This is an incredible piece of work, part written as a book within about a victims search to find the serial killer who murdered her family and part written from the perspective of the serial killer living his life now and reading and reacting to the book. What’s bizarre is that you are told early on what crimes he committed and you know his identity yet reading through still has you frantically turning the pages wanting to read the story and find out more. This was very original, very well written and one of the most gripping books I’ve read in a while.

'Wait, aren't you the girl who...?'
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Overall I would say I enjoyed this book. The structure was interesting in the way the perspectives changed between Eve the author, Eve in real life, and Jim (both reading the book and irl).
The parallels between the two characters were interesting, and this structure was certainly unique.
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However, while the narrative was very tense and gripping at times, there were parts of the story that were far too extrapolative for me to feel fully immersed in the story.
It felt as though some of this extrapolation was moving the plot forward, rather than it feeling more organic.
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There were a few elements of the story that also didn't quite feel believable to me. I do however appreciate this is a work of fiction, and that part of the plot is highlighting the sloppiness and ineptness of the serial killer.
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I did think throughout that the idea of the murderer being within the Gardai drew comparisons with the Golden State Killer, and noticed at the end the reference to Michelle Mcnamara's 'I'll Be Gone In The Dark'. I did also pick up on a reference very similar to the title of Billy Jensen's book.
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I definitely think that anyone who is interested in true crime stories, and a lot of listeners to the podcast My Favourite Murder, would definitely enjoy this book.

Wow! Another five star book this month. What an unusual and clever way to write a book about a serial killer. We read a book within a book and I liked the way the two intertwining stories have their own voice. I admired Eve a lot; she is a very strong character and I could see why she did not give up before she found the killer of her family (and several others). I liked the setting of Cork too - I've visited this beautiful city many times and although I wouldn't say I really know my way around in every part of the city, it felt like I was really there (minus the Nothing Man of course).
I would love to read more of this author.

I was given this book via Netgalley from Atlantic Books in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this book really intrigued me from the beginning. The reader switches from reading the book written about the Nothing Man to the Nothing Man’s perspective. I found this interesting in that you were given his perspective as he read the book for the first time. His reactions and his thought processes.

I did find the ‘book part’ of The Nothing Man a bit lengthy and in some respects, too much mundane commentary.

Due to this it took me far longer to finish this book as my attention waned and kept finding other things to distract me.

I really enjoyed the set up of this book as it is unlike anything I’ve read before - where you are reading a book about reading a book.

Overall the story is great and the concept a new one. I would recommend this as an interesting read for others.

This one is a quick and compelling read and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. The main character is Eve Black, you can think of her as the girl who lived. She survived a home invasion where her parents and younger sister were killed by The Nothing Man, so called because he left no clues behind with his crimes. Now, twenty years later, Eve is an adult and has written a book about him and her experience in the hopes of finally catching The Nothing Man. This was cleverly written and well-paced, I highly recommend a new fave of mine

Creepy crime thriller that flits between the girl who survived the massacre of her family and the man who did it- the man she calls the Nothing Man. Now the hunter has become the hunted as Eve Black releases her memoir.

Fascinating and unsettling at the same time. I was confused at first thinking was this a true story wrapped in fiction until I realised Eve is a writer and Jim is reading about the girl who got away .... from him.
Compelling, engrossing and yes a page turner. .

When we first meet Jim Doyle, he's about to get a shock. He's security at a supermarket and he's watching a woman who is acting suspiciously. She has a book tucked under her arm and he wonders if she's planning to pay for it. Suddenly it drops to the floor with the spine splayed upwards. Nothing Man by Eve Black, is the title. Why is Jim shocked? Well, Jim was - is - the Nothing Man who, until eighteen years ago raped and killed. The author of the book was twelve years old when Jim raped her mother, and then killed her, her father and her seven-year-old sister, Anna.

