Book Review Rewind: Whispering Shadows by Jan-Phillip Sendker

 

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,

   

   Whispering Shadows is a novel by German author, Jan-Phillip Sendker. It is published by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. In it, we are introduced to Paul Leibovitz and his wife, Meredith. Their young son, Justin, is diagnosed with a terminal illness that has the little boy living his final days. When Justin finally passes Paul and Meredith divorce, and Paul moves to Lamma Island to be in seclusion. Paul does not want his memories of his son to fade amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. By living away from the noise, Paul believes he will be able to keep his memories of Justin fresh in his mind. An active child, despite his illness, Justin left Paul with many wonderful memories of activities they had shared. Paul enjoys recreating those moments of joy that he had with his son. One of which is hiking a nearby mountain peak.

   At the peak's cafe, Paul meets a distraught Elizabeth Owen. The woman is beside herself with worry and sleep deprivation. Her son, Michael, has disappeared while on a business trip to China, and she wants answers as to his whereabouts. Feeling sorry for the woman, Paul reluctantly listens to her story. She explains that she and her husband, Richard, have conducted their search as best as they can. Paul agrees to help Mrs. Owen. With the aid of his homicide detective friend, Zhang Lin, Paul begins to investigate the young businessman's disappearance. But things become complicated when the body of a young man matching Michael's description is found.

  Whispering Shadows is a definite page-turner. Sendker's writing was easy to follow, and often his narrative pulled me in. I found that I was invested in Paul Leibovitz's personal life and not so much in the mystery of Michael Owen. Sendker had an often beautiful writing style that captured Paul's grief and hesitation to start over with Christine. He also gave us a back story for Zhang Lin that further led me to respect the character and his struggles even more. This novel was more of a dramatic novel rather than a thriller. However, this did not deter me from enjoying the story as a whole. And the finale was very entertaining.

 I read this in part with the narration of actor, George Newbern. Newbern’s ability to convey the feelings of the characters, as well as present distinctive voices for the cast, made the audio adaption compelling. I have always liked Newbern's acting, and I was pleasantly surprised by his presentation.

  Whispering Shadows was a very entertaining four-star read that left me wanting more of these characters, and to see where another story would take them.  

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