August’s Reading Challenge was to read a novel with flowers or leaves on the cover.
I selected The Shadow Friend by Alex North for August’s challenge. Please note the US version of this mystery is titled The Shadows and features a different cover.
The Shadow Friend by Alex North is a riveting mystery that is quite spooky.
Paul Adams returns home after a twenty-five year absence when his mum enters hospice. He has good reason for staying away but he is wracked with guilt over not spending more time with her. And as he copes with her impending loss, Paul is reminded of the past he has tried so hard to forget. And it appears that someone (or something) is not going to allow what happened twenty-five years remain in the past.
When Paul was fifteen years old, he and his best friend James Dawson changed schools and ultimately, their lives. The teenagers are befriended by Billy Roberts and Charlie Crabtree and this friendship soon enters into strange territory. Charlie is experimenting with lucid dreaming and he convinces his friends to begin keeping dream dairies. Paul is skeptical of the lucid dreams and he finds himself on the outside of the group. Paul’s relationship with Jenny Chambers helps him move on, but he does mourn the loss of his friendship with James. Paul and Jenny are headed toward a promising romance when everything goes tragically wrong with James, Billy and Charlie.
In the present, a murder in Featherdale that is eerily reminiscent of the a killing that Paul’s friends were involved in twenty-five years earlier brings Detective Amanda Beck to Paul’s hometown. There appears to be an unmistakable link to the previous killing. And Amanda would like to find out once and for all what happened to Charlie, who went missing after the murder. Will she find the answers to her questions before the murderer strikes again?
Paul is unnerved by discoveries in his family home and he is concerned about his mum’s mental state before her health took a downward turn. He also cannot escape those long ago memories and his continued guilt over what happened. Paul is also anxious about happenings in the present that mirror events that occurred when he was fifteen. He is stunned by some of the information he learns but is Paul relaxing his guard a little too soon?
The Shadow Friend is an engrossing mystery that is leisurely-paced. The characters are well-drawn and the setting is atmospheric. With a series of shocking twists and breathless turns, Alex North brings this mystery to an action-packed and completely satisfying conclusion. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this engaging mystery to fans of the genre.
Please click HERE to learn more about The Shadow Friend.
Did you enjoy the book you selected for this month’s challenge? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts about your selection!
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Check out September’s challenge HERE.
I read Stolen Things, by RH Herron following your review, and it certainly lived up to expectation.
Intense and manic for most of the read, felt like I was on high alert all the time.
I could understand Laurie’s need to protect but yet it was kind of ott – she really did come across as one step away from a break down let alone breaking the law.
The plot was nicely convoluted, with plenty of assumptions made – Kevin’s plight very poignant.
But also I was left with a number of questions answered at a high level but unresolved, or not confirmed.
Jojo in someways was quite naive but also quite calm amidst all the panic.
I’m glad you liked it!