Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - The Nothing Man

It has been a LONG time since a Thriller/Crime book has taken my fancy and been able to hold my attention, and there was something about The Nothing Man that finally broke that stint.
A cleverly told story where Howard managed to keep that suspense and mystery going; there were still times where I knew things were going to happen, and they did, but it was written in a way that still held my interest, which is a rarity. A book about a book? With murder? Where the murderer is still at large? Yes please!
I'll be going back for more of Howard's work to see if they're equally good!

Content Warnings

booksojwhi's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

danyclarice's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

- ‘When you find him’, she’d said to me, ‘you’ll probably be shocked at just how much to nothing he really is.’ She was right. -

This book was incredibly thrilling and nothing like I had ever read before. The structure of this book is ‘a book within a book’. Howard cleverly weaves two characters points of views throughout the book as Jim reads the ‘Nothing Man’ written by Eve.

A very quick and easy read with some good twists and moments that made me audibly gasp. However there were some points where the book was moving a little slow, mainly during descriptions of other victims and minute details of their lives.

I loved the concept of this book. We are introduced to Eve through Jim’s eyes as a faceless victim who survived his attack on her family. She is described as a nuisance who has failed to identify the Nothing Man. But, throughout the book, the author shines a spotlight on the victims and makes a social commentary on societies obsession with serial killers, forgetting families left behind and the victims. Jim slowly starts to realise he has utterly lost control of the situation and falls straight into Eve’s trap, who had always been one step ahead of him from the very beginning.

Overall, a satisfying read which will have you getting up in the middle of the night to check your doors are locked.

Content Warnings