This is a captivating and enjoyable story that was a pleasure to read! The writing is excellent and the pacing is spot on. I highly recommend it! Many thanks to Helen Power, Camcat Books, and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this e-ARC! I do my reviews on my social media platforms. I am currently working on getting through my reviews so stay tuned! Leaving a rating as a placeholder for me and to not effect the books rating in order to post this. Thanks again!

I love weird and creepy books and this just fit in that category so well!

Massive thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC of Phantom, it was such a unique story that was so enjoyable.

wasn’t my cup of tea. it may be a book for someone else though. the cover is beautiful though. i was just bored.

SUCH AN INTERESTING READ I REALLY ENJOYED IT THANK YOU SO MUCH TO NETGALLEY FOR THE ADVANCED READER COPY VERY COOL!

A huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this ARC!

This was such a wildly original concept that I have to give props on that alone. I REALLY enjoyed this book. I love creepy and weird books anyway but this took it to an entirely new level. It wasn't so much that scary things were happening but just those feelings of existential dread creeping over the main character were enough to chill me to the bone. Kudos to Power for emulating that environment and pulling it off so well.

What a thrill!

We follow 'Roz' our unreliable narrator that is a failing artist barely making payments on her rent and has just been fired. She gets invited to an art exhibition of a woman that she used go to college with. She gets approached by a man that offers her something that she can't refuse.
Roz wakes to find her hand missing and in excruciating pain, on recommendation of her doctor she goes on a drug trial for phantom limb pain but it has a side effect she wasn't warned about.....she can feel what her hand is doing and it's not good.

This is such an interesting concept and was well executed. There was lots going on and twists and turns. Roz at the start is not a nice character and you can't sympathise for her but as the story goes on you start rooting for her.

I would say this is more thriller/mystery than horror. It's a fast paced easy read that will have you hooked.

Phantom is a genre mashup sophomore novel from Helen Power. Selling a limb, which ends up being used by a serial killer. Drug trial and hallucinations. Conspiracy, mystery and romance.

While the concept was interesting, the plot felt too slow for me due to the focus on character while having all of these other genre threads. The plot didn't feel propelled in a natural way and character interactions came off as inconsistent.

I do enjoy a good unlikeable character, but Roz's alcoholism takes precedence over her other more interesting traits and interests. The loss of a hand and how Roz behaved made me feel a little icky - I can't tell if its ableism or if the character is just so unlikeable due to her attitude. The romance felt unnecessary and muddled the storyline. I didn't love the way substance abuse, and mental health was handled as well.

Ultimately, I found Phantom lacked the spark it needed to engage me. I loved Helen's debut novel, The Ghosts of Thorwald Place, so I will still give future books a try.

CW: alcoholism, gore, murder, addiction, body horror, drug abuse, blood, stalking, death, gun violence, medical content, trafficking, death of parent

Helen Power's "Phantom" is a wild mix of thriller, mystery, and horror that kept me totally hooked. The cover is eye-catching, and the blurb reeled me in.

The story moves fast, introducing Roz, our complex and endearing protagonist. Grisly murders and Roz's evolving connection add some serious chills.
The romance subplot, initially iffy, actually grows on you.

The book ends on a satisfying note but leaves room for more—fingers crossed for a sequel! Big shoutout to NetGalley and CamCat Books for the awesome ARC. Excited for whatever Helen Power has up her sleeve next!

A wild and somewhat wacky concept for a book that was actually very fun to read. It was a great blend between thriller, mystery and horror that kept me interested the whole time. I can’t wait to read more by Helen Power in the future.

Physic connection to your missing hand, that’s now being used by a serial killer?!?
Sign me up, such a good premise!

Reading Phantom for me was a bit a of a unrequited labour of love. I love this concept, I wanted this to be my favourite book of 2023, which is probably where I went wrong, to much expectations heaped on.
My downfall with Phantom, was the length, it took to long to get into the good stuff, and then there was just to much in-between for me. I think I’m definitely going to be in the minority, and I’m sure I did it to myself. I could have done without half the characters, I’m also not really interested in hetro normative love stories in my horror, so I do usually checkout around them.

I think had this been a punchy novella or just a shorter novel, it would be on my top of 2023. It’s still going to hold the cool concept award

I think this is going to be a favourite, for many, the concept is just to hard to not love.
Ill still be checking out Powers other books for sure.

*totally calling this becoming a very cool tv series or something too*

I really enjoyed this book from the very beginning! However, there is a lot going on! #thanksnetgalley

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. The downfall was that I requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before the book was archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

Could not finish this title, main character is horribly unlikable. Deserved every miserable thing that happened.

The cover art is eye-catching. The blurb instantly sucked me in. I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more by the author.

I love the premise. It really screams 90s horror movie plotline. This was very entertaining and unique.

Many thanks to NetGalley and CamCat Books for providing me with an eARC of Phantom in exchange for my honest review!

I had quite the gripping time with this ambitious mixture of thriller, mystery, and horror—a blend that belongs in an odd territory between the sci-fi and the supernatural. It kicks off the plot fairly fast and gets me invested in all the increasingly strange goings-on and the endearingly acidic and self-destructive protagonist that is Roz. The horror atmosphere thickens during numerous beats, particularly the ones that focus on the grisly murders and the connection that Roz gradually realizes she shares with them. I don't think the romance subplot is completely necessary, but it gets more compelling as the story progresses. And when the book wraps up, it leaves me feeling satisfied while also interested to dive back into this world. It does go for a somewhat open-ended conclusion, so who knows? Maybe Helen Power could pen a sequel in the future.

Overall, I'm officially rating Phantom four out of five stars. I'll be keeping an eye on more of the author's work.

This is a unique entertaining story that was loads of fun to read! It's written well and perfectly paced! I would highly recommend this! Thank You to Helen Power, Camcat books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love the way the author used the very real phenomena of phantom limb pain and then had Roz experience the psychotic sensations of her hand murdering people. The serial killer was using her hand to kill people, and she could sense it! Roz was not the best decision maker and the side effects of the experimental drug amplified that. I never knew what she was going to do next and there were great plot twist placements in this book. I loved learning about the company that Roz sold her hand to as she tried to find and expose them.

I cannot get past how unlikeable the main character is, or how slowly everything is happening. I got about a quarter of the way through this book, and I had to stop. I had high hopes for this as the premise is very intriguing, but I cannot get into it.