This is only my second David Jackson book, and I see that when I read Your Deepest Fear I was excited by the potential for a new author whose style fits my sense of what a creepy thriller should be. I do like a book where everything the reader knows is seen from the perspective of the killer, and this is just the right vehicle for David Jackson’s disturbed serial killer, Thomas Brogan.

Now, I have to admit, somewhat shockingly, that I enjoyed this book. Whether that says something about me, I don’t know, but it is mildly disturbing that I can feel so warmly towards a novel that is creepy, involves unpleasant murders, rotting corpses and a killer who has conversations with the voices in his head. Yet, I do feel kindly towards it and I was thoroughly entertained by it.

Brogan is a disturbed individual. On the run from the police he literally stumbles in tan abandoned house at the end of a terrace, which, fortuitously for him, has an attic space that hasn’t been bricked off by the individual houses. Thus he has the run of the three remaining houses – or really two, because one householder has the presence of mind to have a rather large dog.

We see the other residents through the eyes of Brogan as a voyeur and visitor to their houses when they occupants are out, or in Elsie’s case, in bed. The focus of his attention is the couple in the end house. Young and attractive, he enjoys playing games by finding out their secrets and using them to conduct a form of psychological warfare on them.

It helps that all is not perfect in their marriage and Brogan enjoys exploiting those flaws and creating a rift between them, all the while waiting for his moment to alert them to his presence.

As the reader spends time with him in the attic, we get a sense of why he is as disturbed, what his background has been and it is hard not to feel some sympathy for this disturbed human being whose sense of humanity still lurks somewhere inside, deeply repressed and in constant argument with his other self.

Even as he creeps around the houses, helping himself to food, taking showers, rifling their drawers, you sense that playing with the objects of his attention is all part of the enjoyment for this sadistic killer.

Verdict: Fast-paced, creepy and nicely twisty. There is a lot of dark comedy built into this book, which saves it from being unremittingly bleak. It is written with a light and easy hand. I was completely absorbed by it and thoroughly enjoyed it. A stonking good read!

It’s the stuff of nightmares, that feeling of being watched, bumps in the night, a serial killer living in your attic.....

I’m glad I don’t live alone and just saying I’m also glad I live in a detached bungalow where the loft is difficult for me to get in to never mind an unhinged serial killer.

The Resident is a disturbing read, a look in to the mind of a complete psychopath, a man who enjoys torture, both physical and mental with a bit of murder thrown in.  It follows Thomas Brogan, his passion for killing has left a long line of bodies, his last spree nearly got him caught and he finds himself on the run.  With nowhere to go he finds himself holing up in an abandoned terrace house.

He is a curious man and as he explores the house he finds himself in the loft and to his delight he finds that there isn’t a full wall between him and the next house, rubbing his hands in glee (he might not have but he strikes me as the type) he unleashes his inner voyeur and sets about finding out if there is anyone is the other houses he can play with.  Urgh, that last bit gives me the chills!

The first house belongs to an old infirm lady, the second house belongs to an older couple and their dog and the last house belongs to a young couple.  He is enthralled and starts finding ways to enter their homes, steal food, have showers and poke about.

Brogan has a mind that doesn’t switch off, he argues with himself, he plays out scenarios in his mind and as the book progresses his ventures in to the house in the terrace becomes bolder.  The residents oblivious to his comings and goings until one night he comes face to face with Elsie, the old lady in the first house and from then one he becomes even more unhinged as different emotions plague his mind.

Thomas Brogan is a sadistic, clearly screwed up in the head individual.  The story is told from his point of view and it keeps you gripped as he creeps and crawls his way through the lives of these poor unexpecting people.  The Resident paints a gruesome picture as we learn more about Brogan’s past and we learn what he is capable off.

