I love Alex North. This book cemented it for me. Each book is different and well plotted with wonderful characters. While I listened to the audio of his first two books, I actually read this one. It took me just a bit to wrap my head around all of the characters, but once I did, I was hooked. I love a story that unfurls by jumping through time. Will definitely be suggesting this one.

This book is just amazing! It ticks off all the boxes. It is full of suspense and horror. Although you know it is all connected, you can't quite put it together. It will have you up late as you won't be able to put it down! Another great novel from an awesome author!

Outlier alert!🚨

Reading a book shouldn’t be this difficult!

Oh my gosh I haven’t been this confused reading a book in, well… forever!💁🏻‍♀️

With such a vast array of storylines, it eventually felt that instead of reading, I was now multi-tasking!
The minimally developed, numerous characters made it nearly impossible to recall one from the other. Not to mention the storylines and the timelines they belonged to. (You see what I’m getting at!?)😫
Maybe my focus isn’t quite what it used to be…but still!

I can’t really say anything about the plot simply because I’m just too confused to write it down. (Hopelessly lost)

With both the audio and digital copies I still struggled to follow along no matter which version I attempted.

I am very much in the minority, as most readers enjoyed this book. So please read their reviews and I hope it works out better for you.

A buddy read with Susanne

Thank you to NetGalley Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review. When I got approved for this ARC, I screamed. Literally screamed. My coworker ran down the hall to make sure I was okay. I was, or maybe I’m not. Alex North has changed the game for me. To this day, his works are the only ones to have me so afraid to leave my bed in the night because of how unsettled I was.
Alex North has an uncanny ability to never let a reader settle. It’s like he offers you a seat but you just know if you sit down, you’ll end up sitting on nails. The sensation of not feeling settled at a hotel or an Air BnB is similar. Nothing’s wrong but something isn’t right . North’s works have an air of supernatural to them, an essence– not enough to confirm or deny the potential mysticality, but rather, just enough to make you tilt your head and consider– to unnerve you.
When a book has you gasping 14% through, when Alex North has you gasping 14% through the book, grab your life-alert, because you know it’s going down.
You know the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie? Well, when Alex North gives you information, details, or passing comments, you pin them to the red string board. It’s a very cluttered board, but eventually, with a single pull, a single new piece of information, it all falls into place.
Alan Hobbes, beloved professor and philanthropist is found dead in his manor after relieving all of his staff. It appears that he knew he would die. This single event brings about 2 mysteries– first, who killed Alan Hobbes (and why), and second, where is Chris Shaw? The beginning of this novel can be confusing, as there are so many characters, POVs, and even time jumps that it seems hard to keep track of everything. However, the red string spider web of this novel is worth reading. I’m so excited to read this again on release day.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
💀💀💀/5

"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."

English countryside and a serial killer with powers? This is right up my alley.

Huge thank you to NetGalley & Celadon Books for the Advanced copy of this book!

I have read several of Alex North’s books now and the Whisper Man continues to be my favorite.

This book was such an interesting experience - a serial killer who can predict the future, twists + turns, multiple perspectives - it really takes you for a spin!

I thought overall this book was solid with interesting characters and a unique story. The only things that lost me were some parts dragging and some needless explanations as well as sometimes the perspectives felt odd and slow at times.

However - this book was gripping, tense and had a HUGE payoff. Pay attention even during the slow parts 😄

Absolutely hooked from the start! Unsettling in the perfect way, I had a hard time putting this one down. I loved how interwoven the plot was, however I do wish I'd made myself a character map as at times I found it difficult to keep it all straight. As with The Whisper Man, I found the set up to be very well developed and then the climax/resolution to be a bit rushed and came together almost too quickly.

This was a good story, full of twists and dark discoveries. It has some supernatural elements but is more of a mystery. There are a lot of solid components in this book—a serial killer, strength of family, and the question of fate and free will. There is a lot to unpack and I felt overwhelmed and lost in the story at times. There were a few unanswered questions at the end.

It was a compelling story but felt a little chaotic and hard to follow at times.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have read every novel by North up fo this point. The Whisper Man will always have a soft spot in my heart, this is a close second! This book kept me invested starting from the prologue to the end. There were some twists that had me screaming some colorful language and some that confirmed my thinking. There are some questions that I still don’t have answers to, and I need Mr. North to give me answers! But overall, it is clever, and gripping! This book hits shelves on February 28, 2023!

Many thanks to @netgalley & @celadonbooks for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

My favorite Alex North, by far! Gripping, psychological and suspenseful.
A thriller for 2023 with multiple perspectives that will pull you in!

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

TW: Murder, drug abuse, toxic parent relationship, language, bullying, gory scenes, depression, death of children

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book: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.
Release Date: February 28th, 2023
Genre: Horror - Thriller
Pages: 336
Rating: ⭐

What I Liked:
1. The premise of the book sounded good

What I Didn't Like:
1. Cheesy dialog
2. It always feels like the same book
3. No surprises

Overall Thoughts:
This was my 3rd Alex North book I read. The other two; The Whisper Man and The Shadows . Both these books just fell flat for me and I was bored. So I was hopeful that the old saying "Third times a charm" would be true. I was wrong though.

