User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Wow,
The Nothing Man sucked me in from the very first moment, and held me captive until the very end.
Eve Black, at the age of twelve, survived a serial killer entering her home and murdering her parents and her sister. Now as an adult, she has become obsessed with catching this killer the media has dubbed the Nothing Man, and has written a true crime book detailing his atrocities, in the hopes of generating renewed interest and finally catching the killer. When Jim Doyle, a security guard at a local store, sees this book, he can't resist the urge to read it. But the more he reads, the more he is enraged. Because he is the Nothing Man and he realizes that in order to keep his secret safe, he must do what he failed to do that night 20 years ago.
Talk about gripping! Once I started in on this book, I couldn't put it down. It kept me riveted, all the more surprising because it wasn't building towards a big mystery reveal at the end. We already know the guilty party, pretty much from the first page. Yet the way the story unfolds, with Jim hurrying to read Eve's book to figure out how much she knows and to keep one step ahead of her, kept the pacing taut and tensions high.
Plenty of books promise chilling atmospheric reads, though hardly any deliver. But this book does, drawing me deep into the mind of a serial killer. It's extremely creepy to read a book from such a cold and psychotic person's point of view. It was masterful how the author went about this, forming a cohesive picture of the killer through his thoughts and actions. The killer's character felt real and complex, and that is what made this story all the more disturbing.
This book had the most interesting format of a story within a story. For me, it's a complete win, and I have pretty much loved every book I have ever come across that employs it. In this case, it's a clever way to showcase two separate viewpoints, to have one read the other's, while they are both moving towards a common destination. Authors everywhere, if you're reading this, please give me more of this story within a story!
What a memorable read this turned out to be. For sure, this has earned a spot on my favorites list for the year!
Rating: really liked it
What a mind blowing, captivating, truly surprising, soul crushing ride! Please be prepared and don’t eat something heavy, greasy before this gruesome, dark and wild journey (Don’t start with empty stomach either! The consequences could be painful) It will thrill the hell of you! It will freeze your blood! You’re gonna be paranoid and you go back to those days that you run to your bedroom as fast as you could as if being chased by a villain after turning off your house’s lights! You’d better prepare to sleep lights turn on!
This is remarkable mash up of True Crime podcasts- documentaries-memoirs. You’re reading a memoir hid inside a thriller book and getting inside of a serial killer’s brain at the same time like binge watching Making a murderer, Confession Tapes, Amanda Knox. The writing style is impeccably unique.
The last survivor of her family’s massacre Eve Black’s story is written as if it’s told by a podcast host and each chapter ends with another mysterious cliffhanger. It keeps you on your toes, makes you sit on the edge and force you hide under your blanket cuddling with your teddy bear (that’s what I did! I also cuddled with my empty Chardonnay bottles. This book increased my alcohol consumption!)
Eve Black was only 12 when the killer a.k.a nothing man (because he never leaves a trace and Garda found no clue about his identity. No DNA, no evidence, no eye witness!) killed her mother, father and her seven years old sister. She just hid in the bathroom and saved herself but she never get through the traumatic experience.
After she assigned the creative writing classes at the college, she started to come clean her secret identity and share her experiences in her articles which resulted with the start of her own investigation to fill the blanks and find the connections between the nothing man’s victims.
For nearly 2 decade, he disappeared and after two decades later, Eve releases her memoir about becoming survivor and the clues she’d found about the identity of the man who ruined her life and took her family from it. Nothing Man asks his victims: “Do you want to play game?” And now Eve is all in! She is not only going to play a life-death game with him, she’s also going to avenge her loved ones and give him the punishment he deserves!
Did I see how much I enjoyed the story-telling style of the book? Okay, I’m saying again. I loved it. I love to be introduced to Jim Doyle- our serial killer, once upon a time a member of Garda, now a supermarket security guard in his sixties at the first chapter. He finds out about the memoir and he is dying to know what Eve wrote about her.