I enjoyed it but don’t say I didn’t warn you, it may keep you up at night.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Now this is what I call a thriller! I haven't read any of David Jackson's books before but you can be sure I will be soon. In a nutshell The Resident is about a serial killer on the run who takes shelter in an abandoned house and then discovers that he can access the other houses in that row through their joined attics. And then chaos (and psychological torture) ensues. Brogan (the killer) has two seemingly separate identities within himself and so there is an almost constant running narrative / conversation with himself about what's happening, what' he's thinking, what should happen next etc. And although this is a little weird to get used to at the beginning it does create a good pace within the book, as in it keeps things moving during times of actual little action such as when Brogan is just stuck in the attic waiting for the residents to come home.
We do get to learn some of Brogan's childhood and the things that have led to him being a serial killer which was interesting and I enjoyed how that then led us to why he makes the decisions that he does with regards to who he will kill and who he will spare.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting more and its firmed up my love of thrillers told from the villain's perspective. I wasn't happy when I had to stop reading to deal with life stuff. The one small thing that dropped this book from a 5 star to a 4 star for me was that I wanted the ending to be a bit more gruesome and gory. From learning through the story about the other people Brogan had killed and the ways he had tortured them prior to death it felt a bit like I was being promised more would come but then it didn't really. 
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Oh my word this book was fantastic.   It is a creepy and at times a stomach churning crime thriller. There are also some excellent funny one liners in it. I just loved the creepiness and also the dark humour.   5 ⭐️

The Resident by David Jackson is a super-creepy, chilling, suspenseful thriller that is very clever but also sometimes slightly stomach-churning.  The new Resident on the block is a serial killer who watches and learns about his new prey before making his fatal moves.  To make things interesting, he intently listens to their conversations and from behind the scenes adds a little “spice” to their relationships.

We get some glimpses into the killer’s backstory which confirms that he is a character with a complicated past which goes some way to explaining what he does.  The three other characters in the book are vividly portrayed and we get a lot more from them than we might have expected!

So, you want to get inside the head of a serial killer - well step right in my friend, this is the book for you.

This isn't just your average serial killer, this one likes to play with them first, the trouble is they don't even know he is there, in the house. The other weird thing is that this one is likeable too. As a reader we learn his story, what makes both of them tick, yes that's right both of them. If you want to know more you are going to have to read it.

As a debut novel this is a real cracker, I have to admit I was a little skeptical - you know when you see a book with a great long list of quotes recommending you read it. Then you get it and can't see what all the hype is about, this book is nothing like that. It is an exciting riproaring tale, you find yourself egging on the killer and awaiting the next move. Written with a great insight into the human soul. Clever, witty and hugely entertaining.

#TheResident #NetGalley

There’s a serial killer on the run and he’s living in your attic spying on you , and eating your food when your not home .  What a creepy read!

Creepy as heck! Anyone else boarding up their loft hatch after reading this book? Is it wrong that I began to empathise with the serial killer? I'm not sure saying that I enjoyed this is entirely appropriate but I absolutely recommend it!

Well okay. So I have to admit this book has left me with mixed feelings. Not in a bad way, the book is most excellent and kept me glued to the page from start to finish. It's just that I am starting to wonder whether I just have a very dark mind or whether, given the modern horror that is covid, and lockdown, and all the fun (?) that goes with it all, there is nothing left in this world that can shock or unnerve me. I say that because the premise of this story - essentially a murderer, on the run, spying on his new 'neighbours' and planning all kinds of dastardly deeds - didn;t shock me or unnerve me in quite the way I thought it probably should. I mean - I have an attic, connected in a row of terraced houses, Not been up there in years and have no idea if the neighbours could drop in unannounced or whether one has taken the trouble to block off the spaces between houses. Anything is possible.

