The Shadows is a horror-inspired thriller mixed with psychological drama and coming of age story. It’s chilling, disturbing and continues the story of Paul who is back home after a nightmarish childhood. Long ago his friend Charlie committed a heinous murder and then vanished. As Paul returns to care for his ailing mother, he also must face his past and yet another tragedy.

The story is told from two alternating POVs, revealing Paul’s past and present, along with Detective Amanda Beck’s viewpoint. The theme of this story, as well as the previous novel, is the quest for lucid dreams and the nightmares that follow.

This murder mystery is creepy, suspenseful and wrought with tension as the more Paul discovers, the more he begins to lose his grip on reality.

For a suspense novel, it’s a bit slower and didn’t carry quite the same shocking wallop as the first book, The Whisper Man, but it is definitely still a truly unique and haunting story. It’s also a bit confusing with its large cast of characters and would probably be better understood in print form.

I listened to the audio version of this book and while I appreciated having two different narrators for Amanda and Paul and found the selections to be well-suited to the characters, it did make it a bit tricky to follow this complex plot.

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Shadows was very creepy. I don't know about you.. but bloody handprints are gross and not allowed on my front door. I would probably shit a brick if I saw that on my door.. or ya know have that god awful banging in the middle of night. Then again, I do sleep like the dead so if something actually does wake me up.. do not be surprised to see murder in my eyes.

Now in this book, you get the past and present. It gave me the chills every time Charlie Crabtree was mentioned because the guy was beyond creepy. Then there's James, Billy, Paul, and Jenny. I honestly loved Paul and Jenny to death. They were so freaking cute.. but of course I knew something bad was going to happen.

If you have ever seen an episode of Game of Thrones, you know that a crap ton of people die in those episodes. So, it was no surprise to me that this book would be any different. Yes, a lot of people died and I was actually really sad about a couple. Then there's the whole thing about dream killing or incubation.. it was weird and creeped me out.

Even with all the mystery, twists, turns, and horror throughout this book.. it was a page turner. Maybe it's just me, but I just wanted to know what happened and what was going to happen. After I read the last page, I can honestly say wow. It was good, creepy, and kept me engaged from start to finish.

Yes, I know I said creepy a ton of times in this book but deal with it and go read this book dammit.

The Shadows by Alex North
Narrated by: Hannah Arterton; John Heffernan
Publication Date: July 7, 2020 - Out Now!!!
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Description from NetGalley...
“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...”
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Thank you to @NetGalley @macmillan.audio @macmillanbooks @macmillanreads @celadonbooks for the audiobook in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts...
This is my first Alex North book. I have not read The Whisper Man (now I want to - I will totally welcome a copy ;)). I have to say that I really enjoyed the audiobook. It had many characters, which could be confusing. However, it did not distract me. I don’t know if listening made it creepier, but it certainly was. It gave me the heebie jeebies. I had to stop what I was doing when one of the big reveals came, it was just perfectly delivered. The atmosphere set in the audiobook by the narrators was so intense and spine-tingling. I was also engrossed in the whole lucid dream concept, it was so interesting.
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“It’s going to be ok. Yes, I think about that a lot. How every good parent says it, and how often they’re wrong.”

This was a slow burn thriller. I struggled to focus on the narration and following the story line since it goes in various time sequence and POV. The two narrators were similar that I couldn’t tell them apart. I think this would have been better for me to read rather than listen to the book.

Since I did listen to this as an audio book I'll give feedback on the quality of the audio book as well as the actual story. This story is told from 2 prospectives and in two timelines. The audio book has two narrators, one for each prospective. Over all the narration was good but I did have a few problems (which could have been caused by the program I was using the listen to the book and not the audio book itself). First, book narrators talk so slowly so I always listen on 1.5x - 2.0 speed and this book sounded particularly robotty when sped up. It also kept freezing at the beginning of chapters and I'd have to entirely restart the program to get it to play again.

As for the book it wasn't bad but it also wasn't good. The twists weren't anything special and I honestly didn't understand a lot of the motivations. They were explained, but why someone would behave the way the characters in this book did in a given situation is just entirely beyond me.

Reading other reviews, I'd like the try The Whisper Man, most readers seem to like it more.

The Shadows by Alex North is a thoroughly enjoyable read and an even better listen. I've been out of the murder-mystery/psychological-thriller mood for a while, but I came back for this one because the description is so enticing. It felt like a combination of Into the Water by Paula Hawkins and The Grip of It by Jac Jemc. The story focuses on Paul - a teen in town when a gruesome murder was committed 25 years ago - and Amanda - a detective on an eerily similar case now; there's even a Slenderman-esque figure that comes into play. North writes in multiple perspectives and jumps back and forth between "then" and "now"; those are two things to ensure I'll stick with a book. The characters are complicated and interesting, and there are multiple twists that I did not see coming. I listened to the audiobook in one day and really enjoyed the narrators' portrayals of the text.

