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Alex North
Alex North is a British crime writer best known for his bestseller The Whisper Man. He writes dark, suspenseful thrillers that often explore the bond between fathers and sons through the lens of local urban legends.
The Shadow Friend
Synopsis
"Twenty-five years ago, troubled teenager Charlie Crabtree committed a shocking and unprovoked murder. On the darkest corners of the internet, plenty of people still remember what happened: Charlie's crime has attracted a dark infamy, inspiring more than one copycat. Paul Adams can remember the case too - Charlie and his victims were his friends. Paul left town as soon as he could, and he's never gone back. But then his mother, old and senile, takes a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it's time to come home. It's not long before things start to go wrong. In the news, Paul learns another copycat has struck. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. 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 afterwards, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again . . .
Genres
Characters
Paul AdamsProtagonist
A man who left his hometown after a traumatic murder committed by his friend Charlie Crabtree, forced to return when his mother's health deteriorates.
Charlie CrabtreeAntagonist
A troubled teenager who committed a shocking murder twenty-five years ago and subsequently disappeared, inspiring copycat crimes.
Paul's motherSupporting
Paul Adams's senile mother, whose worsening condition prompts his return home and who insists there is "something in the house."