I think that part of the problem may be that, as twisted, creepy and just plain strange as Brogan was, i sort of kind of liked him. Despite learning, as we do, throughout the course of the novel just what he has been up to prior to the start of the book, I couldn't bring myself to totally dislike him. In fact there were elements of his character I could sympathise with, and certainly his soul was not quite as black as the circumstances may make it appear. He is definitely a killer - no question about that, and, when pushed, he is one evil  SOB, but he also has a softer side too as demonstrated in his relationship with one of the residents, Elsie. Now, to be fair, Brogan does take more than he gives in this all too strange friendship that develops, but it does make you think about the complexities of his psyche and the fact that killers are not necessarily all inherently evil. And the story does make you think long and hard about whether killers are born or made, but I'll leave you to make your own judgements on that.

There are moments of high tension throughout the book, where the authors skill at drawing me deeper into the story comes to the fore, And there are plenty of moments of voyeurism that make the skin crawl, and these are the moments that I know I am not a completely hopeless case as those are the times when Brogan is not in the least bit likeable. But then again, neither are all of his neighbours and, in some cases, you do feel it is a case of karma taking over, even if karme seems to be suffering the mother of all hangovers and taking the retribution just a few steps too far. Okay - so they actually were giant leaps too far, but who's checking? 

What I did enjoy about this book (aside from the odd mindless murder that was eventually described - Brogan is quite inventive bless him), was the way in which the author really set the scene and made you feel you were there. From the way he took you through each of the individual houses, creating a real sense of place as Brogan 'called in' on each of his neighbours, through to the unpleasant side effects of his gaining a new housemate a little later on in the story, everything was so vividly described and authentic that I almost felt the need to go and grab a can of Raid from the kitchen. And the exploration of Brogan's emotions, mixed up as they were, really made me invested in him as a character. 

As I said at the beginning, mixed emotions. I'm just not sure if I should have been more on edge than I was. The whole idea of such voyeurism, that the neighbours were all sitting ducks and they never even knew it, even down to Brogan's obsession with Colette, certainly made the skin prickle but I suppose it is the skill of the author that kept it just the right side of too creepy, that he managed to make me want to read more about Brogan, knowing that he should, and hopefully would, get his comeuppance, but certainly enjoying tagging along for the ride in the meantime. The pacing was spot on, not lingering on anyone aspect of the story for too long, and I whizzed through the whole thing in an evening. And as well as Brogan, I really did like the character of Elsie, as befuddled as she was for most of the story, bless her.

Definitely a book I'd recommend but, if you are a sensitive wee soul who lives at the end of a row of terraced houses with any empty properties in the row, you may just want to take a quick check around the attic first. Just saying.

I am a huge fan of David Jackson. He never disappoints, and he hasn't disappointed with this book.

This is going to be a brief review because I don't like to include spoilers in my reviews, and there's not much I can say about this without giving the game away.

Brogan is a murderer on the run. He finds an abandoned house and takes refuge there. When he investigates the attic he discovers that he can access the three houses next door, and that opens up all kinds of possibilities for Brogan. 

This book is everything you need it to be. It's creepy, dark, brutal and gritty. The character of Brogan is very well written. You are never meant to like him (obviously, he's a killer) but you do come to understand him, and not quite feel sorry for him. As unbelievable as the story is, it's still a little bit too close to home if you have an attic! Just make sure your loft hatch is always secure...

This is a creepy psychological thriller that is one of a kind. I’ve not read a story like this one before so hats off to David Jackson for coming up with such an original idea. 
Thomas Brogan is a serial killer on the run and whilst being chased by the Police he comes across an abandoned, boarded up house. He breaks in and makes his way through the house, seeing what’s there and then discovers the attic. He realises there’s no dividing wall between the attics of the four houses so starts to investigate. 
He soon gets to know the residents of the houses and plots his next kill. 
He doesn’t expect to like any of them so when a little old lady finds him in her house, and thinks he’s her son, he goes along with it. However, his conscience is telling him she can’t stay alive and he must kill her. 
Events get taken out if Brogan’s control and soon he’s confined to one area and things have to change. 
This is a gripping thriller that definitely had me hooked. 
Thanks to Viper and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I have previously enjoyed a number of David Jackson’s Callum Doyle and Nathan Cody books. This stand alone, however, did not work for me. Thomas Brogan, serial killer, is on the run from police. He needs a place to lie low for a while. He finds an abandoned house at the end of a row of terrace houses and breaks in. It’s manky but will do for now. A ladder on an upstairs landing gives him an idea. He climbs up and checks out the attic space. To his delight there is no separation in the attic space between the four houses meaning he might be able to sneak into the other houses.

