'Roz' lives in Chicago and every aspect of her life is pretty sad and depressing, a lot of which might have something to do with her serious dependency on alcohol and her screw-you attitude to everyone and everything. Her career as an artist is completely in the toilet but one day she receives an invite to an art exhibition that an old college buddy is holding. Thinking that she may be able to do a bit of networking and get her career back on track, Roz steals her roommate's good dress and heads off to the exhibition. There she meets a man who offers her a way to get out of her financial and career hole. A million dollars to restart her life, and all it will cost her is....her left hand.
I thought this was going to be a silly supernatural horror caper about a severed hand (kind of like Thing from the Addams Family) running rampant, murdering people. That is not what this book is about. It is a bit of a silly premise but there is a much deeper story than the one I was expecting. It is a little disturbing at times, but generally a really fun, entertaining read.

This book was a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting partly because I wasn't 100% sure how this story would come across and the topic could be a complete miss or something spectacular. I personally really enjoyed this story and connected with the character rather quickly. I can imagine being so desperate and giving up a body part for the money that could be absolutely life changing but not entirely understanding what that could mean to her life.

I did think that the entire book was a little long in parts but I was interested to keep reading and she what would happen to Roz and her phantom limb pain and psychic connection. Power created a character that was easily disliked and enjoyed because throughout the story I felt myself getting annoyed with her and her choices. Although this felt like it might have been the point of this character and her personality and situation.

I would give Phantom a 3.5. I loved this authors first book. And this book started out the same way, I couldn’t put it down. But a little over half way through the story line became a bit repetitive and the ending was wrapped up pretty quickly. Over all, a good read but would’ve preferred a more in depth ending and a little less filling.

I liked this original story concept but felt it could have been better executed. Also, you have to live on the outskirts of Chicago to be a blackjack dealer so that didn't make much sense to me. Lots of plot holes.

The premise here seems fun but the book falls victim to lack of character building and a slow-paced plot that does not move the story along quick enough.

[2.25/5, rounded slightly down]
The premise of Phantom is very fun: a broke young woman who decides to make a very strange deal, a background murder mystery, weird medical sci-fi stuff (which is always fun.)
Unfortunately, the execution didn't really work for me: I've seen other reviews mention that the protagonist isn't likeable, but that's not a prerequisite for me to enjoy a book. I feel like the biggest issue is that the protagonist seems to only act in ways that move the plot along instead of being a character who does things because it's in their nature to do so. The narration doesn't seem to be purposeful enough to make her an unreliable narrator: the way she describes the people around her and her reactions to them are wildly inconsistent depending on the vibe the author wants to go for in a given moment. This could possibly work if handled differently, but it doesn't really work here, and the prose itself feels a little too rough. "Show, don't tell," is really popular advice for a reason, and in this book a lot of things happen that are supposed to be building tension but the way we find out about them falls flat and doesn't really create the vibe that a thriller/mystery should have where you're on the edge of your seat wondering what's next. All in all, it's not a bad book, and the premise is fun, but it's not enough to carry the entire novel. It could have done with some polishing.


Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was so good! Interesting ideas of what people will do in times of desperation without really thinking of the consequences. I didn’t see any of it coming! Great for those who love thrillers and true crime.

I enjoyed this and think it would make a great TV movie. I really liked the hidden world of 'The Company', and the fact that female characters were unsympathetic without a sob story. It was at times genuinely disturbing, and I particularly liked the psychiatry session scenes and the unexpected humour.

I wasn't keen on the drug dealers subplot - I imagine it was important for showing how rich people could get the poor to do their dirty work. But I felt like it cheapened what could have been a really sleek, dark book.

I did still enjoy it, and I would read more by the author.

This book was a very unique read for me. More thriller than horror with a pinch of sci-fi feels.
This book follows roz a struggling artist in Chicago who has a whole slew of problems and when she is offered a deal for a million dollars in exchange for her hand she doesn't refuse. But in feeling phantom pain she undergoes an experiment drug that has weird side effects.
The pacing and tension in this book was so good. The twists were done brilliantly.
If you're looking for a thrilling read this book is for you.

AHHHHH! I am so thankful to CamCat Books, Helen Power, and Netgalley for sending me both a physical and digital copy of Phantom before this baby hit shelves. I'm a slut for horror books and this one absolutely slayed my expectations.