I find it very hard to not compare this book to The Whisper Man, even though they are two totally different stories. Overall I did enjoy this book. I felt as though it lagged in parts and the ending kinda fell flat. Although there was one surprise twist that I didn’t see coming.

I think maybe my expectations for this book were way too high because I absolutely loved The Whisper Man. It had one of the most unforgettable storylines and characters, it is definitely one of my favorite reads from last year.

Many thanks to net galley for the opportunity to listen to this read!

This was a great, creepy thriller. I liked how the author and the narrators managed to set a very creepy mood that held on throughout the entire book. I think that urban legends/ghost stories that lead teens to commit horrible crimes are some of the most compelling and interesting stories and this book nailed it with that being the focus, while also addressing the psychological trauma those crimes leave the communities where they were committed. This was a very enjoyable book to listen to. I liked the accents from the narrators and thought both of them had nice voices to listen to. Overall, this was a great book to listen to and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book...oh my. I'm reading along, getting familiar with the characters, enjoying the story. I feel like I know what's happening, and boom, plot twist!! It's a great book for mystery lovers, especially those that think they can always guess the outcome, because you won't.

25 years ago in Gritten Woods, Charlie Crabtree was involved in a cult-like murder but he has since disappeared. Paul Adams returns home to Gritten Woods because of his mother's dimentia. He has been haunted by these murders for 25 years. Now there are copycat murders which Detective Amanda Beck is investigating. Are they copycat murders or has Charlie returned? What secrets do The Shadows hold?

This is a gripping, atmospheric and creepy story about lucid dreaming and the past that encroaches the present. I listened to the audio which I received from MacMillian Audio and NetGalley for an honest review. I enjoyed the audio as it brought the story to life even more. Hannah Arterton and John Heffernan did an excellent job reading the story. There were two different POV's and a dual timeline.

I found the characters to be well-developed and I enjoyed the surprise reveal at the end. I would highly recommend this book to those who like creepy, suspenseful ghost stories.

I'm sure this book is great. I was trying to give this genre of horror a shot, and decided to DNF it because it's just not for me. I could not make myself remain interested.

I listened to the audible version of this book and it kept me utterly gripped. The Shadows is the horrendous tale of the gruesome murder of a pupil by a fellow class mate, followed by copycat killings – or were they? The original culprit was never caught…. Intermingled is the theme of lucid dreaming, something I’ve only heard about quite recently, and which I found fascinating. Alex North manages to create a menacing, creepy, haunting and definitely dark atmosphere that kept me totally hooked. I thoroughly enjoyed his previous book, Whisper Man, but in my opinion this trumped it. There was so much mystery, great twists – one of which was a real humdinger – and so many interesting themes (including dementia, the dreaming, bullying and loneliness). I was lucky enough to be able to listen to this for long periods at a time, which I think added to my huge enjoyment of the book as it does take place over different time periods and features a number of different characters.

I'm going to be honest here because why the hell would I lie in a goodreads review, right? The thing is if The Shadows wouldn't have been available to listen to on Netgalley, I probably would have never read this book. I would have missed this book just like I missed so many books over the years. It's actually pretty sad to think about all the missing 5 stars.

Anyway, I remembered not hearing great things about this author's other book, The Whisper Man and I had decided that maybe his books weren't for me. The Shadows also deals with lucid dreams which isn't something that fascinates me. I ended up downloading the audiobook, taking a chance on it.

By the end of it, I'm still unsure how to feel about this book. I was interested and my curiosity was picked. I liked to know the truth about what happened in the past with Paul, Charlie and James. I was also surprised when the murder victim's name was revealed but I'm still not sure if this was supposed to be a surprise or if I'm just dumb.

The audiobook's narrator's voice felt very flat to me and therefore, some big events happened and I had to go back to see if I did hear correctly because it was like he was telling the weather instead of describing us the brutal death of someone. I had a hard time focusing on his voice, which wasn't my favorite.


(Thank you for letting me listen and review an ARC via Netgalley)

I wasn’t able to make the app work and was not able to listen, it is now archived. Bummer. Hopefully my library has a copy.

A suspenseful and dark read that takes you on a disturbing ride between dual timelines. I enjoyed Their is a large cast of characters in this novel most of which are somewhat disturbed. It begins with a group of kids practicing lucid dreaming and morphs into a murderous plot that then inspires copycat killings years later. Just like with the Whisper man the story slowly unravels leaving you guessing exactly where it will end up and who will he left standing. I enjoyed The Whisper Man much more only because with so many characters I found myself listening to chapters more than once to keep the storyline straight. Still an enjoyable and creepy novel. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced Audio copy!

I liked The Whisper Man, thought it was supremely creepy. This one just didn't quite reach that level for me. The present day mystery and trying to solve the copycat killings were my favorite parts, I wasn't as enamored with the flashbacks to the past. I thought they were too drawn out and the lucid dreaming stuff didn't appeal to me at all.

