This book was definitely creepy and packed with suspense, but it hurt my brain trying to read it. this was my first read by this author so maybe that's his style? I just feel like it was unnecessarily confusing for no reason and i really struggled to finish it. overall, it was a fast paced read and i enjoyed the murder mystery and dark themes.

"The Angel Maker" by Alex North is a psychological thriller that intertwines past traumas with a present-day investigation, creating a narrative that promises suspense and intrigue. While the premise holds great potential, the execution leaves something to be desired, resulting in a three-star review.

The novel successfully captures the haunting effects of a violent incident on the protagonist, Katie Shaw, and how it continues to shape her life. The exploration of guilt, fear, and the blurred lines between reality and imagination is well-crafted, adding a layer of psychological depth to the story. Additionally, the parallel narrative involving Detective Laurence Page and a gruesome murder adds complexity to the overall plot.

However, the pacing of the novel feels uneven, with moments of intense suspense followed by slower sections that may leave readers wanting a more consistent rhythm. The characters, while adequately developed, lack the depth needed to establish a strong emotional connection with the reader. Some plot twists and revelations may come across as predictable, diminishing the impact of the story's intended surprises.

"The Angel Maker" has its moments of tension and mystery, but it doesn't fully capitalize on its potential. While it offers a decent psychological exploration, it falls short of being a truly gripping thriller. Readers seeking a psychological mystery may find it engaging, but those expecting a more tightly woven and unpredictable plot may be left wanting.

This is my third time reading Alex North's novels. When The Whisper Man came out I was so impressed by this author but then when The Shadows came out, I was less impressed. I had hoped that this one would be another positive point for the author but I struggled a bit with this book. I will say I would rank it higher than The Shadows though. This one had a little more suspense that helped make it a little more interesting to me. My biggest struggle was trying to keep the timeline straight. There was a lot of back and forth between the past and present so it was sometimes hard to keep track of where I was at. There were some suspenseful moments that kept me on the edge of my seat but it was more those scenes in the moment versus their connection to the overall story.
I really liked the idea of the story and the plot was really interesting but it was just a bit too confusing to get fully engrossed in. This may be a book that needs to be read twice to fully appreciate and understand the story.
Overall, I liked the story but still feel a little confused about certain timeline aspects. Maybe someday I will read it again to see if any of the confusion can be clarified.
3 Stars
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this. The plot was so unique, and I loved how the timelines worked. The characters wer great and the themes so compelling. I highly recommend it.

I love Alex North’s books; however, this wasn’t my favorite. I had a very difficult time following the characters and different timelines which made it less enjoyable than his others.

The Whisper Man by Alex North is a great read, so I was anticipating similar feelings to this but was disappointed by this book.

Katie has always felt regret for not protecting her brother when they were younger, and now as adults they are estranged siblings and Katie now has a family of her own while her brother is currently missing.

This book had too many POV, characters, lack of development, and time lines that made it confusing for me to focus and develop excitement.

As much as I wanted to love this book after his others, it fell short for me. The multiple characters and point of views made it clunky and hard to follow.

3.75 stars

Katie Shaw is a teacher who is haunted by the decision she made as a teenager not to walk her younger brother Chris home after school, choosing to visit her boyfriend instead, where Chris was violently attacked by a stranger. He survived the attack, but was set along a lifelong path of drug abuse and homelessness. It finally seems that Chris has turned his life around, with steady employment, a place to stay, and a devoted boyfriend, when he is placed at the scene of the murder of a prominent philosophy professor. Chris goes on the run, with Katie trying to track him down before the detectives working the case can catch up to him, and she discovers the ties between present and past, and how a notorious child k!ller called The Angel Maker, whose manifesto was purported to tell the future, connects them all.

The Angel Maker was one of those books that as I was reading it, I enjoyed, but after I sat for a few days after with my thoughts I realized I didn't like as much as I initially thought. Crime novels can be long and drawn out, of which this was neither, so it's fast pace and shorter chapters had that going for it. There were some difficulties for me following the who's who of characters, who have gone by different names at different times in their lives, and the heavy philosophical themes. Do we have free will, or has every action we take in our life already been predetermined? That is a depressing thought for sure.

3-1/2 ⭐️💫

This was a very creative story, and it’s obvious Alex North is a very talented author. I imagine it took a lot to come up with this book in its entirety (unique plot & then how everything intertwined). Overall this one missed the mark for me though. I liked it but I’m not sure how I can properly explain why I didn’t love it. I would absolutely read another book by him though. Great, intellectual writing, but not one of those books that it was all filled with words I didn’t know 😂 that I got hung up looking up definitions or having to read a sentence three times because the author was trying to be extra smart sounding. He’s ‘easy’ to read but not a mediocre writer, it’s fluid.

One of the things I didn’t love was there wasn’t a whole lot of character development. That’s one thing I like about reading is rooting for or relating to/ liking a character. I wasn’t sure I could get into the whole prophetic part of this (which I’m still definitely a skeptic) but I went with it for the sake of the entire plot. The whole predicting/seeing the future aspect is unrealistic, for me. There is a lot going on in this book, many characters & pov’s! Different storylines as far as events that happened in the past & how it affects people in the present & their families. It was creative how it eventually tied together but it was less suspense & more philosophical I guess. The synopsis made it seem like it was more of suspense (serial killer) but it was more about the cause & affect of life and choices made, and how things are destined to happened before they happen. As I said I went with it for the sake of the story but it’s not what I thought I was going to be reading & I’d have rather had it be more suspenseful of a book.

