The Nothing Man

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 2 ratings

Price: 13.81

Last update: 12-11-2024


About this item

At the age of 12, Eve Black was the only member of her family to survive an encounter with serial attacker the Nothing Man. Now an adult, she is obsessed with identifying the man who destroyed her life.

Supermarket security guard Jim Doyle has just started reading The Nothing Man - the true-crime memoir Eve has written about her efforts to track down her family’s killer. As he turns each page, his rage grows. Because Jim’s not just interested in reading about the Nothing Man. He is the Nothing Man.

Jim soon begins to realize how dangerously close Eve is getting to the truth. He knows she won’t give up until she finds him. He has no choice but to stop her first....


Top reviews from the United States

Ezzeldein
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorites.
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2024
Amazing, couldn’t put the book down! It’s like reading 2 books in one. The ending gave me peace and it was well written.
RSW Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2020
Love this <b>4.5 Star</> "book within a book!" This is a fully fictional thriller about a woman who wrote a true crime memoir about the murder of her family. Confused? Keep reading, hopefully I can clear things up.

<b>SUMMARY</b>
When she was twelve years old, fictional character, Eve Black, was the lone survivor of a serial killer/rapist who visited her house in a murderous rampage. Eve just happened to be in the bathroom when the killer snuck into the house and killed her mother, father and seven year old sister. Eve never knew why he did not find her in the bathroom, nor did she ever discover why he chose to victimize her family.

Luckily, Eve had a loving grandmother who was happy to raise her and was able to shield her from the inevitable notoriety surrounding her survival. As the years passed, Eve continued to struggle, not only with the loss of her family, but with the unanswered questions; who did it and why. She always did her best to hide her identity, maintaining her anonymity at the expense of close friendships. When she was in graduate school studying creative writing, she was out of ideas for one of her assignments and wrote a short story about the murder. When her professor read the story, he realized who she was and encouraged her to write a memoir recounting the tragic events.

A couple years later, the book is complete and in bookstores everywhere. One day, a man goes to a book store, purchases the book and starts reading. It turns out this man was the murderer! The story is told from passages of the <i>memoir</i> and from the murderers point of view as he reads the book. It is fascinating being inside his head as he recounts memories of his crimes and plots what he should do about the book and it's author.

<b>WHAT I LOVED</b>
I love my Brit-Lit! This book is set in Ireland. I just love every thing about Great Britain.

The whole <i>book inside a book</i> concept is awesome. Loved that. It added a whole new layer to the telling of the story.

As I was reading the book, I kept thinking that it reminded me of Michelle McNamara's true crime story, <i>I'll Be Gone in the Dark</i>. Then I read that author, Catherine Ryan Howard was inspired by McNamara's search for the <i>Golden State Killer</i>, I really loved that connection.

Probably the best part of the story was being inside the murderers head as he reads the story detailing his crimes. He cannot stop himself from reading the book and making notes in his copy. It's also fascinating to see how he behaves in his daily life.

<b>WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE</b>
Reading a book about a twelve year old girl whose entire family was murdered is not a happy story, but it was so well written that I'd didn't bother me. There was nothing I really didn't particularly like, but it wasn't quite special enough to rate five stars from me.

<b>OVERALL</b>
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller, particularly if they are looking for a fresh take on this genre.
Susan
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2023
Wow! A book within A book. Couldn't put it down. Definitely not what I expected and would
Highly recommend. Excellent read.
Reynolds Welborn
3.0 out of 5 stars Decent
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2024
Felt very derivative but decent read
Renee
5.0 out of 5 stars Great thriller book
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2024
I enjoyed this book. Towards the end there is a bit of a twist. I can see this being a movie.
Sydnie S.
4.0 out of 5 stars Such a great thriller!
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2024
- R E V I E W -

12 year old Eve is the only survivor after a terrible act of violence take the lives of her entire family. The attacker never being caught. She has spent years trying to overcome the feelings of that fateful night. Now Eve is ready to face the music and share her story about what happened that night, so she writes a book. As an adult, she may have been the only survivor, but now she is determined to catch the guy that took away her family.

Wow. This book really sucked me in from the beginning. This was my first time reading a book inside a book. It was really cool how the author did wrote this. The time jumps really helped pull the story together toward the end. There were sometimes where I was like why does this matter? What is the point of this, but then it all comes together and the end and you say to yourself, "Oh! I get it now." This was a super twisty, up and down, addicting thriller. It honestly is best to go in blind if you can.

This was the first book that I have read by this author, and I will be picking up plenty more if this is the outcome and delivery she does in her books. I 100% recommend this book and loved every second of it.
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Sydnie S.
4.0 out of 5 stars Such a great thriller!
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2024
- R E V I E W -

12 year old Eve is the only survivor after a terrible act of violence take the lives of her entire family. The attacker never being caught. She has spent years trying to overcome the feelings of that fateful night. Now Eve is ready to face the music and share her story about what happened that night, so she writes a book. As an adult, she may have been the only survivor, but now she is determined to catch the guy that took away her family.

Wow. This book really sucked me in from the beginning. This was my first time reading a book inside a book. It was really cool how the author did wrote this. The time jumps really helped pull the story together toward the end. There were sometimes where I was like why does this matter? What is the point of this, but then it all comes together and the end and you say to yourself, "Oh! I get it now." This was a super twisty, up and down, addicting thriller. It honestly is best to go in blind if you can.

This was the first book that I have read by this author, and I will be picking up plenty more if this is the outcome and delivery she does in her books. I 100% recommend this book and loved every second of it.
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Margaret M. Hight
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn’t put it down!
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2023
I loved this book. Well written, interesting characters! Loved the little twist at the end. I highly recommend! Will be checking out more titles by this author.
LA FEMME READERS REVIEWS
4.0 out of 5 stars A psychologically pleasing thriller...
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2021
At the age of twelve, Eve Black was the sole survivor of the vicious killing of her family. Now, as an adult, Eve is obsessed with exposing the serial killer who destroyed her life. Supermarket security guard Jim Doyle spots The Nothing Man memoir that Eve published to find the killer. As he flips through the chapters, his rage resurfaces. Jim is not just interested in reading about the Nothing Man. He is the Nothing Man. Jim soon realizes that Eve is closer than he thinks, which wills him to get rid of her once and for all. ⠀
⠀
THE NOTHING MAN is a psychologically pleasing thriller that taps into both the victim and serial killer's thoughts. Catherine's account of events vividly brightened the plot, omitting its fictitious reality. It appeared as if I watched a marathon of Dateline episodes, and Lord knows I love me some Dateline! What I enjoyed most is the dual narrative between Eve's memoir and Jim's reaction to it. It's fascinating to see the vicious nature of a murderer and the narcissistic behavior of Jim reliving his crimes and basking in his disgusting glory. ⠀
⠀
Eve's personality was tragically heartbreaking yet stable and fiery. I did not know much about her current status; however, I valued the solid insight into her background. As much as I felt the tale had an eerie and unsettling tone when the crimes were described, midway, it lost a bit of steam. With so many different scenes reported, I ended up being in a confused state.⠀
⠀
In addition, it was so detailed oriented that it got too wordy for my liking. Unhappily, I took a break because I lost interest in it, but I later returned due to its highly recommended reputation. I'm glad I finished it eventually because I still admire Catherine's writing technique as a whole, and that twist was quite satisfying, even if the ending was a tad rushed. Although this wasn't my favorite, I'm very much looking forward to reading Catherine's next release!

My Rating: 3.5

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