Whisper Down the Lane

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Whisper Down the Lane was The Literally Dead Bookclub selection for May 2023. I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla.

Inspired by the McMartin preschool trials and the Satanic Panic of the ’80s, the critically acclaimed author of The Remaking delivers another pulse-pounding, true-crime-based horror novel.

About The Book 📚

Title: Whisper Down the Lane

Author: Clay McLeod Chapman

Read by: James Patrick Cronin

Publication Date: April 2021

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

Genre: Suspense, Mystery

Pages: 304

Content Warnings: animal death, pedophilia, child abuse, gore, suicide, mental illness, sexual assault, kidnapping, death, stalking, self-harm, alcohol.

About The Author

“Clay McLeod Chapman is the author of novels Ghost Eaters, Whisper Down the Lane, The Remaking, and miss corpus, story collections nothing untoward, commencement and rest area, as well as The Tribe middlegrade series: Homeroom Headhunters, Camp Cannibal and Academic Assassins.

His new novel, What Kind of Mother, arrives on September 12, 2023″. https://claymcleodchapman.com/about/

My Review

› Whisper Down the Lane is told in alternating perspectives and timelines.

› Damned if you don’t – 2013: Richard doesn’t really remember his childhood. He is adopted, is an art teacher at a school in Virginia, married to Tamara, and stepdad to Elijah. Tamara is not afraid of conflict. She’s brave and speaks her mind. For her, an argument is not about who’s right or wrong, it’s about discovering the truth. One morning the school mascot, a rabbit, is found mutilated. It appears to be a ritualistic-style killing. Richard gets the feeling that someone is following him, trying to send him a message about his past.

› Damned if you do – 1982: Sean is a five-year-old boy who recently moved to Virginia with his mom. Sean tells his mother something his teacher did and his teacher is investigated for child abuse.

› This book is about Richard trying to remember his childhood, discovering who’s behind all the creepy things happening, and bonding with his stepson. Sean is also trying to figure out what’s real and struggling to communicate with the adults around him. The narrative takes a psychological turn and you’ll find yourself wondering if Richard is losing his grip on reality.

“I’m crying because I have nothing…nothing left for you.’
This made the witness very sad. He didn’t want to be left out, so he began to cry, too.
‘Wait’, the gray boy said. ‘For you, my brightest disciple, I have something special. I give all I have left…’ The gray boy slipped his fingers through his ribs and tore out a piece of his heart and offered it to the witness. ‘Take and eat, for this is my body’ he said. The witness remarked that it tasted like Wonder Bread soaked in the juices of deiced Del Monte vegetables with just a pinch of sugar. He never felt happier in all his life. Now he belonged.”

› Whisper Down the Lane is a game, like the game telephone we played as children. Words can be misunderstood, misheard, miscommunicated, and turn into completely different sentences that can ruin lives.

› Characters: 3
These characters are unlikeable which doesn’t bother me at all, I don’t need to like the characters, but I do need to find them interesting. They are underdeveloped and boring.

› Atmosphere: 3
There are disturbing scenes and difficult subject matter, however, this wasn’t scary to me. I needed more description and more world-building. I didn’t feel anything.

› Writing Style: 3
Repetitive and cliché writing with clunky dialogue. This is marketed as a horror, but it felt more like a mysterious suspense novel because the danger builds gradually and the reader knows things the protagonist doesn’t know.

› Plot: 3
I feel like people who read a lot of mystery novels will figure out the ending prematurely. The beginning was okay, but I found the rest boring.

› Intrigue: 3
I had a hard time wanting to pick this up and the only reason I finished it was because it was a book club pick.

› Logic: 4
I’m an Educational Assistant and this past year I worked in a kinder class with five-year-olds and I don’t know any who talk or act as Sean did. His inauthenticity kept pulling me out of the story.

› Enjoyment: 4

Average 3.3

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★

› Final Thoughts
• Whisper Down the Lane is a well-researched novel about regret and accountability, however, it wasn’t for me. I recommend this book to readers who want to learn a bit more about the Satanic panic of the 80s.