Celadon Books Pre-empts Alex North’s Debut Thriller

Celadon Books is pleased to announce the acquisition of THE WHISPER MAN by Alex North. Upon receiving the submission from Penguin Random House UK, who will publish the novel there under the Michael Joseph imprint, Executive Editor Ryan Doherty knew he had something special in hand. After tearing through the book and quickly getting the rest of the team enthusiastically onboard, Celadon pre-empted the book before the auction began and closed a two-book deal to become Alex’s publisher in the U.S.

THE WHISPER MAN is a psychological thriller about a grieving father and son. The pair move to a new home, desperate for a fresh start after the death of their wife and mother, and find themselves in the path of a murderer mimicking a serial killer that haunted the town fifteen years earlier, known as the Whisper Man. There was a rumor of an accomplice all those years before, and old memories come back to the town of Featherbank.  Children had a rhyme to warn each other of the Whisper Man: “If you leave the door half open, you will hear the whispers spoken.” When the son begins to hear whispers by his window late at night, the story turns down a dark, creepy, and compulsively readable path. 

“This book is terrifying, but what makes me love it so much is this fantastic father/son relationship at its core, which really elevates the book,” says Ryan. “From the first paragraph to the last haunting line, you are in good hands with Alex North.”

Alex North lives in Leeds, England, and he is working on his second novel, which will be published by Celadon in 2020. 

THE WHISPER MAN is coming June 2019. You’ll want to read it with your doors locked. 

Connect with

Celadon

Sign up for our newsletter to see book giveaways, news, and more!