- Barbara Copperthwaite
‘Crime with hints of the supernatural. Packs a powerful emotional punch’ #bookreview The
If you’re looking for a book that will cause the hairs on the back of your neck to raise, make you wary of sleep, but that’s also got heart, may I recommend The Shadow Friend, by Alex North. I’ve just finished it and…wow!
This author weaves crime and hints of the supernatural so expertly that I had no clue how it would end, and was desperate to find out. But what he really excels at is writing books that pack an emotional punch, making me invest in the characters, care what happens to them, and shed tears while discovering.
A thread that runs throughout the book is about lucid dreaming, and it’s something I’m fascinated by. As a child I was haunted by terrible nightmares that seemed all too real, and somehow, without knowing what I was doing, I actually taught myself how to become aware within the dream and then nudge elements of it so that it became less scary and more controllable. It’s something I still do from time to time, which means I’m now able to boast that I don’t have nightmares. My fascination for it also spilled over into the writing of Her Last Secret, which features a woman, Dominique Thomas, who suffers from dreams so vivid she sometimes suffers from parasomnabulism (sleep walking, to you and me!) and lucid dreaming is one of the techniques she uses to control it. The Shadow Friend used this technique to chilling effect, and I absolutely loved it!
Another excellent read that I highly recommend! 📖❤️📚📖❤️📚
Description:
Twenty-five years ago, troubled teenager Charlie Crabtree committed a shocking and unprovoked murder.
For Paul Adams, it’s a day he’ll never forget. He’s never forgiven himself for his part in what happened to his friend and classmate. He’s never gone back home.
But when his elderly mother has a fall, it’s finally time to stop running.
It’s not long before things start to go wrong. A copycat killer has struck, bringing back painful memories. Paul’s mother insists 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 afterwards, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again . . .
