Thank you so much to Net Galley and CamCat Books for this ARC for review!

Phantom follows the story of a woman named Roz who is losing hope for her career as a sculpture artist, loses her job, and can’t escape her awful drug dealer ex-boyfriend. While she’s struggling to pay rent and buy food, she is offered one million dollars and is told her ex will be removed from the situation in exchange for her dominant hand. As she is learning to navigate life with an excess of money and the loss of her hand, Roz begins experiencing excruciating pain in the hand she no longer has. As time progresses and she attempts therapy, she becomes part of the first human trial for a “non-addictive” drug that is supposed to eliminate phantom limb pain, but she can feel her missing hand writing, and chopping vegetables, and committing murder so like, worth it?

This book was so full of twists and turns that I won’t mention any spoilers because I want you to read this and have as much fun with it as I did! The beginning of Phantom was a little slow for me, but I was so intrigued by the concept I just couldn’t stop reading, and I’m so glad I didn’t! By about 25% in, I actually could not put this book down. As I’ve been writing this I actually keep remembering things and gasping out loud and having to delete what I just typed! My favorite thing about this story is our unreliable narrator. The potential side effects for Roz’s phantom painkiller include hallucinations, which Roz frequently experiences, and it isn’t to be taken with alcohol or caffeine, which Roz frequently does anyways. That frustrating combination created a lot of moments where I was left asking, “WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING?!?!” (In a lovely way!!)

I loved the smart, scary, stalker-y, calculated killer and I loved our sarcastic, cunning, determined main girl despite the fact that her choices made me want to strangle her myself sometimes. The choices except for Jace, of course. I really enjoyed the side-romance plot that didn’t override the scariness of the story!

Phantom by Helen Power is a unique, entertaining, and thrilling novel that everyone should be adding to their October and Halloween TBR’s! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 from me!