Listen, I am never going to recover from this book. Homegirl reminds me a little of my best friend and my brother. She is miserable, an addict, and she's broke. She has a nice enough roommate and her art, which isn't great but it occupies her, and then she sells her hand. That was a sketchy agreement anyway.
You can't just sell body parts because there are lifelong repercussions. Your other hand, eye, leg gets worn out because it is doing all the work.
But she sells it. She is desperate and sad.
So then somehow things get a lot creepier. A lot!
And our girl is struggling with her loss, phantom hand pains and sensations, and trying to deal with her addictions.
You all have to read this.
The setting. OMG the setting was perfection. The apartment is a typical apartment for two broke girls. It is one room with sheets separating their areas and a little corner that has been designated the "kitchen. The shower barely works and they have a 1980s TV that gets only a few news channels. I felt that in my soul.
I love Roz too. She is so deeply flawed and hilarious. "Did he expect to walk me home tonight? I'd rather be strangled"
Anyway, you think the first part is creepy but it gets a lot creepier as you go on. It is very murdery and full of conspiracies.

Thank you netgalley for the e-arc of this novel!

Again, I was swayed by the cover. It has this retro horror feel to it. I was smitten instantly. Then the premise gets added, it’s wild. But then I read it, and I don’t totally love it but I don’t dislike it. I can see this being popular. This has the makings of a great black mirror episode

I just didn’t enjoy this book. The concept was fine, but it felt like two concepts put into one book and it really didn’t leave much to the imagination.
The overall writing was fine. I believe the characters are intentionally hateable.

Genuinely one of the better thriller books I've read in a while. It follows a woman who trades her hand in for a lump sum of money that quickly devolves into a conspiracy that interrogates our own relationship with capitalism, health care and art. While it's no where near a literary feat, it does exactly what all the best types of science fiction does: glances at our complicated real-world systems through an otherworldly scienctific lens.

Don't take that description to mean it takes itself too seriously either–it's absolutely a pulpy adventure that takes so many twists and turns, you're unlikely to put it down until you finish it.

I absolutely loved and enjoyed this book! Phantom limb pain is such an interesting topic and I have never read a novel focusing on this issue - combine this with art, a serial killer on the loose and experimental drug trials and you have the perfect thriller story. The protagonist Regan is definitely a mess; she gets $1 million for her arm and instead of spending it on necessities she wastes it on alcohol and gambling. She’s also a compulsive liar and lies about her drug and alcohol use to her psychiatrist which affects her clinical pain medication trial as the substances interact and cause side effects such as hallucinations. This leads to both her character and reader not knowing what is real or not as she is constantly hallucinating things and only finding out when others tell her that what she experienced never happened. I love how she uses her phantom limb sensations to track down the Phantom Strangler. We do get glimpses of the Phantom Strangler’s POV however I wish we did get more chapters. It was also a bit difficult to tell when the Phantom’s POV ended as Regan’s POV chapters weren’t labelled and it would just switch without clarification. There were so many twists that kept me on my toes - the unexpected inclusion of a “touch her and die” crazy dealer ex-boyfriend and a hot ex-marine PI added the perfect finishing touches to an overall amazing story.

Really enjoyed this. The story was an easy and entertaining read. The writing was comfortable and didn’t feel like a chore to get through. The story felt fresh and new.

Would you sell your left hand for one million dollars?

Roz, a starving artist in Chicago does just that. She’s fed up with being poor, being unable to find a gallery and she has just lost her job as a blackjack dealer. She’s reached rock bottom. Only she hasn’t. After she sells her hand she begins to experience excruciating phantom limb pain which leads her to a psychiatrist and ultimately experimental treatment and a support group. Roz is about to go down the deepest of all rabbit holes and now her sanity and her life are at risk.

This was a good but not great story…interesting idea but the author employs too many expected tropes and Roz does some of the dumbest things….it’s a little hard to care about someone who is such a misanthrope and so stupid. The therapist character was fairly unbelievable…she saw Roz, what, twice, before she sends her off for this untried, experimental treatment? If you can swallow a major dose of suspension of disbelief it’s fairly enjoyable though.

I really had high hopes going into this one based on how much I enjoyed the author's first book, but they are very different. I thought this one would have a horror element to it but it is more serial killer murder mystery with an element of sci-fi. The concept was interesting but I really didn't like the main character. I keep saying that I don't mind an unlikeable character but I'm thinking maybe that's not true about me anymore. I will say, however, that the last 1/3 of the book picked up and I enjoyed that bit, it just took too long to get there.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC. This book will be released Oct 10/23.

This book is uniquely fun. It is a creative and fun horror book. I enjoyed the plot twist and the violence. I do think I will enjoy it more as an audiobook.

This was a fun one! The plot was creative and definitely refreshing, compared to other books I’ve read in the same genre. The writing was a little repetitive at times, and I wasn’t the biggest fan of the main character, but I still found myself rooting for her despite her flaws. I also didn’t predict the shock twist at the end, so that was exciting. A good book, with an interesting plot and enough depth to keep me interested.