“The Whisper Man”
Written by Alex North
Review written by Diana Iozzia
“The Whisper Man” is a frightening and memorable
thriller, about a man who will do anything for his son. Our main protagonist,
Tom Kennedy, moves into a new home with his seven-year-old son, Jake, after Tom’s
wife dies suddenly. A young boy named Neil has been murdered, and the police
believe that the killer may be an accomplice of “The Whisper Man”, a serial
killed named Frank Carter. Frank would lure boys out of their homes and kill them.
This premise gave me pause, but also it intrigued me. I hadn’t read a book like
this in a little while. Also, the publicity buzz drew me in, as well as the super
creepy card I received in my PR envelope. Little British girls singing about
creepy killers? Oof. Even so, I read this book in one whole night. I could not and
would not stop reading, even though it was terribly past my bedtime.
Now, we read through different perspectives, as we increasingly
fear for the lives of those involved. In addition to Tom, we read a third
person omniscient narrator, over Pete, the lead detective and someone all too close
to Tom, Jake, and the new copycat killer. Pete visits the local jail, to consult
with the imprisoned Frank, to see if he has any clues about the new killer and
to see if he can determine if Frank has been hiding an accomplice all this
time.
Little Jake is an interesting character. He’s very
smart, almost to the point of precociousness. He loves to draw, often drawing images
that Tom does not understand. I think Jake is represented so well. Often, I do
not find children to be accurately portrayed. Jake’s mannerisms, dialogue, and
personality traits felt very real, especially his Packet of Special Things. Jake
also speaks to a little girl, his imaginary friend. We learn more about the
family, the detectives, and the killer. The game shifts, when the new killer begins
to whisper at Jake’s window and try to get inside at the front door.
At first, I felt this story to be a bit hokey. I
felt Tom to be a bit over-the-top in his actions. Every move he made felt far
too exaggerated to be realistic. However, I soon realized why he was so
concerned with being a fantastic father to his son. To continue, I was very skeptical
of the “detective visits imprisoned killer for advice” trope. As most
literature and film lovers do, I will always think of “The Silence of the Lambs”
by Thomas Harris. I feel that many films can use this trope well, like “Shutter
Island”, but often, the trope falls flat. Fortunately, I was impressed by the
execution of these scenes. In addition, two other tropes that I was happy with were
the “child of main character in a creepy town is in danger” and the depressed,
alcoholic detective.
I think that
my favorite element of this story is the father and son dynamic. We see many of
these dynamics: three to be exact. These relationships are not simple; they are
complex and important. I think having such a strong backbone to this story
allowed the plot to truly develop in a full and rounded out way. Every motivation
made sense. Every motivation was supported by these dynamics. I’ve always felt
that a story, that needs to evoke certain emotions, has to have that true foundation
for us to draw upon. We need to build both empathy and hatred, but we need to
first care about those in danger.
There are some elements that I truly loved that I
just can’t reveal enough information about, because they would reveal far too
much about the story. This is one of those books that have many twists and red herrings,
but I felt they were implemented flawlessly. I loved trying to determine the
motivations of the killer and how they made sense for the story. Awesome. The actual
reveal of the killer was a bit strange to me, but I understood the choice after
I spent a lot of time thinking all about it. Lastly, I was not a big fan of the
development that occurred for the imaginary friend character. That’s just a
preference. Oh, and I won’t say anything more about Mister Night, but “wow”.
In conclusion, this is absolutely a new favorite
thriller for me. It impressed me in so many more ways than I had expected. This
book brought a lot of heart, happiness, sadness, fear, and love into a book that
I didn’t anticipate. The book had wonderful narrative techniques, including realistic
dialogue, vivid imagery, and incredible suspense. There were many moments when
I felt terrified, in my well-lit room, at 6 p.m., with a large Lab / Pitbull
mix laying next to my feet. I will be recommending this amazing book for the
rest of my life. Please consider reading it. I realistically do not think that
there is anything you could be disappointed by. I wasn’t.
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