This fast paced thriller will keep readers on their toes, but only if they read this book in as few sittings as possible. Why do I suggest that? Because there are multiple characters and storylines to keep up with. If readers don’t, it may cause confusion. I finished this in a day (shoutout travel days), and there were a few points where I was scratching my head.

Although there was a lot to remember, I really liked how much crime was incorporated rather than gore. Yes, there were some really creepy and gruesome descriptions, but there was more true crime than I was expecting. The atmosphere North provides definitely brought the eerie vibes to life, but too much was included to really give that slow burn, drag out the mystery, kind of feel.

One POV, Katie, is a mess and as Andy Bernard says, “I don’t trust you, Phyllis.” She’s not unstable per se, but her decisions are chaotic and the situations she finds herself in are a little too coincidental. Her actions alone annoyed me, which made the other POVs feel disjointed and as if they were a different story altogether.

There is another aspect that is very spoiler heavy so I won’t share it here. It involves mockery, which I found sort of hilarious, but maybe I turned it into dark humor when North didn’t have that intention.

Did I like it? Kind of. Did I predict the twist? Yes (really proud of myself for this). Will it be a thriller I recommend to folks? Probably not.

Big thank you to Celadon for the gifted copy.

Content warnings: murder, child abuse, suicide, drug abuse, addiction, misogyny, pedophilia

This book has A LOT going on and I often found myself having to go back a reread parts bc I couldn't keep some details straight.

I enjoyed it but it's just a lot.

The Angel Maker
Author: Alex North
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 2⭐️
Pub Date: February 28, 2023

If you could see the future, would you want to?🔮

What I Thought: I have heard many good things about Alex North’s The Shadows and The Whisper Man (still on my TBR). I was beyond excited when I received a NetGalley for this one, but unfortunately this one was not for me. I was confused with all the different characters, some with name changes, that I felt like I needed to take notes in order to keep up. This book was chaotic in writing and flipped POVs between many characters. I wouldn’t even know where to begin to write my own synopsis.

I love this author, BUT, i’m not going to lie, about halfway in, I was ready to give up on it. Thank you to the Book Gods that I stuck it out. Shortly after I was about to quit it, I thought just one more chapter. Next thing I know I’m almost done with it. It completely turned around and I was riveted. The characters had me confused at first and I was having trouble seeing all the connections or even remembering their part in the story but all the dots do connect. Stick with it, you won’t regret it.

The Angel Maker is a dark thriller that mixes philosophy with suspense, following multiple perspectives of those whose lives have been forever impacted by the actions of a serial killer, even decades after his death.

When Christopher Shaw, a shy teenager, is brutally attacked by a random stranger, everyone in his hometown is shaken, including his older sister, Katie. Christopher’s life begins a downward spiral, until he disappears mysteriously. After a wealthy professor is murdered in his own home, Christopher’s whereabouts become a key element in solving the case. In the meantime, Katie feels that she’s being followed by the same man who attacked her brother decades earlier. As Katie races to figure out where her brother is and why she’s being followed, she learns of a serial killer who believed he could see the future and killed young girls decades ago, making them “angels” according to what he believed he was told to do. Though long deceased, his fanatical writing and teachings have been passed down to others, and now Katie and Christopher’s lives are both at risk.

This book was deeply disturbing and creepy, with sections that truly made my blood run cold. The narrative was told through multiple perspectives and jumped quickly back and forth across several timelines. Although it was a quick read and kept me engaged, I struggled to keep track of everything. It was also very heavy in the philosophy of determinism vs. free will. I understood it on a general level, but I did get lost on the particular philosophical theories that North included in the novel. While the ending did resolve some of the central conflict, it left me with more questions than answers. I normally enjoy books that leave a little to imagine or question, but I really wanted more answers towards the end of this book. Readers who enjoy philosophy and the reverberations of a dark family history throughout the decades will enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this advance copy, in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/5 stars

This book kind of left me feeling unsettled in a way, but in a good way, if that makes any sense at all 😅.

Angel Maker follows multiple characters and multiple timelines to string together a beautifully mysterious and outright unsettling story. Alex North just has a way of leaving me staring at a book saying WTF because I am obsessed while also being slightly terrified.

I really enjoyed the varying POVs and timelines, but sometimes I personally found myself getting a couple of characters mixed up, especially near the end when things start to be ~ e x p o s e d ~. I would recommend this book if you like Alex North, alternating timelines and POVs, and a bit of religious horror vibes.

This is the 2nd book I’ve read by Alex North, my first one was The Whisper Man, and I can’t say I necessarily like this one more than other.

HOWEVER, this story was beautifully executed and you are given all these pieces but you can’t quite figure out how to piece it all together.

North does an incredible job at slowly feeding you answers and ending the story with a bang.

Great read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks Celadon Books & NetGalley for the ARC!

I struggled with this book. There were a lot of timelines, characters, and events. It was hard to keep up and required a lot of focus. It did eventually come together for the most part, but I never found myself invested in the characters or plot.

I appreciate the opportunity to review but I was very bored by this. Too many timelines to follow to try to be complex. Just ended up losing my interest!

Received this one from @celadonbooks just in time for its release today and I am so excited to add to my collection.

@writernorth - bestselling author of The Whisper Man and The Shadows - invites us into the life of Kate Shaw, whose brother’s disappearance might somehow be connected to a serial killer with a predilection for seeing the future.

Sound dark, complex, and a bit twisty, doesn’t it?

