In The Shadows, there are Red Hands Everywhere

The Shadows by Alex North Book Review

To say that The Shadows could be this year’s best Psychological thriller is a bold statement. And it’s one I believe has the potential to be true. Alex North (Fun Fact: it’s a pseudonym!) has done it again.

I went into this book thinking it would be similar to The Whisper Man, and honestly, wasn’t sure if North could do it again. It wasn’t a sequel nor was it close to the same storyline. However, he did have a repeat character and a reference to his debut novel. I love repeat characters that aren’t in series. You learn to love a character in a book, but don’t have to read a whole series to get their story or the novel’s story. (Yay for no cliffhangers! …sometimes.) I think it really brings a connection between a dedicated reader and an author. So bringing Amanda Beck back for this book was an exciting part for me. Am I alone in this?

The Shadows is both creepy and riveting.

It kept me questioning everyone and everything until the very end. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the pages, and when I did I couldn’t help but think about what could be lurking in the shadows around me.

Is the devil in the details?

Charlie Crabtree in a bully. But not the typical push you in the playground bully. He was a manipulator. He had a way of making you grasp onto every word he said, made you believe everything he said was true. Especially when he started talking about lucid dreaming and how there is so much more in the dream world. Including Red Hands.

“‘You have to do something about Charlie’ It was a thought I thought a great deal about in the months leading up to that day…”

The Shadows, 2

25 years ago tragedy struck Gritten. Paul Adams remembers it more than most. He was accused of it. He was friends with them. Not only did he feel responsible for the murder but he felt responsible for not doing anything about Charlie sooner. Charlie was convinced that sacrifice to red hands would allow him to permanently live in the dream world. Away from life, he was stuck in now. So with a murder scene full of bloody red handprints, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again.

Now, with Paul’s mother’s health declining, he’s forced to return home and relive his past. Meanwhile, Detective Amanda Beck (YES! from The Whisper Man!) is in town investigating a copycat killer. But when Paul’s dementia-ridden mother shouts that “He shouldn’t be here”, weird things start haunting him from his past, he’s finally starting to wonder if it was all true. Could Charlie Crabtree really have made it to the dreamworld? And is he coming back to finish the job? Will there be red hands everywhere once again?

I read The Shadows as rapidly as I could.

Like, I literally could not put it down. And I needed to know how it was going to end. Alex North’s The Shadows makes you question everything you know about dreaming and how real they really are. He brings you to the edge of your seat over and over again, only to be surprised again once you think you have it all figured out. If you don’t put this book down and immediately google Lucid dreaming, then I think you’re the oddball out. Written in the perspectives of both Paul and Amanda, the story gives you both the traumatized-by-the-past and the Am-I-good-enough-to-do-this viewpoints. I think this not only helps the book flow but also makes you want need to know what the next chapter holds.

Alex North truly delivers suspense, thrill, and general curiosity in The Shadows. And if you’re into thrillers and mysteries, I think you need to add the to your TBR shelf immediately. In fact, just get on Celadon’s website and order it, like now.

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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‘Till next time Book Nerds, xoxo.