REVIEW:

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 book 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.

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

At the age of twelve, Eve Black was the only member of her family to survive an encounter with serial attacker the Nothing Man. Now an adult, she is obsessed with identifying the man who destroyed her life.

Supermarket security guard Jim Doyle has just started reading The Nothing Man - the true-crime memoir Eve has written about her efforts to track down her family's killer. As he turns each page, his rage grows. Because Jim's not just interested in reading about the Nothing Man. He is the Nothing Man.

Jim soon begins to realize how dangerously close Eve is getting to the truth. He knows she won't give up until she finds him. He has no choice but to stop her first...