I’m so conflicted about this book! The first half I was thinking it was for sure not my jam. Firstly, the subject material—philosophy; determinism; physics; religious zealotry; murderabilia. Hard pass. Secondly, the confusing web of characters and backstories. Brothers go by Edward and Alan in the past, get adopted by separate people, and go by their adopted last names, Hobbes and Leland, in the future. 😵‍💫 Plus we have two cops; a brother and sister; a woman and her husband and daughter; a criminal on parole. It’s a lot to get a grasp on.
•
I was all set for this to be a 2-3 star book, but about 60% through things started to become clearer. The pace picked up and I began to see how the stories intersected. There was one amazing twist! I ended up really enjoying it, although I don’t think this book will be for everyone.
•
Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an e-arc!

I've attempted multiple times to finish this book. I find that I am unable to stay engaged with the storylines. They are many! The characters are appropriately fleshed out, but their motives are unclear even though I have read about half of this book. The process of weaving together and ultimately, coming to a denoument seems laborious. I may try to finish it another time, but I will be shelving it for now.

This is not a quick thriller read - there is a lot going on and I had to reread cause I kept thinking I was missing things. This bordered on too philosophical for me. It may be a better slow read book.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was beyond thrilled to receive my ARC copy from Netgalley, however, I didn’t quite feel the book lived up to the hype for me. After reading The Whisper Man, I was HOOKED on Alex North. The Angel Maker, while still a very good read, just didn’t measure up.

For one, the plot is INTRICATE. I thoroughly enjoyed all the twists and turns when I could keep up, but between the multiple POVs and the multiple timelines, I found myself lost frequently.

The characters themselves I found very intriguing, and I can genuinely say I did NOT see the connections coming. I thought the character webs were woven brilliantly.

The book also had a very slow start. Now, to be fair, it built up to some AMAZING plot twists. It just took a very long time to get to them.

Overall, I can say I enjoyed it, but it certainly took more concentration and effort than I had anticipated.

When I saw Alex North was releasing a new book I could hardly contain my excitement. I LOVED The Shadows and The Whisper Man. North has a way of adding supernatural elements that feel like they could really happen in real life. The storyline requires a good deal of concentration, especially through the initial character development in the beginning. The Angel Maker was definitely intriguing and dark. It's more of a dark crime/detective story than a thriller. It wasn't my favorite out of the 3 I have read by North, but it was a great read overall.

The book begins with introducing Katy Shaw and her younger brother Christopher Shaw who is brutally attacked as a child by a deranged man named Michael Hyde. Decades later Katy and her brother Chris are estranged and Katy still suffers from the knowledge that she could have prevented her brothers attack. When Katy learns that Chris is missing she begins looking into his disappearance. Meanwhile detectives are dealing with the murder of a Philosophy Professor and believe Chris to be responsible. The author seamlessly weaves storylines about Katy, Chris, The Philosophy Professor and a serial killer who was believed to be able to see the future. In the end he melds those stories together into one beautiful and dark big picture.

A special thank you to the author, Celadon Books and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is my second read by Alex North. I loved The Whisper Man so I was excited when I got the chance to read this book. This book was a lot slower for me and I had a hard time following along. So even though this was a little harder to read I would still recommend this book. I'm excited to read The Shadows next and then patiently wait for his next book.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for my gifted digital advance reader copy!

Katie Shaw has everything going for her: she’s about to graduate and go to college, she’s in love with her high school boyfriend, Sam, and she has a loving and supportive family. All of that changes when her brother is brutally attacked in broad daylight. Now, almost two decades later, Katie has a daughter and life of her own but is still plagued by guilt about what happened to her brother. Meanwhile, a philosophy professor in town has been found murdered in his bed, but it seems he knew it was coming.

I really enjoyed Alex North’s latest crime thriller! There were a lot of elements that contributed to this story, but they all worked well together and drew me into the plot. Perhaps because there was so much going on, I started to get a nagging feeling that something was missing, especially toward the end. Without giving anything away, I did have a few unanswered questions, and I wish there were things we got more answers about.

I liked the two detectives’ dynamic with one another, but didn’t feel as connected to Katie or her family. Still, I was so invested in puzzling out the mystery that I kept turning pages.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for Goodreads

In this book, we are introduced to two separate mysteries that eventually come together – the disappearance of Chris Shaw, and the murder of Alan Hobbs.

Growing up in the English countryside, Katie Shaw lived a charmed life. At the cusp of graduation, she had big dreams, a devoted boyfriend, and a little brother Chris who she fiercely protected. The book opens a few years in the past years in the past with Katie telling her brother to walk home by himself so she could hang out with her boyfriend. When she gets home, her brother has been attacked. Katie and her brother have had a strained relationship ever since the brutal attack and changed their lives forever. Years later Katie gets a phone call that Chris has gone missing and needs his big sister once more.

