Review of "The Whisper Man: A Suspense Novel" by Alex North

Rebecca Kennedy died suddenly ten months ago, and her novelist husband Tom and 7-year-old son Jake are reeling from the terrible loss. Rebecca was the parent most in tune with sensitive Jake, and Tom is trying hard to be a good single parent. One time after a tiff, Jake found a note on his bed that his daddy had written: "I'm sorry. I want you to remember that even when we argue we still love each other very much. XXX."

It was little Jake who found Rebecca's body in the family home, and he's been anxious there ever since.



So Tom decides to move for a change of scenery, and when Tom and Jake peruse the internet, Jake falls in love with an old house in the town of Featherbank. The two-story home has an odd ramshackle aura and - unknown to Tom and Jake - the kids in Featherbank are afraid of the place. As it turns out, the youngsters are prescient.



In any case, Tom buys the house and he and Jake move to Featherbank. If Tom had done his homework better, he would know that 20 years ago, a serial killer kidnapped and murdered five children in town. The convicted killer, named Frank Carter, was known as 'The Whisper Man' because he befriended his victims - vulnerable and neglected children - by speaking to them outside their windows at night.



Carter's abductions led to a children's rhyme that kids still chant:

If you leave a door half open, you'll soon hear the whispers spoken.
If you play outside alone, soon you won't be going home.
If your window's left unlatched, you'll hear him tapping at the glass.
If you're lonely, sad, and blue, the Whisper Man will come for you.

Two decades ago, Frank Carter was arrested when the bodies of four little boys were found in his basement; the fifth victim, Tony Smith, wasn't there.



The investigator in charge at the time, Detective Inspector Pete Willis, never stopped looking for Tony's body. Over the years, Pete even visited Frank in prison many times to ask about Tony, but the killer just taunted him....which was very hard on recovering alcoholic Pete.



Soon after Tom and Jake move to Featherbank, it seems like history might be repeating itself. A neglected schoolboy called Neil Spencer goes missing when he's walking outside alone. Detective Inspector Amanda Beck is in charge of the case, and she thinks the perp might be a copycat or Carter's (previously unknown) accomplice.



DI Pete Willis, who's still on the police force, is dispatched to visit Carter in prison, and the murderer goads him and seems to provide indecipherable hints.

All this bodes ill for Tom and Jake, because little Jake is jittery in the new environment. Jake has a packet of special things he carries everywhere, and he speaks to an invisible little girl, all of which leads to bullying by other children. And one night Tom catches Jake whispering to someone outside their front door.



Tom is very alarmed by this, and doesn't quite know what to do. Then Tom makes some alarming discoveries.....and you'll need to read the book to see what happens next.



The book has several major surprises (I made one guess, but was totally wrong), and there's an exciting denouement.

The novel has some unlikely coincidences, and Tom is more careless than he should be when an attractive woman befriends him. Still, this is a compelling suspense novel, recommended to fans of the genre.

 Rating: 3.5 stars