Berwick Public Library volunteer Keith shares his thoughts on The Whisper Man:
The Whisper Man by Alex North is a thriller with a physiological twist. It takes place in seemingly quiet English town where, 20 years ago, 4 young children had been abducted with gruesome results for three of them. The killer was put behind bars but never alluded to the whereabouts of the last child. One policeman’s never-ending quest is trying to find the last child that was never discovered.
Now, 20 years later, another child goes missing with striking similarities to the others so many years ago. Reluctantly, the investigator feels he must become involved again with this new abduction. Visits with the previous killer in prison only lead to puzzling clues, bits of information, and building tension. Several stories evolve from different perspectives that eventually lead to surprising twists. This has the scary, ghost story aspect told from a child’s viewpoint, the confused and concerned parent’s terror, and the investigator's determination to put an end to the nightmare.
This book reminded me of a scary CSI/ghost type of story. It has the elements of a police investigation with a creepy background story revolving around an old children’s poem. Along with a supernatural ghost, we deal with the internal ghosts from their pasts that each character struggles with. Several stories finally come together and lead to the reader not seeing the whole truth until the end. This was a very good read and it will keep you on edge. I loved it and highly recommend it!