The Angel Maker is the newest creepy psychological thriller from Alex North. Katie Shaw is a student whose decision to go home with her boyfriend after school instead of walking with her brother ends up having life-altering consequences for them all. Chris Shaw is viciously assaulted and the attack starts him on a downward spiral of self destruction.
A decade later, Katie is married with a child and Chris seems to be getting his life on track when he suddenly disappears. At the same time, Chris' attacker seems to be stalking Katie and her family. Katie is determined to keep her daughter safe and her search for their stalker reveals ties between Chris and serial killer that has been dead for 60 years.
The story goes back and forth between the past and present as well as alternating between characters. Discovering how all of these storylines tie together kept me turning the pages. Although suspenseful and creepy, this novel has less of the spooky otherworldly aspects of his first two novels and I personally prefer that.

Whoa! Alex North has done it again!
This is an intense, hard to put down thriller. All the different, “unrelated” timelines that Alex is giving you throughout the book are like puzzle pieces that come together at the end. This may not be a style for everyone or is “easy” to read but those who like good investigative stories that require a lot of attention will appreciate this book. I read this book in one sitting. Absolutely fantastic!
Thank you NetGalley, Celadon Books and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m frustrated because this is a good novel that was unnecessarily confusing. I don’t mind multiple storylines that happen at different points in history, but I need to be able to follow these story- and timelines. Additionally, there are already a ton of characters, and the author made the decision to sometimes refer to a character by his or her first name and then randomly for no reason by his/her last name, so now I have to remember two names for each character.

The novel at times got tense. One storyline is about Katie Shaw and her brother Christopher. When they were young, a violent crime did irreparable damage to their family. Now, years later, Chris has gone missing, and Katie is determined to find out what happened.

Detective Laurence Page is investigating the brutal murder of a frail, wealthy man, and all signs point to Chris, who seems to have disappeared.

There’s good stuff here, but I think I should have been taking careful notes so I could actually follow what was happening.

NetGalley provided an advance reader copy of this mystery/horror novel, which RELEASES FEBRURARY 28, 2023.

Katie Shaw lives with the guilt of “what if.” She had made a different decision in the day her brother was attacked would his life turned out differently. Now Katie’s brother is in danger but also her daughter. Caught up in a situation of an old man murdered and a serial killer from the past, Katie is trying to save everyone to longer live with the guilt of “what if.”

I enjoyed this Alex North title and liked how the story lines converge, with different twists and turns keeping the reader guessing how it is all connected..

This was an interesting and creepy book. Would you really want to know the future? Do you really have free will and the ability to make your own decisions?

I did find the many characters and timelines confusing. It was very hard to follow in some places. I would have liked to see more character development and more sussing out of the relationships between characters (sibling relationships especially).

Thanks to Netgalley for the book to review.

This book begins with the ominous question, “If you could see the future, would you want to?”

First off, I want to say this book is creepy. And if you have a trigger with child violence, you may want to pass on The Angel Maker. But the book is clever and intelligent, and I enjoyed it. In fact, when I got to the last 100 pages, I nearly called in sick to work because I couldn’t put it down.

The characters are so different and well-developed. Katie and her little brother, Christ dominate the stage. But there were also two detectives with stories of their own, Caroline Pettifer and Laurence Page.
I think the thing that stands out for me are the breadcrumbs. North is really good at holding the cards close to the vest and laying down little bits at a time. There are a twists that you can’t see coming and little reveals along the way that keep you going. Several times I was going to stop at the end of a chapter, but the finishing sentence kept me wanting more.

Again, there is violence integral to the story that was hard to stomach for me. But the conclusion is impossible to guess from the beginning and I’m beginning to think that is a trait of Alex North. I’ll keep reading his work and suggest you do too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an ARC of this book.

I really wanted to love this book, because I loved The Shadows and The Whisper Man, but it just didn't do it for me. It's not creepy like his other two books were and it had a very slow start with an ending that was kind of rushed. I also walked away really confused and feel like some things weren't resolved well.

🤷‍♀️ oh well, you win some, you lose some. Alex North is still an autobuy author for me though.