The story is narrated by Brogan and his unnamed alter ego. The two exchange short, choppy dialogue with no quotation marks but it’s easy enough to follow. Over a couple of weeks he befriends an old lady who thinks Brogan is her long dead son, Alex and feeds him whenever he drops in. He also spies on a young couple while plotting to mess with their heads before killing them. But things don’t go quite according to plan.

I didn’t find anything funny in this book. The major problem with it was, there isn’t much of a plot. Not much actually happens. There seems to be no point to the story and I certainly didn’t think it was creepy. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and David Jackson for providing a copy for me to review.

David Jackson’s The Resident is a powerful, spine-chilling and thought provoking thriller. It plays on our greatest fear - not being safe in our own home - but exploits this in a refreshingly unique way, making it an intense and exciting must-read!

Fleeing the police after his latest slaying, serial killer Thomas Brogan discovers an empty end terrace. He decides to temporarily evade the police in the derelict house, before moving on to his next victims. However, upon further exploration, he discovers that the loft space provides him access to the three other terraces in the block. It looks like his next victims have just offered themselves up to him...

I really enjoyed how The Resident is written from the serial killer’s perspective, as it gave the narrative an authentic voice and helped heighten suspense. As well as being chilled by the thought of someone like Brogan being in the house, there were moments of genuine tension when it seemed that he may be discovered. Practically every chapter ended on a cliffhanger that made me want to continue reading and I flew through the book in a couple of days. Jackson has created a narrative that progresses at a lightning pace, which makes The Resident extremely engaging and easy to read. There are a number of surprise twists in events and unexpected shock reveals, so there were moments where I was literally screaming “Noooooooo!!” at my Kindle! Much of the surprise derived from the characters that Brogan terrorises, Colette and Martyn. The married couple seem idyllic at first impression, but very quickly the true nature of their relationship and characters unravels under Brogan’s omnipresent, watchful eye. Neither Colette or Martyn are quite what they seem and Brogan’s astute observations build them into equally intriguing characters. As the novel progressed I definitely didn’t want Brogan to succeed in his plans with them, but as events crescendo to their exhilarating conclusion, there are moments where it’s clear that the couple are far from innocent themselves. Ultimately, I felt that Jackson very aptly demonstrated that none of us are entirely good or entirely evil...although some of us try very hard to prove otherwise.

Writing from Brogan’s perspective also gives the reader an insight into his mind, which adds an additional layer of both intrigue and drama to the proceedings. The conversations between Brogan’s personas are both enlightening and at times heartbreaking. His backstory is affecting - there are events that quite clearly lead him on to his reprehensible path - and garners an element of sympathy for him. Similarly, the relationship he builds with elderly resident Elsie allows the human side of Brogan to be developed and this also helps him become a well-rounded and multi-layered character. There were even points during his interactions with Elsie where I thought Brogan may reform and the human side of his psyche win out. What I found most interesting about Brogan’s characterisation is that he is far from the faceless, unknown killer that meanders menacingly through most thrillers - he is desperate flawed, but very much a product of an unfortunate upbringing and a lonely life. It doesn’t make him any less disturbing or despicable, but it does add substance to him as the perpetrating character and adds layers and complexity to this very well written tale.

I highly recommend this thriller for fans of the genre and those looking for something a little different from the norm.

