Thank you Catherine Ryan Howard for giving me such a read for my final book of 2022. A book about a serial killer might seem an unusual choice to rate so highly, but this was clever…and once I’d started I really didn’t want to put it down.
The story focuses on a decades-old series of crimes committed by the killer dubbed the Nothing Man. Though he seems to have got away with his crimes, Eve Black survived the attack on her family. She was twelve when The Nothing Man broke into her home, killed her younger sister, raped her mother and left her father dead at the bottom of the stairs. Eve has taken years to feel comfortable talking about her experience, and has now written a book that examines what happened.
Eve’s book has become something of a runaway hit, and it has everyone in Cork talking about this killer. No traces of him were ever found at the scenes of his crimes, and nobody linked to the attacks is seemingly able to offer any details that could help to catch him. But Eve maintains that her book will help in the ongoing pursuit of this killer.
Alongside the fictional book that has generated such interest, we are given the character of Jim. Never has a title felt more fitting as Jim was - is - The Nothing Man. Now in his early sixties, and a security guard in a local shopping centre, Jim’s viewpoint focuses on him learning about the book and his desperate attempts to find out exactly what Eve recalls of that night…and how he can stop her before she reveals what she knows.
From start to finish this was a compelling read. While the details given about the crimes were sparse, enough was given to help us understand the horror of such scenes. I was strangely absorbed by the character of Jim and the insight into his mind, though the real hit was the decision to let the story unfold through the pages of this fictional book.
A clever read, which was paced perfectly, and which I’m surprised not to have heard more about. It’s certainly one that I’d recommend

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was an intriguing read. I loved reading this from the point of the killer and found it entertaining that he was often so disgruntled. A fab book

Absolutely blew my mind!
A genius slice of chilling and brilliant thrill! The way Catherine writes gets under those layers of skin, and definitely leaves you with your jaw on the floor!

Fantastic creepy thriller. I absolutely loved the concept of a serial killer reading a book about himself by one of his survivors. It becomes a cat and mouse game in the end and still manages to take some unexpected twists and turns.

This book is chilling! Set in Cork, Ireland, 18 years ago. In the early hours, someone entered the Black family home, killing a father, mother and their young daughter. Their 12 year old daughter - Eva, was found in the family home. She meets Garda (police officer) Edward Healy that night, and something within him changes. Finding The Nothing Man becomes his obsession.

Young Eva has had almost everyone she loves taken from her. She wants her story to be heard, so she writes it down, in the hope that somehow the nothing man will be caught. But where will this lead? Dark, stunning storytelling. Well worth a read.

Wow. What a fantastic book. Really enjoyed the book inside a book premise and getting the story from 2 opposing points of view.

Twenty years ago, a serial killer hit homes in an area of County, Cork, in Ireland, leaving devastation in his wake. There were a couple of survivors including 12-year-old Eve Black who woke up to find her entire family dead in the house. Now Eve Black has written a book about The Nothing Man, her experiences with grief and her determination to discover who he is all these years later.

Jim Doyle is reading The Nothing Man, and the more he reads, the angrier he gets because he is The Nothing Man, and he remembers the night he murdered Eve Black's family, alongside all of the other people he terrified and tortured. Now he's ready to come out of retirement and he knows who his next victim will be.

This book is a genuinely very creepy and ofttimes terrifying read (especially if you have any fears of burglary, night stalkers or sleep alone!) but I really loved the premise of it. The book worked really well on audiobook due to the dual narration - Eve Black's portions of her book, and then Jim's POV and his reaction to what Eve is saying.

Catherine Ryan Howard is definitely becoming an auto-read author for me as she writes thrillers I love - engrossing, quick to read and original.

Part of me would have loved a little twist in the end with the epilogue and Katie's POV as it felt all a bit too safe, and a little sad but I do think it reflected a line in the book about a one-way ticket to loneliness and that was handed to Eve at 12 years, and Katie when she was a young adult.

Thank you for providing me with an advance review copy of this book. Enjoyed reading, would recommend....

Terrifyingly brilliant. I was not able to put this book down, from the first to last page it ws gripping. I found I was holding my breath in places. My lights stayed on and unusual noises wre unnerving.
A twelve year old girl, her mother, father and sister slaughtered in the night while she is hiding in the bathroom. The killer was never found. Years on Eve releases a book in the hopes that memories would resurface from other victims and the "Nothing Man" would finally be caught.
A story of a survivor trying to reclaim her life.

Eve Black is the sole survivor of the serial killer “the Nothing Man” who terrorised Ireland twenty years ago. Her parents and sister were killed and she writes a book to see if anyone knows who the killer is.

A nondescript security guard, Jim, is taking an unhealthy interest in the book, because he claims to be the nothing man.

