You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile--always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet--and inspired more than one copycat.
Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree--and his victim--were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and senile, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home.
It's not long before things start to go wrong. Reading the news, Paul learns another copycat has struck. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago.
It wasn't just the murder.
It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again...
TITLE: The Shadows
AUTHOR: Alex North
PUBLISHER: Celadon Books
PUBLISH DATE: July 7, 2020
FORMAT: Print
ISBN: 1250318033
The Shadows by Alex North
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Alex North’s second novel, The Shadows hits you with its
eerie creepiness before you even open the book! Look at this cover! If The
Shadows didn’t already have me at the cover, because I’m easy that way, the
summary is what really drug me in further.
“You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark
imagination, a sinister smile – always on the outside of the group.”
That’s a big cup of hell yeah from me. If you’ve read the summary,
you’ll see that Charlie Crabtree committed a murder most heinous and then
disappeared without a trace. What happened to Charlie? This is the big question
and when similar murders begin occurring with the same MO there are questions
if Charlie is somehow involved! Yikes!
What I really loved about this book is the glimpse it gives
me into the main character and narrators life, Paul Adams. Paul isn’t really
the most likable guy at the start. Neglectful of his mother for years, you get
the sense that maybe he’s a bit selfish and self-centered but as the story
moves on, it’s clear why Paul avoids his home town. Speaking of Paul! Ah, Paul,
you unreliable narrator you! The other character we hear from is Amanda Beck, a
detective following the recurrence of gruesome murders that lead her to Paul and
the events that occurred 25 years in the past.
This story is told in alternating timelines; present and 25
years ago, not always my favorite but once I got used to the format, it worked
for the story. There are twists in this story, one that really threw me … like
really threw me! Ok, more like two! There is a supernatural element that is
present and yet, I’m still uncertain if it was just the result of an unsettled
mind. I’m still thinking about this and remain undecided.
I completely enjoyed The Shadows and will continue to devour
everything that Mr. North pens!
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment