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crofteereader 's review for:
The Nothing Man
by Catherine Ryan Howard
The ending dragged a bit, but apart from that, this was an absolutely stellar read. Told like a fictionalization of I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK, but: a little more personal, a lot more organized, streamlined, set in Ireland, and with the really awesome added perspective of the serial killer reading and reacting to the scenes in real time. Things that really speak for how well Howard handled this story: the book never felt uneven, even as it was told between two perspectives that did not go back and forth chapter by chapter (indeed, sometimes Jim's sections seem almost to interrupt the book between sentences, which felt so authentic).
Personally, I always love books set in Ireland, particularly crime books. It's a place that has a deep and bitter history of oppression, poverty, and silence, not to mention crime (though nothing like the violent serial and spree killings of America - more crimes of desperation and corruption). Setting this story in Ireland gave Howard a lot more freedom with how the press and public would handle a serial killer.
It was true to its true crime inspiration with the level of detail given to the various crimes and their victims, as well as the bits of self-insert by the writer as both victim and investigator. In all, it was a very successful use of the book-within-a-book style and, by utilizing two different narrators (a stiff-sounding female narrator reading the book and a more engaging male narrator telling the killer's side), the audiobook really maintained that illusion well.
{Many thanks to Blackstone publishing and NetGalley for the ALC; all thoughts are my own!}
Personally, I always love books set in Ireland, particularly crime books. It's a place that has a deep and bitter history of oppression, poverty, and silence, not to mention crime (though nothing like the violent serial and spree killings of America - more crimes of desperation and corruption). Setting this story in Ireland gave Howard a lot more freedom with how the press and public would handle a serial killer.
It was true to its true crime inspiration with the level of detail given to the various crimes and their victims, as well as the bits of self-insert by the writer as both victim and investigator. In all, it was a very successful use of the book-within-a-book style and, by utilizing two different narrators (a stiff-sounding female narrator reading the book and a more engaging male narrator telling the killer's side), the audiobook really maintained that illusion well.
{Many thanks to Blackstone publishing and NetGalley for the ALC; all thoughts are my own!}