After the deaths, Eve went to live with her grandmother, Colette. They hid away at Spanish Point in case the Nothing Man should find Eve and remedy the fact that he left a job unfinished. After Colette's death Eve struggled for a long time - and then she decided that she wasn't going to let this defeat her. She was going to write the book of the Nothing Man - the story of all his attacks, not just the one which left her orphaned. And so, the stories of Alice O'Sullivan, Christine, Kiernan, Linda O'Neill, Marie Meara and Martin Connolly were told in the hope that someone, somewhere would remember something which would bring the killer to justice. And when it was published the subtitle was A survivor's search for the truth.

That's what Jim is now realising: Eve is a survivor, and she's just called him a loser. He was a member of An Guarda Síochána when he was active as the Nothing Man. He even knew Sgt Edward Healey (who helped Eve with the work on the book) but you wouldn't say that he was a friend. Jim didn't have friends: nobody was good enough for him and he knew that he was special, better than them all. It's going to take some work, but he's going to have to finish what he started eighteen years ago.

I'd never read anything from Catherine Ryan Howard before, but back in 2016 we reviewed Distress Signals and concluded that this lady could certainly write. That seemed like a good reason to try The Nothing Man and I'm delighted that I did. The location - the west coast of Ireland is brought to life superbly. It was an Ireland which took me back to The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan and it made me want to go there.

The characters are excellent. Eve comes off the page particularly well: you feel horror about the trauma she suffered and the way that it was extended by the steps her grandmother had to take to keep her safe. You understand how she let herself go after her grandmother's death and admire the way that she stepped out from all that mess and decided that her world was going to be run her way and she wasn't going to be defined by the what happened to her. There's nothing to like, or admire, about Jim Doyle, although he would disagree with you. There's dark humour in the way that he imagines dealing with his 26-year-old boss at the supermarket, but Jim's a dangerous man who has probably only got away with what he's done because he was a garda. We know whodunnit, so there's no great revelation to be had, but Ryan Howard is a master of suspense and you're not certain how it's going to work out until the final pages. It was a superb read and I'd like to thank the publishers for making a review copy available to the Bookbag.

I really enjoyed this and kept me gripped. The plot twists and the writing were well done. Definitely one to read with the lights on and doors locked.

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my netgalley copy to read.

This is a unique and fascinating concept and style of a book. A book within a book and who is reading the book..none other than its title . The nothing man.

Cleverly written and plotted. Dark and chilling as the truth gets nearer to the surface.

Will he get caught or will he get away with it?

Packed with tension and makes a gripping story.

Published 6th August

In 2001 Eve Black’s parents and seven year old sister Anna were murdered. She survived by locking herself in the bathroom. The killer was The Nothing Man - he’d previously raped three women and killed a couple. The Gardai had nothing on him hence the Nothing Man moniker in the press. Now, nearly twenty years later Eve has written a book about what happened to her and her family and the Nothing Man’s other victims and has vowed to discover his identity. Jim Doyle is a security guard in a department store and is shocked when he reads the blurb to Eve’s book because he was The Nothing Man.

Fantastic read from start to finish - the book reads as if you’re reading Eve’s book through Jim - couldn’t put it down.

Thanks to Netgalley, Atlantic Books and Catherine Ryan Howard for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

When a serial killer, dubbed by the press as "the Nothing Man" kills her family and leaves her as the only survivor, Eve's life is turned upside down. Years later, with the killer still unknown, Eve decides to revisit the case and investigate the evidence with fresh eyes. Jim is the killer that was never caught, he has to read her book to see how close she is and to work out if the police will be knocking at the door. I enjoyed this one. It was an unusual take on a serial killer story and that made it much more interesting. The book is well written and the plot kept me turning the pages. Would recommend this one.

This was a really good concept and a great read.
We know from the start that Jim is a killer. Now a security guard and a husband, no-one has ever discovered his past. But now the only victim to have survived his attack has written her story. And Jim realises how much she knows.
I couldn't put this book down.

4.5 stars.
First of all, I must say that this was a very clever concept for a book.
From the start to the finish this kept me completely enthralled.
Not only did it feel realistic but it had such great pacing, which meant that I couldn't wait to pick this up again and again to find out what would happen next.
It was great to see Jim caught as he was one of those characters who thought that he was untouchable and could get away with everything, as he had for decades.
It was also brilliant to see Eve grow as a character, as well as seeing her grow up from when everything originally happened until now.
The ending resolved everything well and I was glad to see it finish as it did.
I will definitely be looking to read more from this author as this was such a hit for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved Catherine Ryan Howard's Rewind
So this was a must read

If you are looking for a good, fast paced thriller this is for you
From the first word to the last you are hooked
This is cleverly written as a book within a book which works fantastically

All you need to come sit down, then to the first page and he prepared for the rollercoaster ride of the year.

