This book had such a great premise to it. And i did find some parts of it to be very interesting but then it would become repetitive or go off topic and it would lose me.

The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard was a fast-paced, thrilling read. With well-developed and thrilling plot points, The Nothing Man will be a hit amongst true crime and mystery/thrillers genre lovers.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Nothing Man was hard to listen to at times, but the capable narrators kept me coming back for me. Eve Black’s story was beyond compelling, and I’m truly glad this book ended the way that it did.

Trigger Warning: Rape

This is a good book, for sure! BUT if you are a baby like me it may be too sad. I really liked the concept and it's very well executed, but it just depressed me so much it was hard to keep going. The narration is good! I recommend the audiobook.

I listened to the audio version of this book and the narrators did an excellent job, we are given the point of view of Eve, the you girl whose family is murdered while she survived, and the one you will not like, and want to fail, the perpetrator of these horrible crimes.
This story is intense, and you will wonder what makes a person do what he did, and to some extent there are answers, but still!
I do enjoy a good thriller, and this one will have your page turning, or for me listening beyond the time I had, looking for answers. Yes, we meet the murderer early in the read, but I wanted him caught, so, I kept listening right to the end for answers!
I received this book through Net Galley and Blackstone Publishing, and was not required to give a positive review.

Perfect for fans of true crime, THE NOTHING MAN is a unique spin on the serial killer trope. Told in dual POV--narrative shared between a serial killer and his escaped victim--Catherine Ryan Howard's latest novel has everything the eager reader wants in an unputdownable read: a heart wrenching mystery, compelling writing, brilliant plotting, and a heroine you can't help but cheer on. The "book within a book" concept is not new, but the author does an excellent job keeping the reader interested until the very end. I highly recommend this one!

I’ve read a lot of books lately that are touted as “the best thriller you’ll read in a long time”. Usually not. But this, this lived up to its thriller hype in every way. Catherine Ryan Howard writes a very clever story (a book within a book) and alternates between the past and the present. This was a beautifully written chilling read - I’m glad my husband doesn’t work nights anymore. I read this (listened) every spare moment. It’s totally addictive. Highly recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC

RATING: 4 STARS
2020; Blackstone Publishing Audio

I confused Catherine Ryan Howard with Catherine Ryan Hyde. Many moons ago, I read Hyde's Pay It Forward and thought it was just okay. When I saw Howard's novel, The Liar's Girl, I thought it was Hyde and she had switched genre. I picked up the book, but I didn't get to it. Then I actually read the name properly, and realized this was a different author. Sheesh, Kris, this shows a great example of reading skills. When I saw this as a download on NetGalley, I decided to give this creepy story set in Ireland a try.

Howard uses a book within a book, and it works really well. Eve is a survivor of a serial killer, and to catch her killer she decides to write a book to garner interest. NOT a spoiler - but it turns out the killer, the "Nothing Man" is reading the book about himself. I LOVE when an author gives you all the "twists" right off the bat, and still manages to keep the suspense at a high-level. When you know who the killer is, you just sit back and read what happens next. I highly recommend this one to all mystery fans.

***I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

I liked and disliked this book, it had moments of edge of my seat and then other times had me feeling get on with it. It was an odd mixture for me that kind of took me out of the story. The whole premise was good but the cat and mouse felt like it went on forever and I wish that had been shortened.

Over all this is a good book and if you like more slow moving stories maybe it's for you.

The narration by Alana Kerr Collins & John Keating was well done John really brought the creepiness!

I received this book from NetGalley then it was archived so I ended up buying it (actually I accidently bought it twice lol) it's the life of an audiobook addict!

I would give this author another try.

3 stars

Eve Black had an encounter at age twelve only a few individuals will ever have. A serial killer broke into the family home and killed her mother, father and younger sister. Eve escaped as she had gone to the bathroom when the man broke in. She actually saw him as she stood at the top of the stairs but he made no move to kill her also. He left, leaving behind nothing but questions for Eve. Who was he? Why did he choose her family to victimize? Why did he leave her alive and kill the rest of her family? The police put the crime down to the man known as The Nothing Man who had been attacking other families.
Twenty years on, the man responsible has never been discovered. Eve grows up to become a writer and her first book is the story of her life. It is an instant hit and even supermarket security guard Jim Doyle is drawn to the book. But Doyle has a reason no one else has; he is the Nothing Man and this book could bring the retribution he thought he would never have to face.

Eve's book says she will never stop until she finds out who The Nothing Man is. Doyle is determined to prevent her success and the only way he knows how to do that is to revert to the killer he was all those years ago. He plans to kill Eve. Will he be successful?

Howard was born and raised in Ireland where the novel is set. She has had lots of different jobs and has written several other highly successful suspense novels. I listened to this novel and there were both a male and female narrator. This dual narrator use mirrors the two opposing stories that play against each other in the novel to make it suspenseful. This book is recommended for thriller readers.

I cannot stop talking about this book! It is such a fantastic, all consuming, addictive read.

