helps make the story truly haunting. VERDICT Fans of Thomas Harris or Kevin O'Brien will enjoy this dive with a new voice in suspense. [See Prepub Alert, 2/11/19.]--Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.

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Starred review from June 17, 2019
In the pseudonymous North’s superb thriller, a police procedural with supernatural overtones, Det. Insp. Amanda Beck heads the search for six-year-old Neil Spencer, who has gone missing from the English village of Featherbank. Neil may have been lured from his home by someone who whispered at his window at night, the same m.o. as incarcerated serial child killer Frank Carter (aka the Whisper Man), who was apprehended 20 years earlier by Det. Insp. Pete Willis. Beck brings in Willis to assist, specifically because he’s the only person Carter will talk to. Meanwhile, author Tom Kennedy, still reeling from his wife’s death, seeks a fresh start in Featherbank with his seven-year-old son, Jake. The sensitive Jake talks to a little girl who isn’t there and fears “the boy under the floor” in their odd new house. A strange man snooping at the Kennedy house and an attempt to lure Jake away during the night become connected to Beck’s investigation as she and Willis struggle to make a connection to Carter. Readers will have a tough time putting down this truly unnerving tale, with its seemingly unexplainable elements and glimpses of broken and dangerous minds. Agent: Sandra Sawicka, Marjacq (U.K.). (Aug.)
This review has been updated to note the book's author is using a pseudonym.

June 15, 2019
The serial killer who terrorized a small British town by kidnapping and murdering five little boys has been locked up for over a decade. So who could have taken 6-year-old Neil Spencer? "The first forty-eight hours following a disappearance are the most crucial." And yet one of those hours has gone by the time Neil's separated parents realize he never made it from his father's house to his mother's, a short walk he took alone. One of the main investigators of the crime is DI Pete Willis, who cracked a similar case years back and has never quite recovered from it, especially since one of the missing boys was never found. Is there an accomplice still on the loose? As Willis and his colleagues comb the town for clues about the disappearance, a recently widowed novelist and his young son move into what they don't yet know is called "the scary house." Jake is a bright but isolated child who has relied heavily on an imaginary friend and a Packet of Special Things for comfort since he came home from school one day to find his mother's lifeless body at the foot of the stairs. This move is meant to be a much-needed fresh start for the grieving and bewildered father and son, but from the start nothing goes right. On Jake's first day at his new school, the other children draw him into discussion about the missing boy and the Whisper Man who took him. Soon enough, Jake hears whispering too. North's debut pits nasty men submerged in evil against decent men struggling to do good; several father-son pairs reflect the challenges and darker possibilities of this relationship, though plotlines involving female characters are a bit undeveloped. A terrifying page-turner with the complexities of fatherhood at its core.

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Starred review from June 1, 2019
At its heart, this brilliant novel is an affirmation of the power of the father-son relationship, but it also charts a descent into darkness. Hoping to come to terms with his wife's tragic death, Tom Kennedy decides to leave his own regrets and young son Jake's grief behind and make a fresh start in the town of Featherbank. Jake has been finding consolation in an imaginary friend, so when Tom hears whispered voices in their new, somewhat unusual home, he is not unduly concerned, assuming that Jake is talking to his "friend." However, when the town's dark past is revealed, fear is added to an already toxic blend of emotions. Twenty years ago, a serial killer nicknamed the Whisper Man lured away young boys by whispering at their windows. The Whisper Man was captured and is now in prison, but when another boy vanishes in a similar fashion, a copycat killer is thought to be on the loose. Detective Pete Willis must confront his self-destructive issues and visit the Whisper Man in prison, hoping for help in identifying the copycat. When Jake is also taken, the reader is swept right out the door with him into a skin-crawling, nightmarish captivity. With redemption for some and none for others, this thriller will satisfy readers of Thomas Harris and Stephen King. Under development as a major motion picture by the Russo brothers, of Marvel film fame.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)