Alex North and his novel The Whisper Man

Book Review

The Whisper Man

Alex North

Michael Joseph
an imprint of Penguin Books
Penguin Random House UK

‘If you leave the door half-open,
Soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken’

The Whisper Man could move up from Theakestons Old Peculier Crime Writers ‘Long List’ to the final six. We will see and by June 4th we will know. Anyway I am giving it a good go, but as I get into the book I am enjoying it more. Not only is it different, it’s absorbing as well. It's taken over a hundred pages to be fully absorbed and, now, I want to solve the mystery.

It is about people and what has gone on previously and what we are now left with. There are two major themes and I have got to the stage where I want to scream and shout at what's going on. Alex North creates tension as he writes and we have characters that grip. It's a slow burn this read. So well constructed, but to be enjoyed as the tension mounts.

In the latter stages the tension increased several times and we are left with an ending that was very well conceived and with the insecurity of not knowing who would survive. It's that good.

This is an incredible story and I loved it. It is my choice for the winner for this year's Theakestons Old Peculier Crime Writers. I have read six and I will examine some of the others. It's sad that we have no event this July, but 2021 could be an even more joyful event.
John Edwards 25th May 2020