Thank you so much to VERVE Books, Laura Sims and NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Man before it is released! I first came across Laura Sim's work with her 2024 release, [book:How Can I Help You|60392079] and ✨loved✨ it! So when I spotted The Man on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read it early.

I was sucked into the story from the first page and had to remind myself that it was set in 1960s often. Honestly, it could be set now and I would believe it. The Man is a haunting and has an underlying sense of dread running all the way through it. At only 288 pages, I found it impossible to put down and ended up reading it in two sittings. It is now the bar for all domestic suspense/psychological thriller reads from now on. I absolutely devour books with unreliable narrators and The Man was no exception to this rule. I just know that this story is going to stick with me for a long time, I don't think I've read anything like it before and I'm not sure anything will come close to how this has left me feeling anytime soon. I love reading books like this!!!!! A true readers' high!!!!

I've spotted that Laura Sims has another book, Looker - I've added it to my Libby holds so I can't wait to jump back into another Laura Sims story soon! [book:The Man|246818699] is sure to be a talked about book this summer when it's released and I can see it being a book club pick! I'm excited to see what more people think about it. The Man is out 7th July on ebook and 23rd July in paperback! I can't wait to listen to this on audiobook when it's available!

This is a book which is full of atmosphere and full of questions, many of which do not get answers. I am not surprised to hear that Sims' past books are divisive — I'm guessing maybe for the same reasons as this one — but I also ended up really enjoying The Man. I could hardly put it down.

Don't expect a typical thriller. It has more of a Runcie's Bring the House Down vibe, but darker. The Man's true mysteries are moral questions, such as: whose right is it to tell a person's story? How much is truth and how much is perception? And how far is it acceptable to go for "art"?

All of these questions emerge through the story of Judith Stanley, middle-aged 1960s housewife turned amateur photographer. Judith doesn't want fame — she has a traumatic past that she'd rather hide from — but she has found some comfort and passion in her new hobby, especially when she discovers that she's actually very good at it. However, when a dark shadow of a man starts to appear in the corner of her photographs, Judith starts to fear her past has come back to haunt her.

It is a very interesting book in which the concept of "The Man" is both literal and figurative, and manifests in various ways throughout the novel. It is also a book where the second half is quite a departure from the first, and I was pleased to find the story went places I was not expecting.

There is a very fascinating kind of despicable character portrayed in this book, one that called to mind another of my favourites, Boyne's A Ladder to the Sky. I found them exceptionally fun to read about— the exact kind of unlikable character that can keep me invested. Even as I watched this scumbag shit on others, invade their privacy and ignore their wishes, their inner life was conveyed spectacularly. They, too, were haunted by demons. It was interesting to see how their demons mirrored and differed from Judith's.

Overall, a super interesting read about art, ethics, and gender dynamics.

I thoroughly enjoyed Laura Sims’s How Can I Help You with its increasingly unhinged librarian narrator prompting me to read The Man which has not just one but two unreliable narrators. Set in the 1960s, it follows Judith Stanley, an unassuming, middle-aged housewife whose formidable photographic talent is immediately apparent to her instructor when she shows her portfolio to him one night after class ends. An intensely private person, she's resistant to Paul’s urgings to submit her work for publication. Developing the images with which he's so struck, she’s appalled to see a shadow in the self-portraits, convincing herself it’s the man who’d attacked her when she was a teenager. When she finally unburdens herself, her husband insists she stays at home, but she can’t give up either Paul’s approbation, or the release and joy photography gives her.
Sims catches the fear of a woman whose attempts to bury an horrific assault have been largely successful until she’s faced with long empty days together with the panic springing from her conviction that she’s being followed. When, around halfway through, Sims switches perspectives, telling Judith’s story from Paul’s point of view, we see her subjected to another form of abuse. Sims ramps up the tension in both narratives, pulling the carpet from beneath her readers on several occasions while exploring themes of violence, misogyny and exploitation against a background of ambition and artistic expression. I enjoyed her novel but if, like me, thrillers aren’t your usual genre, I’d recommend How Can I Help You over this one

The Man is one of those novels that gets under your skin in the most unsettling way. Laura Sims has created a slow‑burn psychological suspense that feels both intimate and claustrophobic, following Judith—a 1960s housewife whose private passion for photography becomes the doorway to something far darker.

Judith is such a compelling narrator. Her world is small, orderly, and carefully controlled, and watching her step beyond the boundaries of her suburban life is fascinating. The early chapters have a dreamy, almost nostalgic quality, which makes the creeping dread that follows all the more effective. Sims captures that era’s quiet domestic constraints so well, and then cracks them open with a single, haunting detail: the shadowy figure appearing in Judith’s self‑portraits.

The tension builds beautifully. Is the man real? Is he a memory? A threat? Sims keeps you hovering in that uneasy space where fear and imagination blur, and it’s incredibly effective. The sensory details—the click of the camera, the hush of Judith’s home, the city’s pulse—add to the atmosphere without ever overwhelming the story.

What I loved most is how the novel explores the vulnerability of being a woman, especially in a time when your voice and your fears were so easily dismissed. Judith’s desire for artistic freedom collides with the terror of being watched, followed, remembered. It’s haunting, but also deeply human.

Elegant, eerie, and quietly propulsive, The Man is a standout domestic suspense novel that lingers long after the final page.