We join him to read Eve’s memoir. We want to scream at him to keep on reading to learn more about his history and we also want to stop him so we can skip the gruesome details about his rapes, the traumatic experiences he caused with his torturing ways to ruin his victims’ souls forever.
Reading the chapters of memoir was like watching true crime stories and meeting with the real victims’ life experiences and witnessing Eve’s investigation and her corporation with ex-Garda officer Ed, how she gets closer to find the identity of the man.
And ending was remarkably satisfying, well-played, well-written. This is one of the highly original and well-developed, creative, playful, true to life, phenomenal, twisty thriller books! I enjoyed each page! I truly devoured them and I have to admit this is the best book of Catherine Ryan Howard! I highly recommend to genre fans and all readers who want to experience something remarkable, unique and splendid!
Special thanks to Edelweiss and Blackstone Publishing for sharing this one of the best thriller books’ ARC copy with me in exchange my honest review.
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CHEERS!
Rating: really liked it
4.5 stars
CLEVER. COMPULSIVE. CAPTIVATING!
The Nothing Man is a cleverly crafted psychological thriller about a serial killer and the victim who survived his attack.A serial killer. His surviving victim. A book within a book. A game of cat and mouse. Some surprising twists and turns. This is all I am going to say about the plot.
It’s best to GO IN BLIND!The Nothing Man is one of the best thrillers I have read in quite some time. This is not about trying to solve the killer’s identity--the reader is made aware in the first chapter of who the killer is. Rather the focus is on the killer’s fear of being caught, but also on his desire to kill one last time. There are elements of nuance and little bits of dark humor woven in. One of my favorite moments was coming across Catherine Ryan Howard’s name in the acknowledgments section of Eve’s book.
The plot and the narrative structure are unique, and I was absolutely riveted by how the events unfold and bring the victim and killer together. I highly recommend this book to thriller fans!
“When you find him, you’ll probably be shocked at just how much of a nothing he really is” I received an ARC of this book from Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
The Nothing Man, by Catherine Ryan Howard, gives us a book within a book. Eve Black's family was the last target of a serial killer that struck eighteen to twenty years ago. Now Eve's book about the killer is out and she's signing the book and discussing it at bookstores. Supermarket security guard Jim Doyle is reading the book and he is furious because he is The Nothing Man. He's angry and he is going to put an end to Eve. She is getting too close of figuring out who he is and he knows he should have killed her the night he killed the rest of her family.
Eve was twelve when her family was murdered and has spent the last eighteen years living her life on the surface, finishing her schooling but living in a haze in her personal life. She hasn't spoken about what happened, because her traumatized grandmother, who raised her after the murders, couldn't/wouldn't discuss the murders. But once Eve started researching what happened to her family and the other victims, a fire lights up in her, and she determines that she is going to find the killer and make him pay for his crimes. Her book is putting her squarely in the headlights of the serial killer and he is not going to be deterred from this last crime.
I loved the way this book was written. We get to read Eve's book, interspersed with Eve's thoughts and reflections and with Jim reading the book and fuming with hatred and thoughts of revenge. Jim is such a insignificant, petty, worthless man, made so by his own arrogance, bitterness, cruelty, and actions. Jim does things that healthy, well adjusted people would never think to do. He's a monster who needs to be caught and now that Eve had riled him up, he's going to pick up where he left off, all those years ago. He now knows he has one more murder to do and that murder has Eve's name on it. Read the book...it's written in such an interesting way, that puts you in the minds of both Eve, a victim, and Jim, the serial killer. This is such a unique way of writing the story and for me, it added to the tension of an already horrifying book.
Publication date: August 18, 2020
Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Edelweiss for this ARC.
Rating: really liked it
*4.5 STARS *
30 year old Eve Black decides to write a book about the night her Mum, Dad, and 7 year old sister Anna were murdered in their own home in the city of Cork in Ireland. She does so in the hope that it will jog someone’s memory, generate new leads, and hopefully bring the killer to justice 18 years after it happened. Eve, 12 years old at the time of the murders, only escaped the same fate because, as her family’s attacker struck, she was already in the bathroom and continued to hide there after hearing strange and frightening sounds. The Garda couldn’t find a single trace of evidence at the scene of the crime, and for that reason the killer became known as the Nothing Man, also the title of Eve’s book.
