Alex North writes with a strength that pulls the reader in from the very first page. The narrative is dark, profoundly evocative, and remarkably intriguing as North ties together the past and the present with the signification of nightmarish dreams. He has created a cast of characters that are profoundly complex and astutely developed. Each of them holding these peculiar and incriminating qualities that add to the macabre theme of the novel. As a result, the reader cannot help but to become absorbed and completely invested in the outcome. The overall sense of early chapter of the book are nothing less than spectacular.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this Audiobook of #TheShadows

A Twisty Thriller!
I was really curious when I saw that just like Alex North's first book, The Whisper Man, this cover also had a hand on the front and the color scheme had just been reversed. I actually like this one even better than The Whisper Man.

There were a lot twists, some I didn't see coming, which is unusual for me. In The Whisper Man, I had kind of figured out what was going on about halfway through. This one however, still had me guessing until almost the end. This book was fast-paced and kept me turning pages all the way through.

I didn't like that there were a few minor things left unexplained, but I did like the way the main character's growth arc was developed so that he found the peace he was looking for by the end of the book.

Twists I didn't see coming! Such a good story. I loved how the past was interwoven among the present to complete the story, The narrator did a great job of telling the story as well.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

Alex North has the best cover designs that draws you to pick up the book. This one is no different from The Whisper Man. I was certainly not disappointed - I look forward to his next release!

I DNF this one at about 40%. The Whisper Man was one of my favourite books last year. It was creepy and twisty and gave me all of the heebie jeebies. I was so excited to receive an ALC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. However, The Shadows was not keeping me interested at all. I found myself missing parts when I would zone out and had no interest in going back to find out what was going on. I listened to chapter 3 four times before I just gave up and moved on.

I hate to DNF a book. It feels like this huge failure and it is a huge reason I power through. I out this book down no less than five times to pick up a different book instead.

The o my thing I was like YAY for was the Easter egg mention of the whisper man. ☹️

The Shadows is haunting and often quite creepy. This book has a bit of slow start, but I actually enjoyed the anticipation it provided.

25 years ago a horrific event changed the life of Paul Adams forever. Two boys he called friend ritualistically killed another student in the playground. One friend was captured, but Charlie Crabtree was never found. But where was he? Now in the present, there are what seems to be copycat killers. Are these killings happening because they believe the Charlie is still out there? Did he really achieve his goal through lucid dreaming and incubation? These questions are all haunting Paul as he returns home to be by his dying mother's side. He starts to try and make sense of everything and soon learns that his mother may have some clues to what really happened to Charlie Crabtree.

I enjoyed this book. It creeped me out at times, but in the best of ways. There were times when I said to myself, "Oh, heck no!" I highly recommend the audiobook as the narrators are wonderful and really brought me into the story.

I absolutely loved this story! I did like how the narrators were different based on who was telling the story. I think the only issue I had with the audio book was how slowly the narrators read. I had to speed them up so it didn't seem like it was dragging.

Gah. I just love Alex North's writing. I loved his debut and I think I loved this one just as much (if not more). I typically don't gravitate towards thrillers, but I took a shot with reading his first book and I do not regret it. I just wish I knew which other novels he wrote under a different name so that I could read them all!

It's always refreshing to take a break from my usual genres, and I delightfully enjoyed every haunting second of this novel. As someone who reads right before bed, I have to admit that there were nights when I was too scared to stop reading since that meant having to go to sleep. I was a bit hesitant about the entire "lucid dreams" plot, but I absolutely devoured it. I had a lucid dream once (and hopefully only once) and I can admit that they are completely terrifying.

Featured article: https://frolic.media/5-upcoming-thrillers-that-you-need-to-read-immediately/

This book is spooky. You will definitely need to be ok with being disturbed and some gruesome descriptions. It’s a great murder mystery read! I recommend it for those who enjoy horror novels and want to feel some chills.

Wow! Just WOW! I would say this book is simply amazing but their is nothing simple about it. The author takes you on a twisty, turny path of chills and suspense with characters that are brilliant. I would love to talk to the author on how he came up with the character of Paul Adams. The situation between Paul and his mother hit to close to home for me and I found myself getting angry with Paul. You can read the book to find out why. I really enjoyed the story on audiobook and found the narrators wonderful and easy to listen to.

I was sadly not able to listen to this gem due to the outage of the NetGalley Shelf app. I lost my audiobooks when it went down. I'm so incredibly disappointed, I was looking forward to this one!

Thank you for the initial opportunity to listen in on this ARC, though!

This was quite an enjoyable listen. Both narrators have voices that pair well with their characters. The story is an excellent bit of mystic creepiness that I really enjoyed.

