I've had Alex North on my radar for awhile, and my first book of his, The Angel Maker is now behind me.

Immediately after finishing this thriller, I headed to GoodReads to find an explanation for my lack of understanding in the plot and my "what did I just read" confusion. What I found in amongst the very positive reviews, were thoughts like mine: the plot and characters were just too much to keep track of.

The prologue had such promise, and it made me wish that I hadn't started this book right before bed! But then chapter one came, and I found myself questioning what was happening, wondering if maybe my eARC was missing a section, because there just seemed to be a huge gap between the prologue and this first chapter. As I kept reading, I continued to feel overwhelmed and as though I was thrown into a story that felt like it was already traveling at warp speed, with too many characters that weren't fully (or easily) explained, and a plot that I just couldn't grasp.

While I read, I was hopeful that the plot, and the many characters would all come together in a twist that explained things and everything would click into place for me; sadly that "ah ha" moment never came.

It seems everyone loves The Whisper Man and The Shadows (both of which sit on my shelf), and I will pick them up in due time, but I'm not sure I'm in a rush.

Thank you NetGalley and Caladon Books for the complimentary copy to read and review.

I absolutely loved The Whisper Man so was thrilled to read this one.

However, I found it to be confusing. I couldn't quite follow the story which was unfortunate because the setting and plot were fantastic. I still ended up enjoying it but found myself frequently taken out of the story to have to look back for plot points.

Will still be an Alex North fan forever!

I usually read thrillers when I need something "easy" or I'm in a reading slump so The Angel Maker was a little disappointing to me because I really had to concentrate. There were some different timelines to keep track of, a lot of characters (mostly characters that weren't fully developed), and the plot was just very confusing. However, once I realized what was going on it was a quicker, easier read and it did all come together in the end. I think if you love thrillers this one would be great, I think my issues with it are mostly because I don't read thrillers that often and when I do I want them to be quick and easy.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon books for the ARC.

Oh wow how can I do this book justice in my review without giving away spoilers. So I will just keel my review brief and say it was completely and utterly brilliant.

I was so excited for this one. I loved The Whisper Man and liked The Shadows, but was quite disappointed with this unfortunately. Honestly, the first half of the book, I was just so confused. I found myself not wanting to pick it up again and just bored. The last 25% of the book did keep my interest and have a few twists I didn’t see coming… but I kind of attribute that to the fact that I didn’t know what was going on the first half of the novel. I enjoyed the ending and how everything came together, but it didn’t make up for the rest of the story for me.

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

This unfortunately was a DNF for me. I really enjoyed the writing style but the abuse within the book was too much for me. I made it roughly 30% through before I had to DNF. I will definitely try other books by Alex North but may look into their subject matter a little bit more before committing!

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 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.

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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.