This book was a disappointment for me. I really loved The Whisper Man, and also enjoyed The Shadows. But The Angel Maker was, in a word, boring. I feel like my attention was divided between too many different POVs that I didn’t care about or connect with. The only one I was really interested in following was Katie, but I feel like she didn’t get enough page time. The book jumps back and forth so many times between characters, timelines, and backstories that it gets incredibly confusing. I normally enjoy books with multiple POVs where the stories converge, but with this one I was too lost or too bored to care.

3.5 ⭐️

At just a little over 300 pages this thing is sprawling. Jumping from character to character were given a female lead, Kate, who delivers the most traditionally thrilling storyline for me. She runs this thing all while searching for her missing brother & working through family trauma. When we jump perspectives (and timelines) we delve into a troubled mind and a hard boiled detective story. It’s at times endearingly reminiscent of Thomas Harris – especially in that it can be hard to follow (I spent my fair share of time confused as hell while reading this). Nonetheless, I enjoyed this almost as much as The Whisper Man or The Shadows and I’m so looking forward to more Alex North books.

I recommend this book to anyone who’s into:

• Strong female leads
• Family thrillers
• Police procedural
• Sprawling generational mysteries
• Red Dragon by Thomas Harris (my favorite book)

Y’all. I LOVED this book! I was obsessed with the whisper man by @writernorth but I think The Angel Maker has taken over that spot.

This read gave me heart palpitations. There were a lot of moving parts and I was so anxious for everything to come together. If you like serial killer novels, with multiple povs and timelines, than read this asap.

The Angel Maker by Alex North
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4
Years ago, Christopher Shaw was brutally attacked and wounded. In the present day, he has gone missing. A wealthy elderly man, Alan Hobbes, has been found murdered. Katie Shaw, Chris's sister, searches for him.
There is a lot going on in this book. There is the story of Katie and Chris, Alan Hobbes and his connection to a serial killer, and the detectives investigating all of this.The philosophical theory of determinism, where time isn't linear and everyone's actions and fates have been predetermined, also plays a big role in the story.
What I liked: the story moves quickly and isn't bogged down with unnecessary prose or details. The determinism theory is unsettling amd the lends the story a bit of a supernatural feeling.
What I didn't like: Trying to figure out how all of these people and stories are connected is a bit of a wild ride and at times confusing- eventually I was able to keep track of all characters and how they were connected but at first I had to flip back and forth a lot. I found myself frequently annoyed with Katie's character- she seemed to make ridiculous choices and just wasn't developed well. The twist also seemed a little predictable.
Overall I liked this book, but not as much as the Whisper Man.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I wanted to love this. I did enjoy reading it but it felt a little all over the place. I still have questions.

📚: The Angel Maker by Alex North (@writernorth)
⭐️: 3/5

A highly anticipated release for this winter, The Angel Maker sets a dual narrative, where one is Katie Shaw. At age 17, she’s about to graduate from high school when her younger brother, Chris, is brutally assaulted by a stranger. Fast forward decades later, and Chris has gone missing.

The parallel narrative sets a serial killer of the past at the center, who believed to prophesied the future. How these two come together (in a twist that felt slightly predictable), brings into question if there is such a thing as fate or if everything we experience is predetermined and set in stone.

This book slightly missed the mark for me. A creepy slow burn read that falls confusing at parts, I found myself putting this down even as the twist unfolded. The very end cumulates beautifully though - I just wish that carried through the whole book.

Big thanks to @celadonbooks via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for a honest review. The Angel Maker is out on February 28th. #gifted

Okay here we go. I have a lot to say.

I’ll start with the good: there are no gratuitous descriptions of child murders in this book. I kept expecting them to come as details about The Angel Maker were revealed and they didn’t, which I was surprised by and grateful for. As I read it I thought a lot about the genre of crime fiction; what are so many authors (and especially white male authors) doing writing in such detail about the murder and mutilation of women and children? Especially authors like Alex North who have written multiple novels in the genre? Just sitting around fantasizing in sick vivid detail about such violent ways to kill and mutilate and then making money off it. Why are they doing this again and again? Why do we want to read it? It’s gross. So, I am happy to report that that isn’t really what’s going on this time, which I appreciated.

