The Angel Maker by Alex North
Published by Celadon Books
Publication date: February 28, 2023
Genres: Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Suspense
Bookshop
Anyone else dealing with blah reading recently? I don’t know whether it’s the joy (not!) of dealing with tax prep, but I’ve DNFed two of the last 3 books I started. So, I thought it necessary to wrap up the week with the one book I could not turn away from. If you need reading that will pull you out of your head and onto the page then look no further than The Angel Maker by Alex North.
When Katie is 16 she makes the kind of decision 16-year-olds do when faced with family responsibility or boyfriend time—she leaves her younger brother Charlie at home alone. He’s attacked by a delusional stranger and although he survives it changes the trajectory of both their lives. Over a decade later, she’s a hypervigilant mother of her own child and hasn’t seen Charlie for years due to his drug use. When her mother says he’s reappeared, is clean, and has a real job, Katie is doubtful. When a series of odd events transpire, her anxiety over the past is pushed into overdrive and leaves her scrambling to find her brother again before the lives of her family are threatened.
In an unconnected event two London detectives are called to the scene of a gruesome murder of an elderly philosophy professor. This is The Angel Maker’s first turn into a sprawling labyrinth guaranteed to unnerve even the most blasé reader. Paths lead to serial killers, brothers, religion, betrayal, and an exploration into the concept of fate. North maneuvers around dead ends and false leads, coaxing the reader further into the darkness of one family’s secrets. He skillfully leads the way onward fiendishly ratcheting up the tension with twists that jump from out from the page. Dark thrillers might not be the expected antidote to reading fatigue, but The Angel Maker consumed me and I loved it.
Want more creepy reading? Try North’s debut, The Whisper Man.
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*I received a free copy of this book from Celadon Books in exchange for an honest review.*
This review came at just the right time. I read the review and was able to immediately and check it out.
I hope you enjoy it! It’s quite dark, but I couldn’t put it down.
Did you read The Whisper Man? If so, what did you think of that one?
I really liked it, but this one is even better. Whisper Man had one of the scariest endings I’ve ever read. Chilling.