THE SHADOWS by Alex North | Grade: C | Mild spoilers ahead.
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As people who have been following this account for a while already probably know, one of my favorite genres outside of my all-time favorite YA, is mystery. So, as a Book of the Month subscriber, I tend to take a closer look at their monthly mystery offering. Now, most of the time, their mystery offerings are well-developed mysteries that I throughly enjoy although they are hardly ever worth a re-read. This is why I have tended to choose non-mysteries for my BOTM and check out their mystery recommendations from the library. I am especially glad that I started this habit with this being my third or so mystery of the year that I have been less than pleased with. In all fairness, THE SHADOWS has strong appeal. The plot sounds unique and interesting. And I guess for what it’s worth it is definitely unique. Alas, I found the novel to be highly confusing, convoluted, and just flat out unenjoyable. The novel centers around dreams and how it connected to a brutal murder in a small town. Now, a man scarred from this experience in his youth comes back to this town and a copycat emerges. I quite honestly did not really care for the main character (he just came across as nothing more than an unhappy middle-aged man who had not really made anything of his life), but really just never got behind the whole lucid dreams element of the novel (which is kind of—you know—the whole novel). I guess you could just say that I like my mysteries a little more clean cut. I have decided to give BOTM another chance to pick out a good, rereadble mystery and added THE NIGHT SWIM to my August box. Fingers crossed I won’t regret it.

Twenty-five years ago Paul's former friend Charlie committed a shocking murder and disappeared without a trace. It attracted such strong infamy online that it inspired multiple copycats. Paul remembers the case because he and his friends were Charlie's victims. In the present-day, Paul goes back to his hometown because his mother's health is declining. He starts to uncover what happened that day. This book is haunting and eerie and creepy. Lucid dreaming in an element in the plot and because of that you're left wondering what's real and what's paranormal throughout the book. It's told in dual timelines and takes you on quite a journey.

I was incredibly excited to receive a copy of the audiobook. I LOVED the debut novel from Alex North, The Whisper Man. This meant I had really high expectations set for The Shadows.

Charlie Crabtree is a teen who has committed to what seems like a ritualistic murder. Paul Adams was his friend and also friends with the victim. He’s now older and left their hometown but when his mother falls ill he has to return home. She keeps insisting there’s something wrong with the house and things start to happen that bring Paul back to that day 25 years ago when not only was his friend murdered but Charlie also disappeared.

The narration was really good and kept my attention through the book. However, I maybe would’ve enjoyed the physical book over the audiobook version for this one just because of the number of characters to keep straight. I found that difficult over the audiobook but I’m also new to audiobooks so that may be part of the problem.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it but would suggest someone pick up the physical book over the audio. For me it wasn’t 5-stars like the whisper man which I thought about for days after finishing but it did come up close at a 4-star read for me.

unfortunately, THE SHADOWS just didn’t meet the mark for me. this could be because my expectations were high after THE WHISPER MAN, but overall i just felt like nothing really “happened” in this book.⁣⁣

If you were a fan of Alex North and "The Whisper Man" this book will be right up your alley! I found "The Shadows" to be creepier than how I felt about "The Whisper Man" and would not recommend this book before bed. The idea of sleep paralysis is terrifying without reading before bed, so do not make the same mistake I did! I loved the character development of this novel and was thoroughly impressed with both the writing and the story-telling. This book really creeped me out which was exactly what I wanted!

I loved the narrators - that made the book really come to life! I did find it just a little confusing with the jumping between past and present. Usually I really like that but it presented a bit of a challenge to keep track of in this one. It was a very creepy book that kept me wondering. Not my personal favorite read of the year but also outside of my norm. If you like supernatural, this would be a good one for you!

This was a real nail-biter! The plot revolves around possibly supernatural incidents related to a group of kids and their troubled young leader, and it struck a lot of chords that reminded me of some of the darker incidents of my own past. There are several genuinely surprising twists, and a satisfying resolution that was not quite what I expected. The audiobook is narrated by a man and a woman, and each is very good at moving the plot along in a natural way without drawing too much attention to actorish vocal tricks. This book would make a great movie, and the audio delivery of it seemed cinematic in some ways. For those who like psychological thrillers, I highly recommend this one. However, if bad things happening to kids trigger you, I suggest that you pass this book by. Although it is not gruesomely graphic, there are some disturbing elements here, and I would NOT suggest that young teens read this.

Wow!! This book was amazing. North is a fabulous writer and he has a way of getting points across without to much detail. This book isn’t scary but haunting. I liked it better than The Whisper Man. Highly recommend. Loved the audio of it too!!