The ending was alright but not climactic & I feel like some stuff was missing at the end or not wrapped up nicely with some of the characters & their individual stories. Also very curious what happened to one character that it wasn’t ever clarified what their fate was. Just curious🤷‍♀️

So my thoughts wrapped up. I liked it, excellent writer (with a great mind!). While I enjoyed it I was also kind of ready for the book to be done before it was. I’ll absolutely be reading more of North’s books now that I have had the opportunity to see what he’s about.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher Celadon Books for the opportunity to have an advanced copy, always very much appreciated!

While the plot was interesting it was a little hard to keep up with the time switches. Unfortunately, it felt a bit over complicated.

Too many characters and too all over the place. I’m disappointed because I’ve loved Alex’s other books. Unfortunately I had to DNF.

I read another book by this author, the name escapes my mind at this time, but I absolutely loved it! It was a lot of fun to read, and it was very enjoyable. This book was also fun, but I loved the other one a lot more. I liked it, it was fun, but it wasn't great. It was also better than okay.

2.5 stars -

I wanted to love this book, but it fell flat for me for a few reasons.
- It felt disjointed. Too many characters that weren't well developed enough, and too many shifting timeframes. I wish the book would have been in chronological order to make it easier to follow along.
- Did not enjoy the detective work scenes
- Finishing the book, I still felt as if I had unanswered questions.

"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."

Great storyline, took awhile to pickup, but I will still read books from this author. I give 3 stars.
Thank you Celadon books, netgalley, and the author for a chance to give my honest review.
Published Feb 28, 2023

i feel like no October is complete without an Alex North book and this year’s read was
The Angel Maker
⭐️⭐️⭐️

similar to previous books by North this read takes you through multiple POVs (friends/ family of the victims and the detective working the case) and time jumps

While I did enjoy this book, it didn’t hold up to my previous two reads of his. I felt like this stoey didn’t spend too much time on the original Angel Maker and his reason for the monstrous crimes he committed as much as his previous serial killers. It also was a little too ambiguous at times for me as well.
I wanted more about the brothers relationship while they were kids to have a better understanding of what led to their relationship as adult- while I can guess I would’ve liked a deeper look.

However, I was still shocked by certain twists that took place which made it a fast read!!!

I found this book confusing with all the storylines. I struggle to give a lot of feedback on the plot/story because of the confusion I had.

After The Whisper Man, I knew I needed more Alex North. This book kept me on my toes, being multi-POV. It had a twist of supernatural and a family theme. I found it a little hard to get into at first and then I was hooked.

2.75 ⭐️

While I enjoyed the overall mystery too this read, I was left often confused by the disjointed timeline or unsatisfied with the lack of connection to any of their characters. While I typically love a read that doesn’t follow a chronological timeline, but I found myself struggling with this one often. I especially found it hard to keep track of characters as the author regularly referred to them with differing names (switched between first and last name a lot which got especially confusing as some characters shared last names).

I also found it quite difficult to feel connected to any of these characters. I found myself not caring for any of them, which made it hard for me to truly enjoy the ending. Other than their connection to the mystery taking place, I found very little effort to make the reader understand the characters desires and motivations making them hard to care to deeply for in the height of conflict. Also, why the addition of detective Laurence Page? I feel like this character could have been completely removed from the story.

I’ll give Alex North another shot, as I have several of their books on my TBR, but this one was not for me.

Thank NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC of this book.

Another fantastically gripping thriller from Alex North, The Angel Maker is filled with twists and turns that are sure to delight dedicated readers.

Ok, I have finally finished and sorted my thoughts. And I really needed time to sort out my thoughts. I still stand with my initial impression that around 15%, it was just ok. It was ok even around 50% and that's because there is a lot of back story that needed laid out.

There is a passage about creating a maze around 34% in. You start by drawing a cross, adding dots in the four squares, and adding a curve on the top. You then draw a series of curling lines, connecting the dots. The sum of it is that you created what looked like a maze but it only had one single path. No places to get lost, no dead ends, no choices.

There is a passage describing a puzzle created from a family photo. Another of a painting that is made up of smaller, individual photos that create the whole. These are important. The maze and Alan Hobbes. The puzzle and Katie Shaw. The mosaic and Christopher Shaw.

This story is all that: the maze, the puzzle, and the mosaic. Yet, it is also is a twisted mass of densely woven, thorn bushes. Every time you turn the page, there is another name, a different timeline, or something going on that you feel as if you need to reboot your brain to keep up. I do suggest keeping a pencil with paper nearby so you can keep track of the timelines and people.

The pace picks up a little after 50% and takes off in the last quarter of the book. The ending feels like you are finally clawing your way out of the tangle of bushes, feeling accomplished you made it out, but not quite sure why you even went through it. But looking back, you realize you just walked out of a maze. Yep, just that crazy.

Alan Hobbes asked: If you were a father, which would you prefer? A child who always did as they were told-as you thought they should-or a child who disobeyed you and tried to forge their own path?

This is his story. Hold on tight.