With thanks to Laura Sims, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC

I loved Laura Sims's previous books and The Man is just as bold and original, and layered with the obsessive atmosphere of a Hitchcock film or a Patricia Highsmith novel. It's set in New Jersey of the 1960s, where Judith Stanley lives with her husband Tom. She also attends a photography class, run by photographer Paul Sorenson (who trades off having had one shot published in Harpers magazine).
Judith, however, has an innate talent for taking photos, documenting both the suffocating world of suburbia and the changing face of New York City. Her self portraits are poignant, but it's necessary for her to crop one, because she's convinced she's being stalked by a man who appears in one corner. This encapsulates how her life is framed, cropped and curtailed by the violent act by a man in her past and spending time in Judith's head is a discomforting, tense experience.
In part two of the book, in a truly Hitchcockian move, Judith's story gives way to Paul's.
He is a sad, sad man. But as every woman knows, they can be the most dangerous. Whenever Paul gets close to examining himself and his small life, his disappointment grows. He is compelled to get one over on the world and initially does this in small ways, like shoplifting. But when he sees a chance to bring Judith's work to the world – thereby making himself famous too – he seizes it. Judith never wanted fame or for her photographs to be seen by the public. Nonetheless, Paul is hell bent on forcing this and his obsession grows, alongside his sickening descent into toxic masculinity.
The 'whodunnit' aspect of the story might frustrate some readers seeking a dramatic and definitive resolution. But, for me, the pervasive threat of violence against women is a convincing villain.

It’s the 1960s, and Judith Stanley carries her Nikon camera with her, taking pictures for her own satisfaction. She joins a photography class and Paul, her teacher, describes her work as stunning and that she has an uncanny knack of knowing when to snap the shutter. Encouraged by his interest and positive feedback, she ventures out to take more and starts to notice a shadow in the corner of one of her unusual self portraits. Judith is sure it’s The Man. The man who leaves her physically scarred and mentally haunted as a 16-year-old. Common sense should tell her to stop but she won’t, until one night when he emerges from the shadows.

This is a chilling and haunting novel, which has me constantly questioning what’s real and what an illusion but wherever the truth lies it’s certain to be very disturbing. It’s a shocker in more ways than one as ambition overcomes scruples and so it becomes a very twisted and obsessive tale. I’m caught up in the storytelling and find it hard to put down.

It has a black and white movie feel perhaps from the 1940s. The shadow on the photographs strongly reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock’s own shadow but also his use of shadows to create a very unsettling effect, exactly what the author achieves here– it’s very clever and creepy.

This novel would be a great book club choice and would lead to many questions and interesting discussions about Judith, Paul and the enigmatic ending. Does anyone really know Judith? What do her photographs tell us about her? What exactly happens to her as a 16-year-old? What about Paul?

This is an excellent psychological suspense novel which explores the impact of trauma and also what ambition can lead to. I think Laura Sims has written another best seller.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to VERVE Books for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

Will post to Instagram etc nearer publication

<b>”Photography is an art, and art can be a razor blade, peeling back layers of civility to reveal stark truths…”</b>

I really enjoyed this- couldn’t put it down! ‘The Man’ is the second book I’ve read by Laura Sims now, and I’ve enjoyed them both equally. She’s definitely an author to watch.

‘The Man’ is a dark thriller full of atmosphere, with themes of creativity, ethics, and gender dynamics. The story is set in the 1960s, and focuses on Judith Stanley, a middle-aged housewife who has taken up an evening photography class to try and rediscover herself. Judith has quite a talent, but shuns the spotlight as she’s hiding from a traumatic past - but she finds great comfort and joy in her newfound hobby, until she starts seeing a dark figure appear in the background of all her self-portraits.

The POV shifts unexpectedly half-way through the novel, taking the story in a whole new direction - and opening up a lot of moral questions, like how far is it acceptable to go for the sake of art? Or whose right is it to tell a person’s story? I was pleasantly surprised by this twist, and it reminded me a lot of one of my favourite books, ‘A Ladder to the Sky’ by John Boyne.

I found it very interesting how the concept of ‘The Man’ could be seen as literal, or quite figurative, manifesting in different ways throughout the story. I also loved how well the author captured the inner lives of the two main characters, helping us to understand their actions (even if nefarious at points). The ending leaves things open to interpretation - we don’t get all the answers, which some readers may find frustrating.

Overall, very enjoyable- I’d highly recommend to thriller fans. ‘The Man’ is published by VERVE books and will be out in the UK 23rd July 2026. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Set to be the book club staple for 2026 and for good reason, The Man by Laura Sims is a suspense novel that looks at trauma, tension and gender dynamics. It follows 1960s housewife Judith, who lives with a dark history and a passion and unique skill of photography, who after a small tragedy starts to see a mysterious figure appearing in her self-portraits and seems to be following her. Judith finds her escape in photographic and is extremely skilled as pointed out by her professor Paul who reminds her of her worth throughout, but the escape starts to be impacted by this man who won’t leave Judith alone.

I did enjoy this overall, especially the split parts which made for a tone change I didn’t expect to see, and which kept me guessing even when I was convinced I knew what was happening a few times. An engaging read but one that felt a little bogged down in some themes that left me feeling like this was unresolved, which may be part of the point, I get. The look at how our inner demons can overtake and invade all parts of our lives even when we think we have a hold on things was done very well, but unfortunately the ending didn’t work for me completely, which was a shame!

As mentioned, this is something a lot of people will enjoy and get a lot from, and will definitely spark great conversations about trauma, gender dynamics, the ethics of art and the nature of ownership.

This was a very interesting story, journeying the life and death of a nuanced woman with a fantastic skill. From beginning to end, it keeps the audience thinking, which I really enjoyed. I love creative ways of allowing the reader to interpret along the way, and in that sense, this book absolutely delivered.