I really enjoyed Alex North's previous books, so I was excited when I received an arc for The Angel Maker. It started out strong, and I was sure I would like it just as well as the previous books by North, but sadly, it fell somewhat flat for me.

I feel the main issue with the book is the numerous characters and time jumps. At times, I felt like I had no idea who the author was talking about and even had to backtrack. Constantly switching between people's first and last names also confused me greatly. Once I finally figured out who's who and the story neared its ending, I found myself skimming. There just wasn't enough excitement for me to want to finish the book anymore. And even now that I read it all, I still don't quite understand why it's titled The Angel Maker.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

The Angel Maker is a dark mystery thriller that follows multiple perspectives. It's about Katie and her younger brother Chris, and how a past incident shaped their future. Chris gets involved with people who are connected to a serial killer. This serial killer has a superhero ability. On the other hand, detective Laurence and his female partner are working on a murder investigation. Everything should connect at the end, giving you a clear picture of the story.

This is the first book I've read by the author. I have The Whisper Man on my TBR, but I decided to go first with this newer release. The biggest positive aspect of this book is its dark atmosphere. I have to give the author credit because the story has a really intense atmosphere, and the ambiguity of the plot has contributed greatly to keeping the atmosphere steady and strong throughout the narrative.

Where the story fell flat for me was the lack of focus. It is a confusing thriller due to the many perspectives and the different timelines. All this makes the book a hard story to follow and concentrate on. I really liked Katie’s part and her relationship with her brother. I can’t say the same about the other perspectives. Actually, I don’t feel the detective’s side was even that important or needed in the story. The characters really needed more development because they are introduced to the reader and you don’t get enough time to become acquainted with them before moving on to the next. The author does mention in his acknowledgment that he had to oversimplify things a bit to make them feel more entertaining. I just wish he made the plot less convoluted instead.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

Halfway through this book, I popped over to Goodreads after proclaiming loudly, do I smell a philosophy/theoretical physics crossover? Do I?! I ignored the looks from my family that said: "okay, she's at it again," and loaded the book page to see the genres people were labeling this, and not once did I read the words Sci-fi. You have let me down, GR!

So imagine how much I railed after flipping the last page of the book because I wasn't prepared!

The Sci-fi element is light in the grand scheme of things, really, but it's there, and it's beautiful and is a rabbit hole of research 2 hours after bedtime. It is everything right with books with such material in a way that's reachable to readers. It's subtle, in the background, telling you to enjoy the mystery, but there's still more yet to come.

I already loved North's work before this, but this is something so special. What am I supposed to do with myself now? I sat here for 2 days after writing my initial thoughts, and I still don't have the words to review this. And what can you really say that won't spoil the book?

Told between Laurence and Katie, I loved the alternating perspectives. The plot is intricate, it unfolds a bit like a Koontz book, where you have person A for a bit, then person B, maybe C, and then we circle back around. It's a unique storytelling style that might not be for everyone, but it's brilliant in the way everything comes together. This is a super fun mystery, with so many enjoyable elements working in the background. Thank you, Celadon Books, for sending over an ARC.

I was so excited to receive this eArc from NetGalley for review, as I absolutely loved The Whisper Man. Unfortunately I think this is my least favorite of two.

I think the biggest hurdle for me was how slow this story moved. Plus there were just too many POVs for my taste.

All in all, I enjoyed my time reading this and I would recommend it to a horror or thriller lover. I will also continue to read from this author in the future.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Publish date 2/28/22

In true form, Alex North has given us a serpentine cast of characters and plot. Each aspect of the characters and how they play into the intricate plot slots together piece by piece.

Many of the characters are evil, some are evil due to circumstances. Past and current lives entwine to weave a story full of dark secrets, heinous events, and puzzle pieces forced together in a dark web only this author can weave.

I enjoyed this book. While there were some slower parts, the overall book was entertaining and kept me wondering where every plot point would land.

Alex North - The Angel Maker

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this novel.

Interesting serial killer thriller that delves into the history and past of another serial killer who believed in predestination. An intelligently written thriller that touches on other philosophical questions such as "nature versus nurture" and issues of murder in some unique ways that delve beyond your "average" mystery.

Until next time...

The Angel Maker, by Alex North, is his usual creepy novel. I would classify this one as in between a mystery and a thriller. Throughout the novel, the reader is questioning everything! This was very creatively written.

