Paul Adams has not returned to his hometown since leaving for college, a deliberate choice made in an attempt to put his past behind him. He grew up in a relatively poor town and faced the same struggles as many other adolescents, trying to find his place with school, friendships, and a first crush. Yet his experiences were not entirely ordinary, not even close. In high school one of his dearest friends was murdered. And Paul was accused of this gruesome act, taken in for questioning before the true murderers were identified. It turned out that the murderers were also friends of his. One confessed to what he had done, but the other simply disappeared without a trace, leaving the community wondering about him for years to come.
Twenty-five years after this horrifying event, Paul is forced to return home to see his mother one last time before she passes. Not surprisingly, being back in town stirs up many memories and emotions for him. And, although his mother is quite ill, in rare moments of lucidity she urges him that something is “in” his childhood home. Full of panic, she seemingly warns him that something terrible is at hand. Uncertain what she means by these statements, Paul considers they may not mean anything at all. Anything that will ever make sense to him, that is. However as the days pass by, strange things begin to happen and Paul begins to wonder if his mother may actually be trying to send him an urgent message, a vital clue before she dies.
As Paul spends his time saying goodbye to his mother and attempting to decode her cryptic words, he also learns of several murders which bear a striking resemblance to that of his close friend in high school. One just happened recently, in fact, about a hundred miles away and a shrewd detective sees the same links as Paul. Despite the lack of concern from her co-workers, she follows her intuition and continues to pursue a link among these cases. Between the two of them, can the truth be uncovered? And, if so, at what cost?
North’s narrative travels back and forth between the past and the present, revealing bit by bit what really happened leading up to and on the day of the murder so many years ago. And, as one might expect, things are not exactly what they seem. As the story progresses, he draws connections to the other murders which have occurred in the wake of the first, leading the reader to question more and more how they might be connected. Mostly predictable in plot, The Shadows does slip in one great twist which the reader is unlikely to see coming and it is this twist which sustains the latter part of the novel. North’s writing is solid, his characters likeable, however this one may fall a bit short of expectations for fans of his debut novel The Whisper Man.
The Shadows is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore. Many thanks to Celadon Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
The haunting new thriller from Alex North, author of the New York Times bestseller The Whisper Man
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…
