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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I LOVE a thriller, mystery with a good plot twist and this one was pretty damn good. The story was from the POV of a serial killer which was a unique and interesting perspective to read. Thomas Brogan is a serial killer with a voice in his head that stumbles upon an abandoned house with an attic that's attached to the next three houses giving him unfettered access to his new victims. The plot builds nicely with glimpses of Brogan's past, what made him the way he is and what horrible deeds he's committed, and the present where he toys with new prey while dealing with unexpected circumstances. It was almost like a Criminal Minds episode except it was the story of the criminal and his choices in the moment, not how he was caught or what his crimes were. I was already enjoying the story with Brogan and his games with Martyn and Colette but the added plot twist in the very end about Colette was a pleasantly shocking surprise. I totally didn't see it coming but once it was broken down, it was a very interesting addition to the plot. And I enjoyed the ending a lot, it felt right and fit the whole story well.
I finished reading it yesterday morning and I have to say that The Resident is an entertaining read on every level.
Brogan is a serial killer who takes refuge in a block of houses. In the loft. You know the row houses that have adjoined loft access…
FYI: I was very comforted to know that my loft is sealed off from my neighbours’ lofts and that my access hatch is locked from my side. Very comforted!
In this story, you witness to Brogan’s antics as he spies on and manipulates the tenants residing in the houses below.
One must entertain themselves while hiding from the police, don’t you think?
The reader is immersed into the demented mind of this serial killer through his internal conversations. His alter ego, if you want to call him that, is quite witty and extremely eager to inflict harm on those being watched and toyed with. This crazy conscience keeps Brogan focused on the task; torment and murder the inhabitants of the houses.
Get on with it Brogan!
This book had me laughing out loud, on the edge of my seat and hovering over the toilet! It’s just that kind of book! I highly recommend it.
The Resident is an intense read that immediately captures you and leaves you hostage in Brogan’s demented mind. Throughout the book you are teased with snippets of Brogan’s emotional and psychological demise. You begin to understand what pushed him over the edge. It’s not very often that I can honestly say I empathised with the antagonist in this story. But you just can’t help it, he's kind of likeable. Majorly messed up, but likeable.
I enjoyed reading this book with the author, @thepigeonholehq and the lovely pigeons. Thank you all for this opportunity. I am also grateful for the opportunity to discuss the book with David last night in an exclusive video chat. It was interesting to hear how the story was created and David’s thoughts on his work and our discussions during the read.
The Pigeonhole is an online book club and I am honoured to be part of this unique platform to read and discuss books. I highly recommend The Pigeonhole as well.
Brogan is a serial killer who takes refuge in a block of houses. In the loft. You know the row houses that have adjoined loft access…
FYI: I was very comforted to know that my loft is sealed off from my neighbours’ lofts and that my access hatch is locked from my side. Very comforted!
In this story, you witness to Brogan’s antics as he spies on and manipulates the tenants residing in the houses below.
One must entertain themselves while hiding from the police, don’t you think?
The reader is immersed into the demented mind of this serial killer through his internal conversations. His alter ego, if you want to call him that, is quite witty and extremely eager to inflict harm on those being watched and toyed with. This crazy conscience keeps Brogan focused on the task; torment and murder the inhabitants of the houses.
Get on with it Brogan!
This book had me laughing out loud, on the edge of my seat and hovering over the toilet! It’s just that kind of book! I highly recommend it.
The Resident is an intense read that immediately captures you and leaves you hostage in Brogan’s demented mind. Throughout the book you are teased with snippets of Brogan’s emotional and psychological demise. You begin to understand what pushed him over the edge. It’s not very often that I can honestly say I empathised with the antagonist in this story. But you just can’t help it, he's kind of likeable. Majorly messed up, but likeable.
I enjoyed reading this book with the author, @thepigeonholehq and the lovely pigeons. Thank you all for this opportunity. I am also grateful for the opportunity to discuss the book with David last night in an exclusive video chat. It was interesting to hear how the story was created and David’s thoughts on his work and our discussions during the read.
The Pigeonhole is an online book club and I am honoured to be part of this unique platform to read and discuss books. I highly recommend The Pigeonhole as well.
This really is a deeply dark and twisted story. Imagine your worse horror there is a sadistic serial killer on the loose and he’s hiding out in your attic. That’s what happens when serial killer Thomas Brogan breaks into an abandoned house and when exploring the attic realises it connects through to the next three homes. As he prowls the attics and residents of each of the homes he starts to fantasies about what he will do to each of them before moving on to his next targets but can he get away with murder again and will this time be his undoing. I am not sure I will be able to sleep in my house if I ever hear a noise from my attic again after reading this book. This would make a great show on tv.
A great premise and an easy read (listen) but I wasn’t carried away with the alter ego part and felt it could have been much creepier than it was. Enjoyed the author’s Nathan Cody books so would still rate him as an author but just felt this was sadly lacking oomph!
Incredibly creepy and had me on the edge of my seat through most of it. Got a little slow in the middle but then the ending blew me away!
The best thing about it was being in Brogan's head and seeing all his inner monologue, seeing him make the choices and seeing his past and the events that led to him being in the loft.
One of my biggest fears is someone hiding in your loft, spying on you and rifling through your things so I think that made this even more scary and unsettling to me!
The best thing about it was being in Brogan's head and seeing all his inner monologue, seeing him make the choices and seeing his past and the events that led to him being in the loft.
One of my biggest fears is someone hiding in your loft, spying on you and rifling through your things so I think that made this even more scary and unsettling to me!
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
All of my reviews can be found at https://damppebbles.com/
Huge thanks to the publisher for sending me a free ARC of The Resident which has in no way influenced my review.
