Hi, friends. Thanks for coming back for another review! This week I am reviewing The Shadows by Alex North. The creepy and mysterious nature of this novel made me feel like I needed a dark drink. So, I chose to make a Black Shadow cocktail, or, to match the book, The Black Shadows. And while the ingredients aren’t very spooky, the name works well with both my pun theme and my creepy vision. It actually occurred to me after I’d already started working on this book that October is only two months away and this would’ve been a perfect Halloween themed post. But alas, I had already posted the Instagrams and read the book, so what’s a girl to do? So, maybe just keep the book or drink in mind come Halloween, OK everyone? In the meantime, enjoy!
The Black Shadows Recipe
1oz Blue Curaçao
1oz Creme de Cassis
~1oz Nk’ Mip Dreamcatcher Wine*
~3oz Champagne or Prosecco
*Dreamcatcher wine is optional.
In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine Blue Curaçao and Creme de Cassis, and shake for around 10 seconds. Then pour the combination into a champagne flute. Add wine and, to finish off, top with either Champagne or Prosecco (whichever you prefer).
For my Black Shadows cocktail, I added Nk’ Mip Dreamcatcher white wine. I did this mainly because I wanted a special ingredient that connected to the novel. I also worked on this post while in Osoyoos, where the Nk’ Mip winery is located, and it inspired me. This was honestly a hard drink to think of a special ingredient for, but the dream motif that runs throughout the novel was what I wanted to focus on. So in the end I decided to just add something similar to what was already going into the drink that had a name that worked well with the novel—and that’s where Dreamcatcher wine came in. And I know a lot of people can’t be going out of their way to buy wine with the word “dream” in the title, so don’t worry it doesn’t change the overall taste of the drink!
A side note about The Black Shadows that I mentioned earlier is that it is perfect for Halloween. (I was actually going to add food colouring to make it pitch black, but it’s so dark already I didn’t need to.) And if you want to make this drink for your next Halloween party, I want to mention that I think a little white skeleton hand would be the perfect topper. It matches the book cover and adds that extra bit of Halloween spookiness!
Synopsis
One afternoon in 1995 a disturbing murder shocked the small town of Gritten. 25 years later, the mystery remains and a copycat killing has happened in a different town. Around the same time as the copycat killing, Paul, a suspect in the original murder, returns home to Gritten for the first time. Told between Paul’s past and present, the novel tells the story of what really happened in the Shadows, the woods behind Paul’s house, all those years ago. While Paul works through the trauma of being in the town where his friend was murdered, he learns of Detective Amanda Beck’s investigation into the new killing. Then, when strange and horrifying things begin happening, Paul is reminded of the most unsettling aspect of the first killing—Charlie Crabtree, the murderer and Paul’s friend, was never found.
Review
“They’re only dreams. They don’t make a difference.”
Dreams, murder, and childhood trauma—what’s not to like in The Shadows? I love a good crime thriller and this has all the elements that get me hooked. I actually read most of the book in one day because I couldn’t put it down, and that was while I was on vacation! This novel has so many elements to be excited about. Personally, I really enjoyed the dream aspect, the characters, and the writing.
The dream element was extremely intriguing to me. The way North described dreaming and dreams, and how he incorporated this concept into the story gave me some major Inception vibes. Specifically, the focus on lucid dreaming and how dreams can impact the real world made me think of Inception. At first I was a little skeptical about this and the heavy discussion on dreams, but I think it worked well and added something special to the story. The idea of what dreaming can do in the real world was also interesting and the extensive dialogue on this gave a unique look into the characters’ minds, especially the side characters.
The characters were another aspect of The Shadows that I loved. They were all well written, interesting, and easy to relate to. I felt connected to both main characters and even the side characters, Jenny, James, and Marie, left an impression. North wrote each character so distinctively it’s clear that he wanted the reader to empathize with every one of them. I even slightly empathized with the bad guys—they sucked, but it was easy to feel something for them. But where the book really shines is with Paul and Amanda. They are both fantastically written characters who bring different feelings to the story. They also each have so many layers that it’s hard not to relate to them on a deeper level. And while I would’ve liked Amanda to have more chapters, she didn’t necessarily need them because Paul’s story is really the heart of it all.
Speaking of the heart of it all, I want to talk about the writing, which is my biggest mark for whether a book is good or not. North has a unique and modern voice that I loved. His descriptions are beautiful and bring you into the story, which makes the novel somehow both creepy and lovely. One such instance of this phenomena is Paul’s description of “tranquil surroundings for the end of a life.” It’s hauntingly beautiful, as is the rest of the book.
Another key sign of a good book for me is how the ending plays out. And the ending of The Shadows felt complete—plus I didn’t guess it! One downside I found with the ending is that a few questions were left unanswered. But they weren’t left unacknowledged, so I imagine it was intentional to leave some speculation about things. And I honestly didn’t mind this. Normally I prefer to have my story finished off with a neat bow, but this deliberate questioning of certain elements worked well for this novel.
I don’t really have downsides for The Shadows. It wasn’t perfect, but I have no real complaints to make. The only thing I want to say is what is up with every book this year jumping between past and present? Is it just me? Or is it the books I’m picking? It seems like every novel has this element these days. Unlike some of the others I’ve reviewed, I think North used this time jumping to his advantage in the story. And overall, I thoroughly liked it and recommend this novel if you like crime thrillers with a twist of horror. If not, I still recommend trying it or at least trying The Black Shadows cocktail (either now or at Halloween).
My Rating:
Thanks for reading, and if you haven’t yet read my previous reviews, The Perfect Guest List, The Glass Hotel Nacional, and My Dark and Stormy Vanessa, click to read them now!
Teghann
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