There are some decent twists (one I saw coming from a mile away), but overall I just didn't connect with the story enough to make me care about the outcome. As with The Whisper Man, I thought there were some elements that could have been tightened up, especially the number of characters that really had no real reason to be the story except for some confusion. Also, after a while in the book, the author stopped indicating whether we were in the past or the present and I got a bit lost.

I listened to part of this as an audio book and the rest I read a print copy. The narrators were great, but as per usual with me, I needed to speed up the delivery in order to keep me engaged and not get bored. If you don't have an issue keeping characters straight/don't need to turn back and look at previous chapters, then the audio book is fantastic. Otherwise, it might get confusing if you can't keep everyone and all of the timelines sorted out.

Not sure if I will read additional books from this author, I'm not a huge fan of the horror genre, and this is on the tippy borderline of that as opposed to a straight suspenseful mystery. The addition of the small amount of supernatural elements (and believe me, in the end there aren't many even though it seems that way at first) isn't my cup of tea for the most part.

This was a 3.5 for me. I love stories where there’s a potentially supernatural element & a potentially human manipulation element, and the guessing and discovery of the truth is always so interesting. I reminded me a little bit of A Head Full of Ghosts. Though the plot is very different, it has that same feel.

I think what threw me off on this was one of the bigger reveals. Doing my best not to give spoilers, the reveal obviously changed the outcome and circumstances, but it felt like a twist simply for the sake of a twist rather than something that fit well with the overall story. It all still came together well, but because there was such sinister behavior already, it seemed a little strange. Had things not happened the way the book was written though, it story would have changed quite a bit & who knows how I would have felt about that ending, so it’s all subjective, I guess 🙂

Both narrators were excellent, and I would most definitely listen to more of their work if given the opportunity.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Alex North for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley & MacMillan Audio for gifting me a copy of this audiobook. This review is my own.

While this is my first Alex North novel, I had high expectations since I’ve heard nothing but good things about his writing. Maybe that was my first mistake. While it wasn’t a horrible book, it also wasn’t amazing and it left me confused about things even days after finishing the book.

This is a story about lucid dreams which turns into murder, both in the present and 25yrs ago. The Shadows is told from two POV and flops back and forth between present day and the past (25yrs prior), which sometimes was a bit confusing. I really appreciated though that the audiobook had two different narrators for the different POVs, it made it much easier to follow.

I enjoyed the creepy supernatural feel that the first part of this book had, especially with Paul’s confused mother and the secrets that she’s hiding. With that said, I found the second part of the book to be a bit confusing and a little too much. It felt a bit like the author throwing everything at the wall and hoping something would stick. It took an unpredictable turn (which I can appreciate) but that turn was so unpredictable that it felt like I ended up in a whole different story. It honestly just felt like the story was trying too hard to be something that it wasn’t, if that makes any sense.

At the start of this book, we learn that 20+ years ago the small depressing town of Gritten was home to the terrible murder of a teenage boy named James.

Paul Adams was James best friend, and prior to the incident, along with another two boys, Charlie and Billy, they spend hours upon hours in ‘The Shadows’, the local name for the creepy woods behind their houses. Charlie is, unfortunately a narcissistic horror, a cocky cult-like figure, and for some reason, James is completely in his thrall. Paul is suspicious and uncomfortable around Charlie but can see how James looks up to him and in order to protect him, determines to stick around. Charlie introduces the concept of lucid dreaming to the group, insisting on them keeping dream diaries, reporting back their ‘shared experiences’ day after day and scaring them to death with talk of ‘red hands’ and the dark man in the woods that will grant them a permanent dreamlife state if they do what he wants… even if that means murder.

Then James is ritualistically killed by Charlie and Billy. Were they awake when it happened? Billy is found covered in blood and holding the knife, but Charlie is nowhere to be seen. He has escaped into The Shadows and has not been seen since.

Now we go back to the present day. Paul’s Mum is nearing the end of her life and he feels it is his duty to come and see her before she dies.

Paul doesn’t want to think about the past, but there have been copycat murders including the death of Michael Price, stabbed to death and surrounded with red hand prints, just like James was. Detective Amanda Beck is on the case - trying to find out if there are links to what happened in Gritten all those years ago,

Thanks to Netgalley, I listened to the audiobook version of The Shadows and the narration was excellent - both Hannah Arterton and John Heffernan are believable as their respective characters and had the tone just right.

I was excited by the premise of this book -it’s creepy, it’s got lucid dreaming and mystery - what’s not to like? But ultimately there were too many characters in this story for me and I found myself struggling to keep up with who they all were. The story meandered a little bit, and although there are a couple of revelatory moments towards the end of the book that were really well delivered and I enjoyed this book, unfortunately I just didn’t love it.

**Amazon link to be updated when approved**

I had the opportunity to listen to this book from NetGalley. The narration was excellent. I’ve read that the story was inspired by the Slenderman legend and the book, although a mystery, does have a supernatural feel. Personally I didn’t find the book terrifying or creepy. Just okay. BTW, the cover art is perfect!