This book reminds me so much of Frailty - which is a great movie staring the wonderful Bill Paxton and Matthew McConaughey. Let me tell you what that movie is about; "One day, a widowed blue-collar worker has a revelation: he must destroy those revealed to him as demons. He then begins the serial killings of `God's Hand Killer' across Texas, but he also has two young sons, the younger of whom idolises him and believes in the cause, while his older brother is revolted but cannot bring himself to stop his father. Twenty years later, the elder son walks into a police station and confesses."
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I was bored. Actually really really bored. I don't know how Alex North manages to write books that all feel like his last books. This is the third book of his where it's a serial killer with some kind of catchy name where he kills in a certain way.

Nothing happens in this book that I didn't see happening from page one. This book reminded me too much of something I've seen before. I felt like I knew what was happening and was waiting on the book to catch up.

Final Thoughts:
I've tried 3 times to like Alex North's books and I just can't get into them. This is where I'm parting ways.

Recommend For:
• Fake books about serial killers
• Simple story telling
• Scary scenes

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've really enjoyed all of Alex North's other books, but this one just didn't work for me. There were too many timelines that never really seemed to work together.

High creep factor, but lessened because the parts of this story felt too disjointed even though the plan for them to come together was definitely a unique and good one. It felt fully like reading and trying to follow more than five separate stories

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

Katie Shaw's life is forever changed when she makes a choice to spend the afternoon with her boyfriend instead of escorting her younger brother Chris home. She had no way of knowing that her brother would be the victim of a violent attack that day but the guilt follows her into adulthood. Now a wife and mother; Katie finds herself struggling to separate threats, both real and imagined, creating tensions between her and her spouse. When Katie receives a call that her brother is in trouble she decides that this time she won't let him down. Detective Laurence Page is investigating a violent murder in which their prime suspect is the victim of a violent attack years earlier. Their paths will cross once again and lead them right into the path of a serial killer who can apparently foresee the future.

The Angle Maker is a uniquely twisty thriller in which a serial killer with the ability to "see the future" crosses paths with a family with a tragic past and a detective investigating a murder. There is a lot going on in this one involving several different characters whose stories converge in both the past and the present. As much as I wanted to love this novel, it was not my favorite book from this author. It had a really strong start but all the twists and turns felt a bit too much by the end for my taste. The back story for the killer, known as the "Angel Maker", reminded me a lot of an older movie I had seen called Frailty. When reading the plot synopsis I guess I was hoping a bit more for a killer with psychic abilities of precognition vs the alternative but it was still a unique twist on the serial killer trope.

Alex North has a brilliant way of taking the macabre and bringing it to life in a thriller. This has an intricate plot with a lot of characters from different time periods who are somehow all connected, yet we don’t know how or why until the end. I had to go back and reread certain sections to make sure I understood and didn’t miss anything. There were several great twists and North wraps up the ending very nicely with a satisfying conclusion.

I love Alex North books (particularly The Whisper Man). The Angel Maker tackles sibling loyalty, a long-dead serial killer, and the philosophical idea of determinism. North somehow makes it work and makes you think when you have finished reading. I did find the middle of the book a bit slow, but it picks up the pace and has a really good twist. However, I did think parts of the book were confusing, and I wasn't quite satisfied with the conclusion. I rounded up 4-stars.

There is a lot going on in this book and it was on the slower side for most of the book, but I didn't mind as much as I normally would as I was trying to figure out who was who and how things were connected. Not going to lie, this took some time. I also read some passages repeatedly to get my footing. It was work and yet I enjoyed it. North gives readers little tidbits as the book progresses to keep them intrigued, invested and glued to the pages.

WoW! What a binge-worthy read!

The Angel Maker by Alex North was once again another thrilling story.

I'm a big time Alex North fan. His work is chilling and down right unputdownable.
I thought TAM was atmospheric with compelling characters that hooked me immediately.
The mystery of this book was very well done and kept me guessing till the end.
An absolutely gripping thriller that will keep you guessing until the last page.
Full of mystery and suspense with twists and turns to keep you on your toes, I was completely hooked and hated seeing that was so close to the end.

North you're a master at storytelling and outdid yourself with your latest novel.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a strange read that seemed to meander all over the place and I had no idea how all the pieces were going to come together until the very end. But I enjoy the way North writes and tells a story, so I figured if I hung in there it would be a ride worth taking - and I was correct in that assumption.

This one is a little more something than his other books - cerebral comes to mind but it's not a literary fiction read at all, it's more that the underlying threads of determinism and philosophical theory elevate the thinking behind the story than it is that they turn the tale itself into a more intellectual one. If that makes any sense. And if not, well, you'll have to just give it a go for yourself because there really is no good way to explain it. I've tried rewriting this section of the review several times and never come up with anything better.

It's not going to be for everyone. It's not even going to be for everyone who likes North's books. But I found that not trying to overthink it and not trying to figure it out let me enjoy the ride and the way he uses language. This let me appreciate the character interactions and unfolding relationships in a way that meant that I enjoyed the journey as well as the destination.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview the Angel Maker. Alex North writes a complex novel with undertones of good care evil.
The story revolves around a book that may tell the future and has been in a rich family that believes that what is to be is to be and the future is predestined.
This is a complex novel and at first I was lost but I kept reading. Glad I did. This is really a good book. North manages to mix reality with a mystical realms to spin a story that is gripping and scary
Sometimes a bit wordy but well written. 4 stars