But….I can’t recommend this book. It is SO freaking confusing. I normally love a novel with multiple points of view/through lines that converge but this novel is trying to do SO MUCH and jumps relentlessly between way too many characters, timelines, and really complicated history. I tried so hard to wrap my mind around what was going on but there were several times that I just couldn’t follow. People would pop up and I’d have no idea who they were - is this someone I should know? The introduction of yet another character? A character whose name or family has or both has changed for the first or second time?

I stuck with it to the end because I was so thoroughly puzzled that I wanted to see how he’d resolve it and I found the end to be really disappointing. It was super rushed after all the complicated exposition and backstory and it felt like North kind of just gave up on his own messy novel. It was a letdown where it could have maybe been a redemption if it were a bit more clever and built out (the irony of the ending really needing more when this book was otherwise doing so much is unfortunate).

I really loved The Whisper Man, didn’t feel the same about The Shadows, and this one….I just didn’t enjoy at all. Probably my last Alex North.

As always, thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC. All opinions expressed here are obviously entirely my own.

I love everything Alex north has written and this is no exception! Such a good book with so much suspense.

. . This is a story that attempts to solve an old man's murder; who was a retired philosophy professor at a local university,while learning of the years of secrets and evil that are passed generationally within a family. It explores many themes including addiction, abuse and marital strife.
It was confusing in parts for me as there are many characters, who are intricately woven together. When I figured out who was who, I was so surprised by the plot twists and totally did not predict the ending. I didn't want to put it down! It is well worth the read and I will pick up more books by this author in the future. Thank you so much to Netgalley, Celadon books and the author for giving me the opportunity to read and review the arc of this great book!

Reading Between the Wines book review #14/115 for 2023:
Rating: 2🍷 🍷
Book 🎧: The Angel Maker
Author: Alex North
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
RELEASES February 28, 2023!!

Sipping thoughts: So this is a very intricate plot. So much so I was so lost. I know a lot of people will love this book based off the plot and writing method. This is probably a good book but I was lost for most of the first half of the book. Once I started to understand who was who and keeping the timeline straight, I started enjoying it better. I think North's writing style might either need a more focused mind from me or it may just not be for me.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley, @CeladonBooks and @MacMillanAudio for an advanced copy of @TheAngelMaker.

#TheAngelMaker #AlexNorth #CeladonBooks #MacMillanAudio #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!!

I'm reading lots of good books lately and this is another one. Super dark and absolutely thrilling, this book had me hooked, especially with the back story of the murder victim.

Allan Hobbes was murdered in his creepy mansion, and the detectives are on the case. However, this leads them in a lot of directions, making it seem like there is an underlying connection between everything.

Sarah is a protective sister with her own family, a daughter, and her husband. However, she hasn't had a chance to be that protective sister for her little brother in over a decade. When she finds out her brother, Chris, is missing, she immediately takes it upon herself to start the search.

Chris is, in fact, in hiding. But it is not for what I first believed. There are connections, like a spiderweb, over the different character's and their pasts. This story really drew me in with the brutal history of serial killer jack lock and his creation of a book that reveals the future. It's almost as if the future is laid out, pre-ordained, and nobody even has any real choices. (A very interesting and quite depressing thought🤣🤣)

I loved this. I loved the darkness of the theme that ran through this story and following these characters. Definitely recommend for fans of thrillers!

Out February 28, 2023!

Content Warnings for violence and disturbing imagery

<i>Received a complimentary ARC of The Angel Maker by Alex North from Celadon Books/NetGalley. Scroll past the <b>BOOK REPORT </b>section for a cut-and-paste of the <b>DESCRIPTION</b> of it if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of a summary.</i>

<b>BOOK REPORT</b>
This was a pretty good one-off, but I probably enjoyed it more for the philosophical/theoretical aspects than the mystery/ies proper.

<b>DESCRIPTION
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. </b>

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.

Thank you Celadon Books and NetGalley for this ARC. Having loved the Whisper Man and The Shadows, I was very excited to read The Angel Maker, however this book didn’t do it for me. The plot has a lot of character stories to follow that can be confusing at times and hard to keep up with the story.