63 year old supermarket Security guard Jim Doyle, is particularly fascinated with Eve’s memoir, he wants to ascertain just how much she really remembered about that night, because Jim IS the Nothing Man. He realises that Eve won’t stop until she discovers his identity, and he might just have to do something about that! Also, what really irks him, is the fact that he believes the general public would be much more interested in what HE has to say seeing as how he committed that crime and many others!
Alternating between the past and the present, this is a terrific read, with some memorable characters, whose backstories are told in great detail. The storyline simply demands one’s attention, and is really difficult to put down. Jim Doyle, ( the Nothing Man) is given a voice, but boy his words will chill your blood!
* Thank you to Netgalley and Atlantic Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review *
Rating: really liked it
What could be better than a book within a book especially when that book is so freaking good!?!
Eve Black was only 12 years old when she survived the Nothing Man. Her family, unfortunately was not that lucky. Their killer has been dubbed the nothing man because he leaves no clues behind. A man who entered his victims homes, often leaving rope and a knife hidden under the couch cushions to only come back later and terrorize and at at times kill his victims.
Eve is no longer a child, she is a grown woman with an agenda - she is going to catch the Nothing Man. A writer from a young age, Eve has written a true crime memoir about the Nothing Man, his victims and her personal experience with him the night he killed her family.
Jim Doyle is a supermarket security guard who is obsessed with reading Eve's memoir. He gets up in the night to sneak in some reading. With every page he turns, his anger and rage grows for
HE is the Nothing Man.
This book is told through the past and the present and through Eve's memoir. I enjoyed the book while reading it but after completing it, I found myself still thinking about it, or shall I say the clever way in which Catherine Ryan Howard executed this book, specifically the book within the book and the interactions between the characters. Brilliant! Plus, did you see her name in the acknowledgements section?
This became a real page turner for me. Knowing who the Nothing Man was and how he became even more incensed while he read the book, was a fabulous touch and the twist!?! How about that! Seriously, I did not see
THAT coming!
Riveting and addictive, this was a brilliantly plotted page turner which was well written and perfectly paced.
Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Edelweiss who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
Honestly, THIS is what a thriller should be! As a long time fan of Catherine Ryan Howard, and having read all of her crime fiction to date, I can attest to the fact that she is not a one trick pony. She does mystery, suspense, and all around thrilling storylines with the ease of a seasoned vet, and I am hard pressed to choose a favorite novel that she has written because they're all so engaging. The beauty of The Nothing Man is that the reader is acquainted with the identity of the killer in the first chapter, thus removing the barrier of distraction surrounding the "whodunnit twist" and returning the focus on controlling the anticipation of the game of cat and mouse at hand. The ebb and flow of tension is expertly achieved, and the small details included, such as the author's name on the acknowledgements of Eve Black's book, really put this over the top. If you enjoy top notch thrilling entertainment featuring a book within a book, you desperately need to get your hands on this book!
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
Rating: really liked it
MinatoryCatherine Ryan Howard has composed a book that lifts to unique levels the experience of reading thrillers, with a wily plot of perilous tension, and a writing craft that amplifies the fascination with the cold remorseless mind of a serial killer.
The remarkable sense of this thriller is that it feels like a true crime story because it is so vividly portrayed with an observational quality and depth of rational thinking that imbue a notion of reality. Yet in Catherine Howard’s own words “this is a work of fiction even the facts are fiction”. Truly an outstanding thriller that skilfully holds the question of hunter versus hunted on a tantalising edge.
Eve Black was twelve years old when her family was slaughtered by the Nothing Man. A killer so named because the police could find 'nothing' in their investigations as to his identity. The only survivor of that fateful night, Eve, has suffered for a long time from unresolved issues and a pang of guilt that has been circling her, a loss that she feels to her core, and a need for retribution that has lasted for nearly twenty years. Determined to discover who the Nothing Man is, Eve writes a memoir novel called
The Nothing Man to try and flush him out.