Your home is your castle. Your safe sanctuary from the rest of the world. But what if it wasn’t? What if someone was living in your loft. And not just anyone, a deranged serial killer. If that’s not got your attention then we need to have words! If you’re a regular visitor to the blog then you will know that I’m a die-hard crime fiction fan. I read a lot of crime and that’s just fine because that’s the way I like it. However, I can count on one hand the number of books I’ve read from the killer’s point of view. And that’s exactly what makes The Resident a darn special read. This is Thomas’s story.
There are several other elements which make The Resident stand out from other books in the same genre. A large proportion of the dialogue is between Thomas…..and Thomas. Yup, you read that correctly. Thomas is a very damaged soul and we get to see the inner workings of his strained mind. It’s fascinating stuff. I wouldn’t say he has a good side and a bad side (he’s a serial killer for flips sake, it’s ALL bad!) but there’s a definite divide in his thought processes. Evil Thomas….and eviler Thomas perhaps. One side of his personality definitely leads the other into some pretty tricky situations. The other thing I loved about this book is that the setting is quite compact. Thomas manages to find his way into an abandoned house, and from there he heads to the loft space for a bit of nose around. Once he’s in the loft, he realises he can access the other three houses in the row as none of the loft spaces are fully bricked up. From here we’re introduced to the neighbours; elderly Elsie, husband and wife Martyn and Colette Fairbright, and to a lesser extent, Janice and Brian. As you can see, the cast of characters is also quite compact but by gosh, it works a treat! Thomas spies on the neighbours, works out their schedules and invades their homes. He likes to taunt and play with them, make them think they’re losing their minds. Martyn and Colette become the main objects of his attention, partly due to a fascination (obsession?) he develops over Colette. It’s nail-biting stuff as the reader knows that Thomas is just playing with his latest ‘toys’ and a terrifying, blood drenched end at the hands of a serial killer is nigh for the couple.
Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. This is a fascinating and original take on a serial killer thriller and I loved it! I found myself strangely warming a little to what is a very dark and twisted character. I loved that Thomas was able to form a somewhat odd relationship with one of the other characters in the book and it seemed to be something which, until that point, had been missing in his life. And the ending was superb! The author has absolutely nailed it with that brilliant ending. I love Jackson’s books and this is another brilliant addition to his catalogue. Highly recommended.
I chose to read and review an ARC of The Resident. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
Huge thanks to the publisher for sending me a free ARC of The Resident which has in no way influenced my review.
Your home is your castle. Your safe sanctuary from the rest of the world. But what if it wasn’t? What if someone was living in your loft. And not just anyone, a deranged serial killer. If that’s not got your attention then we need to have words! If you’re a regular visitor to the blog then you will know that I’m a die-hard crime fiction fan. I read a lot of crime and that’s just fine because that’s the way I like it. However, I can count on one hand the number of books I’ve read from the killer’s point of view. And that’s exactly what makes The Resident a darn special read. This is Thomas’s story.
There are several other elements which make The Resident stand out from other books in the same genre. A large proportion of the dialogue is between Thomas…..and Thomas. Yup, you read that correctly. Thomas is a very damaged soul and we get to see the inner workings of his strained mind. It’s fascinating stuff. I wouldn’t say he has a good side and a bad side (he’s a serial killer for flips sake, it’s ALL bad!) but there’s a definite divide in his thought processes. Evil Thomas….and eviler Thomas perhaps. One side of his personality definitely leads the other into some pretty tricky situations. The other thing I loved about this book is that the setting is quite compact. Thomas manages to find his way into an abandoned house, and from there he heads to the loft space for a bit of nose around. Once he’s in the loft, he realises he can access the other three houses in the row as none of the loft spaces are fully bricked up. From here we’re introduced to the neighbours; elderly Elsie, husband and wife Martyn and Colette Fairbright, and to a lesser extent, Janice and Brian. As you can see, the cast of characters is also quite compact but by gosh, it works a treat! Thomas spies on the neighbours, works out their schedules and invades their homes. He likes to taunt and play with them, make them think they’re losing their minds. Martyn and Colette become the main objects of his attention, partly due to a fascination (obsession?) he develops over Colette. It’s nail-biting stuff as the reader knows that Thomas is just playing with his latest ‘toys’ and a terrifying, blood drenched end at the hands of a serial killer is nigh for the couple.
Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. This is a fascinating and original take on a serial killer thriller and I loved it! I found myself strangely warming a little to what is a very dark and twisted character. I loved that Thomas was able to form a somewhat odd relationship with one of the other characters in the book and it seemed to be something which, until that point, had been missing in his life. And the ending was superb! The author has absolutely nailed it with that brilliant ending. I love Jackson’s books and this is another brilliant addition to his catalogue. Highly recommended.
I chose to read and review an ARC of The Resident. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
dark
tense
fast-paced
5 Stars from me!
Oh I absolutely loved The Resident! David Jackson somehow manages to elevate what should be a really creepy and disturbing book into a pure genius black comedy.
Thomas Brogan - depraved serial killer - is bizarrely likeable and by far my favourite character (except maybe the little old lady). I really found myself rooting for him and at times was almost willing him to do bad things - David Jackson, what have you done to my mind?
Not your traditional crime thriller by any means but absolutely readable, absolutely brilliant and highly recommended by me!
Oh I absolutely loved The Resident! David Jackson somehow manages to elevate what should be a really creepy and disturbing book into a pure genius black comedy.
Thomas Brogan - depraved serial killer - is bizarrely likeable and by far my favourite character (except maybe the little old lady). I really found myself rooting for him and at times was almost willing him to do bad things - David Jackson, what have you done to my mind?
Not your traditional crime thriller by any means but absolutely readable, absolutely brilliant and highly recommended by me!