Good characters but not many likable people. Interesting story, kept me guessing. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Wow. Alex North is a must read author for me. The way he writes such creepy intertwining stories is unparalleled and his latest is just as good as his other two! I loved the twists and turns of this story. I loved the stories of two families and how tragedy affected both of them and the ways they handled it. I read when I am nursing my baby at night, and there was one night where I had to switch to a more lighthearted book because it was a little too creepy in a quiet house at 3 am! Overall, this was a great story and I'm already looking forward to his next book!

BOOK REVIEW: The Angel Maker by Alex North
2023 Publication Date: February 28

⭐️⭐️

T.I.M.E. Most Anticipated Books Of 2023

Pages: 322
Genre: Thriller Books
Sub-Genre: Crime Fiction
Time Period: Present Day
Location: England
Publisher: Celadon Books | Macmillan Audio

PUBLISHER BOOK SYNOPSIS
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Whisper Man and The Shadows comes a dark, suspenseful new thriller about the mysteries of fate, the unbreakable bond of siblings, and a notorious serial killer who was said to know the future...

Growing up in a beautiful house 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 she protected fiercely. Until the day a violent stranger changed the fate of her family forever.

Years later, still unable to live down the guilt surrounding what happened to her brother, Chris, and now with a child of her own to protect, Katie struggles to separate the real threats from the imagined. Then she gets the phone call: Chris has gone missing and needs his big sister once more.

Meanwhile, 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.

--------------------

All my book reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at thisismyeverybody.com/blog/what-book-should-i-read

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I've been a big fan of Alex North since the beginning, and The Angel Maker is possibly my favorite of his books yet (judging by some reviews, this might be an unpopular opinion). I found this to be a really quick moving story, broken up by fairly short chapters and a variety of perspectives telling the story. The connections between the characters become apparent slowly, and there are some exciting reveals throughout that clarify and deepen the story. There is a quiet horror to this book, with terrible things happening to characters both on and off the page and a deep legacy of violence. Despite the many characters, there is a decent amount of character development, but I wouldn't say this is one that is meant for character driven readers. There's a very satisfying conclusion to this story, and this was a compelling whirlwind to read.

I liked this story, but I struggled a little with keeping up with the characters and how they all connected. While at the end they made sense - throughout it was hard to keep track. The second half really picked up but the first half felt a little slower. Overall it was a good story but not my favorite thriller.

I listen a lot of true crime podcasts. When they are talking about vicious serial killers, sometimes they mention that these people have families - they love their kids, they are great parents but monstrous humans. I always wondered how children of these people feel or what they go through when they learn that their parents are not just their parents but killers, torturers, rapists. I think I got my answer in fictional form with this book.

Two brothers in this story are like the split personalities of one kid. One adores his father and never considering crossing the lines he drew (this is the dark one btw) and the other wants to be free of his family and cross every line his father drew (this is the good one). Roles might sound bit reversed but you will get it when you read the book. These brothers are doing unspeakable things, putting each other through horrible experiences, and bringing everyone around them (especially innocent folks) down with themselves.

I'm not going to call it a battle of good and evil, because I'm not sure if good is truly good here. But it's some form of battle for independence (while everyone's definition of independence vary massively). There weren't many twists and turns that kept me thinking but I overall liked this story and the perspective.

👏🏼👏🏼 incredible. I REALLY enjoyed The Angel Maker.
I definitely recommend going into this blind. I requested to read it early based on the Author & had no idea what I was getting myself into. The first few pages will have you hooked. Thanks so much to Net Galley for the ARC. It’s available now. Grab a copy, you won’t regret it.

This was the perfect blend of intrigue and suspense to make this one of my favorite thrillers of 2023!

Katie Shaw is an adult, married with a child of her own, but she can’t help but to relive a horrible moment from her childhood that changed the trajectory of her family’s lives. She made an impulsive decision that led to her brother being savagely attacked and to this day she still feels both regret and remorse. Across town, renowned philosophy professor, Alan Hobbes, lay dying, and as so he thinks of the people whose lives he is connected to and who may feel an aftershock of his death…one of those being Katie…but how could Katie possibly be connected to a man she’s never met?

I loved this book, but the first 1/3 of the book was a lot to keep up with. The perspective shifts frequently between multiple characters and we do get past/present flashbacks as well. However, once I placed each character, I couldn’t stop turning the pages. Alex North writes exquisite thrillers and this was no exception. The action began immediately and every reveal that brought me closer to the end of the book also brought me closer to the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed the exploration of connections between perfect strangers and the philosophy that Alan Hobbes taught on. Not to mention the BRILLIANT psychological aspect of this read. Overall, this is a book that will stay with me long after I finished and if you love thrillers that play tricks on your mind, you should pick this one up!

Thank you to Celadon Books for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Another solid thriller from North. I agree with the reviews that mention the multiple storylines and POVs can be a challenge - I think the author did a good job, but this definitely wasn't an "easy" read.
Thanks to the author and to NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review. All opinions are my own .

What an intricate and deeply woven thriller. I thoroughly enjoyed this one! I had read several reviews which stated that the book was too complex or with too many storylines, but I deeply disagree. The book had just the right amount of storylines and if you paid close attention while reading, you could see how they are all woven together.

Katie and Christopher Shaw are brother and sister, estranged since their youth, following a vicious accident that left both of them changed forever. A wealthy owner of a large house if found brutally murdered inside, with evidence suggesting that Christopher Shaw is involved. The story delves deep into both of their families, as that seems to be the key to solving this murder.

Overall such a complex plot, but one that was full of details easily devoured. I highly recommend this one!!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.