The Nothing Man

Go ahead and add this one to your reading stack post haste. This book was every bit as good as everybody says- plus the added layers of what I found to be a fascinating Irish setting. It's a book within a book in that a serial killer-who is our narrator-sees a newly released book about his killings-as told by the only survivor of one of his last crimes. We then get chapters and pieces of the book she wrote interspersed with his present day life. Not only is it an ingenious plot structure, it's also surprisingly gripping. I absolutely couldn't put this book down once I got about midway. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading nonstop until I knew how it would end. Highly recommend.

3.5. Clearly influenced by EARONS/GSK and Michelle McNamara's phenomenal I'll Be Gone in the Dark, this was a heavy yet propulsive read.

3.75
Such a unique and fun read!! Unlike anything i have read before. From the beginning itself we know who the killer is and since it is told from his pov we get a glimpse into his mind and thoughts which was kinda creepy at times.

This has the book within a book trope and the other pov was the true crime memoir of eve black. The memoir was written in such a way that you feel like you are reading an actual true crime book! And there were many times while reading where I got the chills coz some parts were so descriptive and I felt like I was watching a movie. Actually it was so freaky at times that I had to stop and take a break and then continue. Im glad I read it as soon as I bought it coz otherwise it would have been on my shelf for a loongg time. If you love true crime, book within a book, told from serial killers pov you will prob enjoy this!! Highly recommend:)

i really enjoyed this book the first half wasnt as good as the last half because it was just information we already knew but the second half made up for it and was SO ENTERTAINING and i enjoyed it a lot and the true crime refrences and the book inside of a book.

The Nothing Man offers something a bit different to the serial killer, cat-and-mouse thriller staple and two nights running I read up until midnight because I wanted to know what would happen. Initially, the book-in-a-book idea made me a little sceptical but I needn't have been. We have two narrators; the first, of our book, is Jim Doyle, who we already know is the serial killer in question; the second, of the book he's reading, is Eve Black, a woman who survived Jim's most brutal attack as a child. Neither are 100% trustworthy, which adds some nice extra layers of mystery. Catherine Ryan Howard has done well to make Jim a really odious figure and - despite him being our primary narrator - we really want him to get caught.

Added bonus is this is not a thriller set in America, like so many are; it's set in Ireland, in otherwise sleepy Co. Cork, and this gives the impact of the murders a little more punch because they truly stand out in the collective memories and because we know then that law enforcement was never prepared for such crimes.

Overall, this is a captivating read and well worth looking into for a bit of a different approach to storytelling in the thriller genre.