Detective Laurence Page is facing a particularly gruesome crime. A distinguished professor of fate and free will has been brutally murdered just hours after firing his staff. All the leads point back to two old cases: the gruesome attack on teenager Christopher Shaw, and the despicable crimes of a notorious serial killer who, legend had it, could see the future.

I enjoyed this one but not quite as much as The Whisper Man.

This was a 3.5 star read for me!

It took me longer than anticipated to get through this book, seeing as I loved The Whisper Man so much. I enjoyed TAM as well, but felt I had trouble following the storyline for awhile. With the adoption/name changes of the two antagonists (?), I was having difficulty tracking each character and how they related to one another. This feels semi-typical of a thriller but it was just driving me nuts that I couldn't always follow it.

Despite that complaint, I did fully enjoy this novel, especially after the 50% mark. Once I reached that, I think I read the book essentially in one sitting. It kept me guessing and though I was able to guess a few of the surprises, some of them were still a fun reveal and I wouldn't have guessed!

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I am a HUGE Alex North fan. His novels are always so well rounded with the mystery and murder and he downright terrifies me. This was a very different and interesting take on a murder mystery and I loved how it involved 3 different people who you will see are connected. A big cast of "bad guys" kind of made it hard for me to figure out where the story was going and how they fit together- because all of North's books are puzzle to me, but the pace picked up and I loved how it all played out. North is one of my auto-buy authors and I thoroughly enjoyed this one also!

Thank you to Netgalley for my free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review. Brava!

Woohoo! Another paranormal, twisty thriller from the king of thrillers Alex North!

The Angel Maker follows multiple timelines so pay attention... family drama, detective POV, and a murdered professor?! Sign me up!

DNF at 22%. I was really intrigued by this book during the first few pages but then slowly began to lose focus on the story. I may try it again at a later time, as this just wasn't for me right now.

Thank you for the earc in exchange for an honest review.

I was hooked on the first chapter……….. And then it fizzled out pretty quickly. So many characters to keep track of, a few different story lines, and overall didn’t pack the punch of a thriller that we know and love from North.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There are a lot of different perspectives and timelines in this one, which didn't allow the book to flow that well. I still enjoyed the mystery aspect though. This would have been a great read if the characters had been a little more developed.

I really enjoyed this book. The story and the mystery kept me reading and wanting more. I definitely plan on reading other books by this author!

I’ll read anything Alex North writes. I enjoyed but felt like I struggled to keep up with this one. The story was confusing to follow and I couldn’t keep characters straight.

I finished this a few days ago and I've been sitting on the review because I'm still not certain how I feel. I'm giving it a middle of the road review because I'm torn.

I liked the book. I did feel like it drug on in some spots and the characters were difficult to keep track of. The timeline was back and forth but not consistently or obvious.

It was gory most of the time and very descriptive which can be good and bad. Overall, I enjoyed and will recommend. But I'm not sure it's a top thriller of the year.

Was delighted to receive an ARC of this book for my honest opinion, thank you to NetGalley for making this possible.

Angel Maker is one of those rare books that gets under your skin and leaves you thinking about it for days.
Slow to start, the books pick up rapidly about 60% of the way through. I found myself a bit lost on who was narrating at times as the characters and the timeline shift several times throughout the novel, but as I got into the groove of North's writing I found the novel much easier to follow and found myself chewing my nails down to nubs in anticipation of what would happen next.
Once we're introduced to the "Angel Maker" the novel was un-put-downable for me.

This isn't my usual genre, but can easily see myself returning to read more of North's novels. Gave this one 4 stars, and already recommending it to friends.

This is a very detailed story with a LOT of characters that is really about a long ago serial killer, his two sons and THEIR sons. Throw in another crime in modern day and a strained relationship between a brother and sister and you have The Angel Maker. I don't like get into a lot of synopsis, because you can read that anywhere. For my two cents, I really enjoyed Alex North's first two books, but this one gave me mixed feelings. First of all, it took me way too long to finish because for me, it dragged in the beginning. However, about halfway through, I really started to get into it. But, after I finished, I sat and thought it seemed pretty far fetched for the characters do what they did over WHAT the issues were. especially the first one that seemed to set everything in motion (hint: a woman) BUT, no spoilers here. Once it started picking up, I thought I would be satisfied at the end, but I just thought it was kind of over the top. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher.

This book really confused me. There were too many characters and timelines to keep up with. The characters laced development and I could not connect with any of them. I am unsure of what I just read. Definitely my least favorite read by this author, but I will absolutely pick up his next book as I loved his other books!