This book was actually very terrifying.  Thomas is a ruthless killer who loves the thrill of the hunt.  We do see cracks in his facade on occasions but the other voice in Thomas's head allows no remorse or time for reflection.  In fact, it just encourages Thomas to do the unthinkable.  I loved the concept behind the book; a serial killer on the loose, hiding in people's attics.  That thought alone is enough to scare you half to death.  What was really interesting was getting to know the residents of those three houses which Thomas had access to.  The first, the lovely Elsie, an elderly women living on her own with the aid of careers who visited twice a day.  Elsie's and Thomas' relationship was actually very touching.  She was the only resident to see Thomas as he entered her house during the early morning hours and it is through Elsie that we see a softer side to Thomas.

The second residents, Jack and Pam, a married couple who argued constantly.  It soon became clear that Thomas needed to avoid visiting this house after a close call of nearly getting caught.  The last set of residents, Martyn and Colette, a young married couple who were out working most of the day which allowed the perfect opportunity to enter their house.  Martyn and Colette soon became Thomas' obsession and the next targets, he would spend hours watching them and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.  

I thought this book was very clever and well written.  Because the story line was so credible it amped up the fright factor.  There were times when I was literally on the edge of my seat.  The ending for me was just brilliant, I can honestly say I had no inkling as to what might happen but for me it was the perfect ending.  The Resident is a gripping psychological thriller that I couldn't get enough of.

Many thanks to Serpent's Tail for inviting me to join the blog tour and Netgalley for a copy of my ARC.

With thanks to Netgalley and Pigeonhole, the publishers and the author for the arc, which I have enjoyed reading.
The Resident by David Jackson was an excellent thriller, the suspense built up with every chapter and left the reader wanting to know what happens next. The storyline was excellent and well thought out, the characters were interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
Highly recommended.

Unfortunately this book wasnt for me.  It failed to grab me and I found it a little slow. Thank you for the opportunity.

Known serial killer Thomas Brogan is on the run from the police after the brutal murders of the Carter’s. After finding refuge in an abandoned end terrace, Brogan soon discovers the terrace houses are connected by open lofts and his next victims are his for the choosing.

This is the first book I have read by David Jackson and I really enjoyed it - although I doubt I will be going in the loft any time soon. Throughout the book, the narrator is Brogan and his double personality: almost a Jekyll and Hyde aspect with the stronger killer instinct winning Brogans inner battles. Being written in this way gave an insight into Brogans past and how his childhood shaped his view of loving things. Later there is blame placed on the relationship he has had with women and his need to kill couples. 

Alongside Brogan we meet the other residents. Elsie an elderly lady is the only character that sees Brogan, who she believes is her dead son Alex. I found this part interesting as we see a softer side to Brogan, with no urgency to kill her he seems to enjoy her company on his late night food visits.

The relationship he begins to have with Elsie is abruptly stopped when he becomes trapped in the loft of Martyn and Colette (a young married couple with their own secrets). At this point the psychological games really begin and we meet Thomas Brogan the serial killer. From written messages in the mirror to spying through the hole in the ceiling, the sense of creepiness resonates off the page. I had a few weird dreams after reading this. 

I would really recommend reading this book to anyone looking to read a fast paced psychological thriller. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I’m afraid I didn’t get far into this one at all, and while I very rarely DNF books I cannot honestly endorse one that starts off by so clearly demonising mental illnesses such as schizophrenia as well as using them for a plot device. A shame as the premise sounds killer but I can’t support these harmful cliches in literature!

Unfortunately this book didnt grab me from the start. I was waiting for something to happen . I did get confused with Brogan's internal dialogue. A disappointing psychological thriller

Very dark serial killer tale set in a terraced row of houses with interlocking attics. The perpetrator is hiding from a police pursuit in an abandoned property when he discovers the attics of the neighbours are one and not blocked off giving potential access to more victims. And so the tale progresses from a relationship forming with an elderly woman to his voyeuristic behaviour with a young couple in the final property. It all builds to a horrific final chapter. Darkly troubling!