This is my third book by Alex North, and he is a reliable source of dark complicated thrillers.

Readers, grab your thinking caps for this one. You will need it to keep track of the characters and the plot in this one. Throw in a serial killer, a partially burned mansion, mysterious notebooks, and fate vs. conscious choices -- you have all the elements for a compelling read.

Katie and her brother Chris have a strong bond although she has a lot of guilt about a tragic accident that befell Chris while she was with her boyfriend. She lives in fear of another terrible thing happening to her family.

Years later, Katie is married and has a charming daughter, but still lives with a fearful mindset. Her fears are realized when she discovers that her brother is missing.

There’s a detective in this one who is investigating the murder of a philosophy professor. He wants to talk to Chris about the case but can’t seem to find him either. Katie starts to investigate on her own and I wanted to yank her out of dangerous situations!

Do you believe everything is fated to happen? Or can you change your destiny? That’s another theme in the book, adding to the mystery! And just who is the Angel Maker? It all came together in the end, and I enjoyed the journey, although I wouldn’t want to meet any of these characters in a dark alley.

My sincere thanks to Celadon for the chance to read this one and offer my honest review. Scheduled to release 2.28.2023. That's the closest I get to predicting the future!

Thank you to Celadon and NetGalley for this ARC. I enjoyed Alex North's previous books and was very excited to get my hands on The Angel Maker as soon as possible.

The book was definitely not what I expected, The plot was quite complex with multiple timelines and characters, and I times I felt that I lost the thread. While it took me some time to really get into the book, I was surprised by the twists and connections between the stories. I did ultimately like how everything tied together even if I feel as though I have open questions.

If you like your psychological thrillers with a heavy dose of Philosophy 101, this is the book for you. 3.5 stars

I was so excited to receive this eArc from NetGalley for review, as I absolutely loved The Whisper Man and The Shadows. Unfortunately I think this is my least favorite of those three. The premise was so intriguing, a serial killer who "sees the future", a missing sibling, lots of historical context. But, I don't think the synopsis really captured the focus of the book for me.

What I loved:
I really enjoyed the flashbacks to the past. My favorite aspects of horror and thriller novels are when we delve into the lives and past actions of main characters to build the story. There was a bit of that with The Angel Maker, as we are shown the lives of the brothers and how they formed their lives. I also liked reading from the detective's POV. I think he was very thoughtful and I liked to hear his inner monologue. I think this likely also helped explain a lot of what was going on to the reader. Lastly, I loved the speculative element of this. I think the questions that were left unanswered were handled really well.

What I wish was different:
I think the biggest hurdle for me was how slow this story moved. There was a lot of time spent sitting with the characters as they shared their thoughts and feelings about what was going on, but there wasn't enough of the "going on". I can tell that the author really wanted to get into the more cerebral, philosophical side of the plot. I think that's very interesting, but I don't know that it warranted as much time as it took. Secondly, there were just too many POVs for my taste. I remember 5 in total - Katie, Christopher, Edward, Alan, and Laurence (I think?), and after a while I was just getting confused at the sheer number of characters and their name(s). Lastly, and this is a personal preference, I don't like when addiction is used as a device to make a character untrustworthy to those around them. It felt at times like the author needed a way to make it reasonable for Katie to dismiss his disappearance and behavior and his addiction was the answer. However, I don't think this is something that will ring true for every reader.

All in all, I enjoyed my time reading this and I would recommend it to a horror or thriller lover. I will also continue to read from this author in the future.

Review to be posted on Instagram 2/7/23.

Alex North will never be graded on a curve. He ruined the curve when he wrote The Whisper Man and all of his subsequent books will be justly or unjustly compared to it.

I loved The Whisper Man, I loved it so much that I vowed to read every book Mr. North would write and while I've not been disappointed, nothing compares to your first, apparently.

The Angel Maker dives in to the philosophic more than being a straight-up serial-killer murder mystery. To be frank, it bored me at times and made me work harder than I care to as a purely escapist reader.

3 stars and I will continue to be a fan of Mr. North's.

Wow this book was so intense!

Super heavy subject matter but I really enjoyed it. I devoured this one within a day. I definitely was surprised by some of the twists and some I had figured out but what a wild ride!