“I was the girl who survived the Nothing Man. Now I am the woman who is going to catch him ... You’ve just read the opening pages of The Nothing Man, the true-crime memoir Eve Black has written about her obsessive search for the man who killed her family nearly two decades ago. Supermarket security guard Jim Doyle is reading it too, and with each turn of the page, his rage grows. Because Jim was – is – the Nothing Man.”
Knowing who the Nothing Man is, is not a spoiler but rather gives us knowledge that Eve doesn’t have and creates a tense element of drama. The story is narrated from the perspectives of Eve and Jim Doyle. The clever structure of this novel adds unique perspectives which provide a book within a book to tell parts of the story and build The Nothing Man’s rage to finish the job.
Images of the cruelty surface every now and again to remind the reader of how cold-hearted the killer was. A psychopathic killer without limits treating murder as a chilling satisfaction of dominance. A Garda officer at the time Ed has always kept the case alive and now works with Eve to flush the killer out.
“I imagined him feeling safe, maybe even smug, sure that since he had avoided detection all these years, no one was ever going to come for him now. But I was coming for him, with Ed by my side. It was only a matter of time.”
The enthralling suspense that plays out is wonderfully maintained throughout the novel and leads to a cleverly crafted climax.
One of the best thrillers in 2020 and I would highly recommend it. I would like to thank Atlantic Books, Corvus and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
5+ outstanding stars!
This brilliant and creepy book blew my mind! I was utterly addicted — my mind was thinking of this book even when I wasn’t reading it — anxiously awaiting the next time I could steal a few moments (or hours) to sit down and inhale this story.
Eve Black’s family was murdered in their family home when she was a child. Twelve-year-old Eve was the only survivor after her mother, father and younger sister were found brutally murdered. Two decades later, the murderer still has not been found. He is a serial killer known only as The Nothing Man who has been linked to several other murders and rapes in the area. As a form of therapy and with the hope of igniting fresh perspective on the unsolved murders, Eve writes a book outlining each of The Nothing Man’s victims including her own family. The publication of her book sparks a lot of interest and creates a new generation of “armchair sleuths” intrigued by the cases and wanting to help find the murderer.
The creep factor is high! I felt nervous as I read about how The Nothing Man stalked and killed his victims. I checked the locks on my doors more than a couple times while reading this. The way this story unfolds is ingenious — extremely clever, unique and thoroughly captivating.
This easily earns a top spot in my 2020 Favourites List. Today is publication day for this stunning novel — make sure you get your hands on a copy ASAP!
Thank you to Edelweiss and Atlantic books for my review copy!
Rating: really liked it
4.5 STARSMy first by the author and the plot was clever and kept me turning pages to see what would come next.
The serial killer from the past VS the survivor/ victim.... A heck of a cat and mouse game!We know who they are (each POV), but we don't know their plan or who will "catch" who until it is played out in the end.
She wrote a book about the attack.
He is reading it.
Only one can win, but who?
An intense, but not overly graphic (thank you) serial killer thriller. Just enough intrigue and tension to keep you glued to the pages. I love a good chase and this was well plotted with suspense and you may want to read it in the daytime like I did!
Thanks so much to EW and the publisher for my review copy. This one is OUT on August 20,2020
Rating: really liked it
this is quite unlike any other crime/thriller i have read before. it takes true crime to a completely different level.
its a novel within a novel and the serial offender has his hands on it. but what happens when the survivors version of events doesnt match the criminals?
with many layers of investigation and reporting that feel so real, and little easter eggs referencing both SRH and her previous book,
‘the liars girl,’ this was a real treat to enjoy.
a very memorable story and a must read for true crime enthusiasts.
↠ 4.5 stars
Rating: really liked it
Nothing to see here, except a thriller that’s flipping awesome!!!
