LoveReading Says
Delivering a creepy premise, chilling atmosphere, and intricately built suspense, this is a satisfying psychological thriller. As a teenager twenty-five years ago Paul left town after a murder, and he heads home just as a copycat killer strikes. I completely fell for Alex North’s last book, The Whisper Man which held the most deliciously supernatural undertones and was a LoveReading Star Book. On the strength of that, The Shadow Friend jumped straight on to my list of reads I was looking forward to. Two time frames, ’now’ and ‘before’ ensure child and adulthood are very different places yet by the end of part one, the background and foreground have met and set the scene. I thoroughly enjoyed the sense of foreboding, of waiting, of understanding edging into the corner of thoughts before disappearing again. There were several surprises to be discovered along the way and the tiptoeing tension and haunting dream sequences ensured I was desperate to find out what happened. The ending was very neat and rather nicely wraps everything up. The Shadow Friend is a twisty, intriguing, and rewarding tale and has been chosen as one of my Liz Picks of the month.
Liz Robinson
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The Shadow Friend Synopsis
If it had happened to you, you would have run away too.
Twenty-five years ago, Paul's friend Charlie Crabtree brutally killed their classmate - and then vanished without a trace.
Paul's never forgiven himself for his part in what happened. He's never gone back home.
Until his elderly mother has a fall. It's finally time to stop running.
It's not long before things start to go wrong. His mother claims there's someone in the house. Paul realises someone is following him. And, in a town many miles away, a copycat killer has struck.
Which makes him wonder - what really happened to Charlie the day of the murder?
And can anyone stop it happening again?
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781405936248 |
| Publication date: |
1st April 2021 |
| Author: |
Alex North |
| Publisher: |
Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
368 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Thriller and Suspense
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Alex North Press Reviews
A chilling and deeply psychological read - Woman & Home
Included in 'The Week's Best Books - The Creepy One' - Heat
A chilling read - Woman's Weekly
The layers of deception make for a chilling read - Woman & Home
North follows up his sensational debut, 2019's The Whisper Man, with another terrifying spine-tingler... The complex plot shifts smoothly between past and present with numerous unexpected twists. An overwhelming atmosphere of doom and disaster hovers over the perennial darkness of the nearby woods. This heart-pounding page-turner is impossible to put down - Publishers Weekly
With echoes of the chilling Slender Man myth, this thriller ultimately feels like a ghost story conjured out of guilt and loss - Crime Monthly
North has returned with another creepy, atmospheric tale exploring the devastating effects of childhood traumas on communities . . . Builds to a surprising and moving finale that will live long in the memory - Daily Express
This is absorbing, headlong reading, a play on classic horror with an inventiveness of its own... As with all the best illusions, you are left feeling not tricked, but full of wonder -- New York Times
If you liked The Whisper Man, you'll love this. Alex North has crafted a second novel which is just as gripping as his first and even scarier. Hugely atmospheric and deliciously creepy, it's about how the past encroaches on the present, and how dreaming influences reality, until in the frightening world of The Shadow Friend, it becomes harder and harder to tell one from the other... and the nightmare takes over -- Alex Michaelides - No.1 bestselling author of The Silent Patient
Alex North has outdone himself. As terrifying as a great horror novel, as unpredictable as the best type of crime novel and above all beautifully written, The Shadow Friend is the work of a writer who is an absolute master of his craft. I couldn't begin to guess how the story was going to end but I enjoyed every second of the journey -- Jane Casey -
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