Thank you netgalley, Catherine Ryan Howard and Atlantic Books for allowing me to read and review this book.

This book is written from the side of Eve, the survivor of a serial killer, and also the killer known as the Nothing Man. At 12, Eve was the lone surviving member of her family. As an adult she writes a book which she hopes will catch the killer but is she just putting herself in danger?

This was a very engaging read, I liked reading from the viewpoint of Eve and also of the killer. It was a well written book and I would recommend it.

This book is brilliant; a must-read.

I was absolutely transfixed by this book from the very beginning. It is one of those books that keep you reading to the early hours, not only a brilliant plot in the thriller genre but so well written.

Eve Black is now 30 years old living alone with hardly any friends and basically existing day-to-day. Her life had had no real meaning since she was 12 when both her parents and her little sister aged 7 were brutally murdered in their own home by a man known as The Nothing Man. Eve only escaped because she had got up to go to the bathroom minutes before the murderer arrived and he had been unaware of her presence in the house.

Eve cannot escape from her awful memories and in particular, her huge feelings of guilt that she was the only survivor. She cannot move on even 18 years later but as this book starts she has decided to write about her experiences not only to try and bring out into the open the horrific crime in the hope that some memories may be jogged. New evidence is brought to life but also in a cathartic way for her.

She is assisted in her quest by DI Edward Healey, who has always been fascinated by this crime and is passionate about trying to solve it. However although Eve’s family was the last murders involving The Nothing Man, DI Healey has also managed to link him to 4 other crimes, 3 sexual attacks and murder of a young married couple.

Where this book is so different to others in this genre is that half of the book is written by The Nothing Man, He is, in fact, an ex-Gardai policeman now working as a security guard in a supermarket, unhappily married with a daughter at university. We discover how the crimes were committed from his point of view. The two stories are cleverly intertwined when his daughter, Katie, buys a copy of the new book that has become an overnight sensation and wants to go to a talk and public signing session by the author Eve Black. He comes face to face with the one who got away and realises that his only chance of finally putting an end to the story is for him to kill Eve.

I cannot recommend this book too highly, it was fascinating to peek into the mind of a serial killer and at the same time horrifying to realise that he had gone entirely undetected for 20 years because he had left nothing at the crime scenes. It was fascinating how Eve and DI Healy managed to slowly piece together what had actually happened, and the writing throughout was brilliant. I would not be surprised if this book won awards galore, one of the best books in this genre that I have read ever.

Dexter

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review

I actually started this book twice, as the first time it really didn't draw me in fast enough. I went back a second time however and enjoyed the unfolding of the story and the eventual bringing together of all the threads. There's a lot though that just could be missed out. I scanned or hopped over chunks of text from the book-within-a-book - it just wasn't helping the story move along or revealing any more about the woman who was writing it.
A very clever idea, but the delivery was a bit weak.

The Nothing Man is one of the best books I’ve read this year, totally original, gripping and intelligent.
Eve, a survivor of a horrific attack is searching for the man that killed her family, that man ‘The Nothing Man’ knows that she’s looking for him.
Told from both points of view, The Nothing Man is a lesson in how thrillers should be written.

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.

Pageturner alert!
Get rid of all distractions and prepare yourself for a fast paced breathtaking thriller.

Jim, a 60-plus store security guard, hides a dark secret.
Eve, now in her twenties, was only 12 years old when a horrific event left her the sole survivor.
Both are determined to leave the past behind by all means neccessary.

This gripping story shows the darkest of dark nights from both angles, leaving no stone unturned as memories resurface and reality catches up on both of them.
A sudden twist turns all tables and makes me reconsider right from wrong all over again.

Thank you Netgalley and Corvus/Atlantic Books for the ARC.