Quick Synopsis: Eve Black’s Family was murdered 18 years ago by a serial killer dubbed The Nothing Man because he leaves nothing behind- no evidence, DNA, nothing. Eve was just a kid when The Nothing Man broke into her house in the middle of the night and murdered her parents and sister. Eve survived and went on to write a true crime memoir detailing the events of that night in hopes of catching the killer.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to Jim, aka The Nothing Man. Jim is an ex cop turned security guard. He is also the serial killer, The Nothing Man. Jim picks up Eve’s book and we get to read his point of view as he reads her book.

The chapters alternate between Eve’s perspective and Jim’s perspective as he reads the book.

This was such a cool format and is what made this such a unique, fun read, full of suspense and tension. I liked that we knew who the killer was right off the bat, but this doesn’t mean we know everything- there were still twists and turns throughout the book.

If you have found yourself bored by the thriller genre and are looking for a refreshing read, look no further! Even the most avid thriller readers will enjoy this one!

I also recommend the author’s previous book, Rewind.

I loved the unique perspective of this story... knowing the killer from the beginning and having access to all his thoughts. Catherine is brilliant at throwing surprises into her stories that you may not have seen coming. I have enjoyed all of her books so far. The narrators are also top notch and bring the story to life.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review..

This was an interesting take on a thriller/mystery. I like that the one point of view was from the witness and the other point of view was from the killer reading the witness’ account. There was at least one unexpected event in the book that surprised me. There were a couple things I guessed though. Lots of details to keep track of, lots of characters too.

I enjoyed the narrators but at times the accent was hard for me to understand.

SIGN me up for anything related to serial killers - especially in the format of a thriller book! I love how some of these new mystery/thriller books are combining even more elements of true crime into the structure of the story itself. We are becoming a society obsessed with true crime and so it just increases the believability of the story and allows us to connect even more sometimes when included in the book. The book slows down a bit around 70% but WHOA does it pick up and nail the landing! This is a top thriller of the year for me for sure and I am definitely recommending it. I also really enjoyed the audiobook and the narrator did a great job!

The Nothing Man is a book within a book, which can go either way for me. Here, it's the thing that keeps things moving along. - not always steadily, but moving nonetheless. The book gives away the bad guy from the start, so the suspense doesn't come from who, it comes from why he did it, and how they are going to catch him. The chapters move back and forth between the killer's thoughts as he reads this book about his crimes and the book itself. Honestly, I liked the killer's perspective better than the book he was reading. Maybe it was intentional since he was reading, but his chapters had more feeling to them where the book chapters were a bit dry at times and had some lags in the pacing, especially when there was a lot of backstory. There were a couple of interesting twists, but the lags in the story kept it from being the compulsive thriller it could've been.
Alana Kerr Collins and John Keating breathe life into the characters, and they do a good job of it. Keating does the killer's chapters, and I'll admit that he's a big part of what kept me listening to this story. Collins does the chapters from the book, which was an intriguing choice. We hear the inside book in her voice even though the killer is reading it.
What it all comes down to is, this one is an interesting story, but it's one that you need to keep reading even when it gets a bit slow because the rest of the book, the parts with a steadier or faster pace, are worth the effort.

I loved reading the physical copy alongside the audiobook copy of The Nothing Man. The writing was so clever and I enjoyed listening to the narrator as well.

Eve Black has survived the trauma as a twelve-year-old girl when she encounters The Nothing Man, the killer of her family.

The story within the story was so creative, and so compelling!

*many thanks to Blackstone and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review. All opinions are my own

Eve Black was the only surviving member of her family of a brutal attack from the Nothing Man. He destroyed her life and she became obsessed with finding out who he is. She releases her true crime novel about him, but The Nothing Man is also reading her book to find out how much she knows and if she is close.

I absolutely loved this book! The way the book was written was so creative. The story of The Nothing Man is being told as he reads the story. It is written just like a true crime novel with narration from the killer. The entire book is written from the perspective of someone trying to find out how close the police are. My favorite thing is that we really don't know how much Eve knows until we get to the end of the book.

I will definitely be reading this again.

5 stars

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

4.5 stars. This was such a clever, entertaining psychological read. In this story of a book within a book, the reader gets to be in the mind of a serial killer. The author did a phenomenal job with this. Highly recommend.

When Eve Black was 12-years old, her family was murdered by a serial rapist and killer called The Nothing Man. She was the only survivor. It’s been over fifteen years and she’s gathered the courage to write a book about her experience and the other families that were attacked by this man. Jim Doyle is a supermarket security guard who sees the book on the store shelf. He’s keenly interested in it because he was The Nothing Man. He becomes enraged as he reads the book and realizes that Eve is getting closer to figuring out his identity.

I was really worried I’d be underwhelmed by this book because so many of my friends and others raved about it. Well, now I know what all the fuss is about because this was one heck of a listening experience! Every time I started listening to the story it was tough finding a good stopping point. It was a clever decision to have Eve’s point of view delivered through the book as Jim was reading it but in her voice! Even though I suspected the direction it would take towards the end, there was still enough twisty-ness left to keep it fresh.

I loved the narrators who did a fine bit of storytelling. I believed they were Eve and Jim, who was a nasty piece of work. Both are new to me and they’ll tip the scales if I’m ever pondering a book where they are performing. I listen to a lot of thrillers so it was great to experience something this good on every level. The hype was well deserved.