I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, but I did find Jim a bit creepy.

The format of this book is quite clever and it’s a book within a book. This is well done and isn’t confusing. It doesn’t interrupt the flow of the story at all and works well.

I expected a big twist in this book, but 70% in and nothing major had really happened. Even towards the end I wasn’t that surprised at what happened. It was a little predictable but still worth a read.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I would read more of her books.

Thanks to Atlantic Books and NetGalley for a copy to review.

As soon as I started this book i saw the links to the gokden state killer and couldn't help but wonder if it was just going to follow the same pattern.

It did in some respects but not others.

I did enjoy this book but was a bit repetitive in some areas. Enjoyable and will be reading more from this author

An interesting, fast paced twist filled thriller. A young woman writes a book about the horrific murder of her family by a serial killer who was never caught. Compelling storytelling.

I absolutely loved this book! Such a great concept and so creepy. I just couldn't put it down. Excellent read! 5 stars.

I absolutely loved this book within a book, the concept was something that I had never read before. I couldn’t put the book down, it was so compelling. This is my second book by the author and I’m excited to read more.

Eve Black is 30 years old.

When she was 12, a man broke into her family home and murdered her parents and her little sister.
The murderer is called The Nothing Man as he never leaves anything behind at any of his crime locations. Until this time. Eve is alive and now, as an adult, she is determined to catch him.

By writing a book, Eve is hopeful that it will jog some memories and maybe bring some new evidence to light.

In the supermarket, where he is a security guard, Jim Doyle sees The Nothing Man is for sale. As he begins to read it he gets angrier and angrier as he realises how close Eve is to discovering that he is in fact The Nothing Man.

Jim knows that he needs to stop Eve before it's too late.

I enjoyed this book and thought that the author was very good at creating the suspense that the victims would have felt.
The emotions that Eve had following the murder of her family as well as how as an adult she has managed to exist by not focusing on the past. Not particularly healthy, I'm sure, but we all do what we can to get through life.

Having the two points of view was good too and knowing who the murderer is from the off was something that I enjoyed especially when Jim began to realise that everything is unravelling around him.

I was really excited to read this after enjoying Rewind by the same author. Whilst this book was engaging and exciting, it didn’t quite pack the same punch as Rewind but a book I would recommend nonetheless.

I loved the idea behind this story - a true crime book in a thriller novel! Something completely different and unique. I found it really engaging that one of the main characters was reading the true crime at the same time as we did. Really clever writing and it hooks you completely!

Overall the idea of this book was great, I just felt there was something lacking and at times it was slow placed.

This book comes very highly recommended with lots of 5 star reviews and is my first by Catherine Ryan Howard so I had high hopes and was very excited to start it.

The book starts off with a bang – Jim Doyle, a seemingly average, unhappily married, middle-aged security guard who works in a department store starts his day as usual and then sees something that will change his life and not for the better. A new book called “The Nothing Man” has just been published – it’s the true life story of Eve Black, the only member of her family to survive a violent and murderous attack by the serial killer dubbed “The Nothing Man”. At 12 years old she was left the sole survivor and now years later Eve has written this book, tracking his movements and retelling the story of all the victims in the hope that someone will recognise this elusive killer and justice will be served.

However as Jim is The Nothing Man he has completely different ideas about justice and needs to know exactly what Eve remembers about that night and more importantly what she has uncovered.

The book is cleverly told from the warped and disturbed perspective of Jim, the serial killer and then through the pages of Eve’s book The Nothing Man.

I will admit that I actually found Jim’s chapters more interesting and gripping and whilst I don’t obviously agree with mass murder, stalking and serial killers I found it easier to “connect” with Jim’s chapters than reading Eve’s book which dragged slightly in places for me and was a tad confusing.

Overall it was a well written, clever and original story that all crime lovers should enjoy.

A clever and chilling cat-and-mouse thriller. A novel within a novel. 30-year-old Eve Black writes a True Crime memoir as a survivor from the brutal attack and murder of her Cork family when she was aged 12 by an Irish serial killer who became known as 'The Nothing Man'.
Ex-garda Jim Doyle was never caught. Now working as a supermarket security guard, he is shocked to see her new book on the shelf. As he reads it, his anger swells and he decides to stop her before she finds him.
A fast and creepy entertaining read that keeps your attention until it's satisfying conclusion.

This took me a few hours to read and I loved it! This had such an original story line and I have never read anything quite like this, and I feel that about @cathryanhoward other books too! This was so unique, with the serial killer reading a book about themselves. I like that although you get some story of the 'author' the main character basis is of the man. It had a really interesting vibe to it! This is one of those books that I wish I could read it for the first time again.

Twisted, gripping sinister what will happen next, had me gripped from start to finish. One of the best books I’ve read this year. Pleas write more!