North put the puzzle pieces together so well in his 3rd thriller. if you’ve read any of his previous books, you know to expect a smidge of the supernatural to be included and it was executed so well here. I’d love to see North dive straight into the horror genre in the future

Ooh this was dark and twisty and COMPLICATED. I was delighted to receive it as an e-arc but soon regretted the format because there were so many times that I wanted to turn back to a previous page to check on a name or a detail. There was a lot to keep track of, which isn’t necessarily bad, but the e-reader format made it impossible to easily find what I was looking for. So the complexity may be a downside for some people.

The story was very well thought out and I enjoyed watching all the puzzle pieces come together. The characters weren’t super engaging in and of themselves, but for how plot-driven the novel was, I was pleasantly surprised by how well fleshed out some of them were. However, by the end I was left wondering if I missed skim loose ends being tied up, or if they were really left unresolved! Argh. Don’t like that.

4/5 stars for this thriller! Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

So many tropes in the thriller/horror category are done again and again but Alex North always seems to deliver something original, which the reader appreciates.

There was a lot about this story I enjoyed. On one hand It was unique, clever and thought provoking. On the Other it was rather confusing in many aspects. With a full cast of characters and the movement between past and present, I found myself having to re group before each chapter. I don’t think you should have to work this hard to understand a book. I believe the author did this to keep us guessing as well as keep suspense high, but personally it left me a bit confused at times.

I found myself most interested in Katie and her story. I wanted to dive more in to her and her brothers relationship.

I felt this was a very unique premise and there are lots of good things here, but I also feel there was a little too much going on. Too many scenarios that left parts of the story un answered for me. Maybe the author intended this outcome among readers? Personally I wanted more closure.

3.5 stars rounded to 4 on Goodreads.

Thank you Netgalley and Celadon books for the opportunity to read this one early in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to @netgalley and @celadonbooks for an advance reader copy of The Angel Maker in return for my honest review.

“If you could see the future, would you want to?” THE ANGEL MAKER is a formidable story of the consequences of this very idea.

Ok, so I feel like I just ran a mental marathon. This book was a brain workout.

First… that prologue! 🤯 Worth a star all on its own.

When tragedy strikes the Shaw family, Katie will never forgive herself for what happened to her younger brother. Now that she has her own daughter to protect, will she be able to save them all?

When a elderly man is found brutally murdered in his sprawling, dilapidated estate, investigators must stretch the limits of their imaginations to solve the crime.

When a serial killer passes his legacy down to his sons, will they follow in his footsteps? Or do they even have a choice?

Alex North weaves the complex stories of a large cast of characters into a blanket that has JUST a few holes in it. THE ANGEL MAKER has many layers, perspectives, and timelines. I should have taken notes just to get the characters straight.

While it touches on the horrendous crimes committed, this book deals more heavily with the topics of philosophy and God. I found myself getting bored at times, but kept reading to see if I figured out the twists.
So, did I? YEP! But there were so many layers - some believable, some a stretch - that it didn’t ruin the book for me.

Overall this book is unique and great for readers who like slow burning thrillers that streeeetch the imagination . Personally, I found that there were a few too many holes in the plot and he lost me with the idea of a future telling notebook.

I’ve heard such great things about this author’s other books (THE WHISPER MAN, THE SHADOWS) so I’ll definitely be checking those out soon.

💭 What book have you really wanted to LOVE lately that just fell a bit flat?

Wow! I have never read anything by the author and now I will definitely be reading previous books! I absolutely loved this book ! Why? Simply put the mystery!!! This book is like a puzzle the author gives you pieces and you slowly put together the pieces and finish the puzzle and there are so many pieces to this puzzle. Who is Christopher Shaw ? What does a serial killer have to do with the Shaw family? So much suspense and mystery !! I read this book in two days and couldn't put it down . I had to know everything! Great book and great writing. If your looking for a absolutely intriguing mystery read today!

Oh no. This was not what I expected. The cast was far too large and the connections took too long to be delivered. I love the originality and the word play was great just not the caliber of Whisper Man

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of The Angel Maker by Alex North. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this ARC.

Alex North is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, and his latest book, The Angel Maker, did not disappoint. The Angel Maker weaves an intricate story about two brothers, the sons of a notorious serial killer, and how their father's history has dictated their lives over the past forty years. I love how the story goes through multiple POVs, and the narrative goes round and round, throwing out small nuggets of details that all combine for a brilliant ending. Add in the fact that he has just enough creepiness to make it chilling without excessive gore, and you have a story that will keep your attention from start to finish. I give The Angel Maker 5/5 stars.