Title: Whisper Alley
Author: Gregory Marcel
Publisher: CitiofBooks Inc
ISBN: 979-8-89391-331-6
Pages: 186
Genre: Fiction
Reviewer: Christa Hill

Read Book Review

Whisper Alley begins in a little bit of a whirlwind style. We meet the main character in the middle of his tour on Okinawa and we meet our “hero” Everett Walters, considering the best way to meet a new lady friend. From the get-go the audience is drawn in to try to understand what Whisper Alley has to do with Marine Walters and as the story unfolds, we learn that Whisper Alley is the “place” to meet female friends.

Cover-to-cover the story reveals a little bit of the differences between Japanese and American culture through the eyes of our hero and his entourage. Something that comes as a shock upon the first reading is this story is written without censorship and so there are the occasional expletives and racial slur used to express the men in Walters’ entourages perspectives. Overall, the writing style is short, quippy with a banter-like quality which makes this book a quick read. Throughout the book, notably on pg.20 and pg.70, for example, there are occasional grammar mistakes that don’t harm the flow of the story but that are noticeable to the average reader.

Walters eventually does meet a lady friend and then another and another until this novel reaches a fever pitch of sexual encounters and coarse exchanges between men about who they have been with and their “romantic” plans for the future. Since the story follows a Marine, it seems unfortunate that there are not many scenes of combat or a glimpse into the quotidian of Marine living.

Marcel’s novel Whisper Alley is a torrid pseudo-romance that follows Walters’ discovery of the luscious women of whisper alley all the way to his marriage.  While it reads like a true history, many details of the world of the novel are missing which leaves miniature holes in the web of potential history. I was surprised by the book, having expected to read a teen mystery and instead finding this rather racy R-rated vignette. The genre leans heavily towards a masculine audience as the mélange of base training and weekend romps start to feel excessive after pg. 75. If audiences are searching for a slightly more erotic story with a vintage background, this novel fits perfectly into that category. Mainly the characters seem to be defined by their work.  This story is a meditation on brotherhood, redemption, and the unseen battles that shape us.  Gregory Marcel’s Whisper Alley is an electrifying erotic novel that dares to explore power, vulnerability, and the dangerous pull of irresistible desire.

Recommended for mature readers only. Contains erotic content, language and adult themes.