While it’s not one of my favorite traits, I’m the type of person that checks all the streaming services each weekend for what “murder stories” have debuted. When there’s a new true crime documentary, my Friday night is set. Get your hands on The Nothing Man now if you can relate.
Its premise and execution are quite brilliant. A “retired” serial killer named Jim, dubbed “The Nothing Man” because the Irish Garda (police) have nothing on him, discovers a true crime book about him and naturally decides to read it. Chapters about him in his present-day life are interspersed with the actual book itself. Readers are treated to the entire book within the book, including the copyright page and acknowledgements.
Jim and his unsolved crime spree gave me the Golden State Killer vibes. Now that GSK has been caught, it was easy to picture an old man reliving his glory days through a true crime profile about him and wondering if he had it in him to kill again. If you are familiar with GSK’s crimes, then you know they are quite horrendous. Fair warning then that parts of The Nothing Man include brutal scenes of rape and murder.
But here’s the real genius of Howard’s novel… Even though we know who the killer is from the get-go, there are still plenty of surprises revealed along the way. The result is a completely satisfying thriller that will make you want to read everything she’s written. What could be better than that? Nothing.
The Nothing Man is currently available on the Hoopla library app in both the e-book and audiobook formats.
Blog: https://www.confettibookshelf.com/
IG: @confettibookshelf
Rating: really liked it
Catherine Ryan Howard writes a psychological thriller that is undoubtedly destined to become a bestseller, a book within a book thriller that is not about whodunnit, more a documentation of lives destroyed, and the chilling exploration and examination of the nooks and crannies of the disturbed and horrifying mind of a serial killer dubbed The Nothing Man. Eve Black was 12 years old where her life was torn apart, she was the sole survivor of a killer that was guilty of home invasions, rapes and murders. She lost her parents and younger sister to The Nothing Man, and its barely surprising that she never got over this terrifying trauma, the kind of trauma that will eventually lead to her researching him and his other victims and write a true crime book. Jim Doyle is a 63 year old security guard, a man with a completely forgettable persona, non-descript, to all intents and purposes, the invisible man.
Doyle is The Nothing Man, the man who evaded justice for his heinous crimes and a 30 year old Eve, with the help and support of a detective, is determined to ensure justice is served, hoping to lure out the now dormant murderer through her true crime book about him and his victims. Doyle happens to see the book, a book that he feels is getting too close to him, too dangerous, as he sets out to kill once again. In a riveting narrative that goes back and forth in time, the author gives us a tense and beautifully plotted novel, a thrilling, memorable and compulsive read that I think many crime readers will love. Many thanks to Atlantic Books for an ARC.
Rating: really liked it
A book within a book! Now you gotta’ love that! Right!?💁🏻♀️
Jim Doyle is suffering through a dead-end job as a security guard in a low end department store. A job he loathes. While perusing a true-crime novel he discovers something jaw-dropping. The novel is written about him! His story! That’s right, Jim
is the notorious Nothing Man serial killer who’s been on the lam for years.
Catherine Ryan Howard has crafted a unique, imaginative thriller that has you reading the crime novel right along with Jim.
I laughed when I saw Catherine Ryan Howard’s name appear in the acknowledgments at the end of the inner novel
Nothing Man! Ingenious!🤣
The second book I’ve read by this author. And each time, her concept is so cleverly unexpected on how the story-line is presented to the reader! Thank you for always having something new and different!
Thank you to Edelweiss and Blackstone Publishing.
Rating: really liked it
Amazing!!I happily give this book 𝙁𝙄𝙑𝙀 stars, with 𝙕𝙀𝙍𝙊 hesitation.
My favorite thriller of the year. Easy.
" 𝙅𝙞𝙢 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠. 𝙄𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙𝙡𝙮, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙚. "
Two POVs - A serial killer called The Nothing Man and Eve, his survivor that's out to catch him - merge but also dance around each other in clever, heart stopping ways.
This book was a pleasure to read. From start to finish!
