The Resident

5 Stars from me!

Oh I absolutely loved The Resident! David Jackson somehow manages to elevate what should be a really creepy and disturbing book into a pure genius black comedy.

Thomas Brogan - depraved serial killer - is bizarrely likeable and by far my favourite character (except maybe the little old lady). I really found myself rooting for him and at times was almost willing him to do bad things - David Jackson, what have you done to my mind?

Not your traditional crime thriller by any means but absolutely readable, absolutely brilliant and highly recommended by me!

Blurb: THERE'S A SERIAL KILLER ON THE RUN. AND HE'S HIDING IN YOUR HOUSE...


Thomas Brogan is a serial killer, and he has nowhere left to hide. At least until he finds an abandoned house at the end of a terrace on a quiet street. And when he discovers that he can access three other houses through the attic space, the real fun begins. Because the one thing that Brogan enjoys even more than killing, is playing games with his victims. And his new neighbours have more than enough dark secrets to make this game his best one yet...

This book needs to come with a warning. It is guaranteed to give you nightmares!

Well I have to say what a fresh and brilliant psychological thriller this was. What’s worse than a serial killer? One that takes up residency in your house of course. Imagine sharing your home with a cold blooded killer? Only problem is, the home owners arn’t aware that he is there. Even when strange things start to happen, not in their wildest dream could they ever imagine that it’s down to the killer that’s been on the news.

Brogan is one messed up character. He is cold and calculating. Playing with his prey. I couldn’t help but like him a little bit though. There are some glimpses of vulnerability which made me soften towards him. They never last long though and I know it’s probably wrong, but I loved how sick in the head he is and the way his evil mind worked. It made this such a fun and exhilarating read.

The Resident will have you questioning every slight noise in your house. I know after reading this book that I will be checking under my bed and in my wardrobes to make sure there arn’t any unwanted visitors hiding there. This is an author who loves to mess with his readers minds and with each book he brings out, they get more darker and twisted. Pure brilliance! If you only read one book this year, this needs to be it.

I can safely say I have not read a book like this before, so first of all I want to point out how rare it is in a time where the book world is literally saturated with psychological thrillers and obsessed with plot twists, to come across such a unique story. So massive Congratulations to the author! I was hooked from the beginning and genuinely creeped out at times. It definitely will get you over analysing ever tiny unexplained creek your house might make! I did not guess the ending at all, partly down to the way the book is written, you feel you are going through events in real time, so you dont have time to theorize what's coming!
Great read! Many thanks to netgalley!

I have just finished reading this utterly amazing, gripping and captivating page turner of a thriller. It’s every ones worst nightmare to have all their daily and nightly lives exposed to an outsider... well what they assume to be an outsider. This stunning book gripped me from the first page to the last. The amount of character depth and background is absolutely breathtaking. I am impressed and astounded by the quality and detail of this novel. I would gladly buy this in hardback when it comes out.

The devil is in the details. This sentence kept going in my mind as I read The Resident. Well, in the details and the attic.

What a brilliantly unique thriller! My expectations for this novel were sky high, and David Jackson didn’t disappoint. I had no idea I would be thrown on such a dark and twisted path, far from what I’d imagined, yet better than whatever my brain could have come up with.

Brogan is a fascinating character. We learn early on that he is a bad guy. After all, he is running from the police, and the chunks of information we get don’t picture him as the guy you’d invite for a BBQ. Yet, he is not your usual serial killer. More than ‘a kill-hide- kill yay here’s blood to satisfy our quench for murders’ The Resident is a masterpiece in characterisation. Brogan doesn’t simply kill, he imagines scenarios, he explores possibilities, he wants his victims to play a part and suffer both mentally and physically. The depth in this novel is such that more than the impending deaths, it is the exploration of Brogan’s mind that gave me all the chills. I can’t explain the strength with which he hit me. David Jackson has created one of my favourite killers, and given him a scary playground to play on, with the most fantastic cast to challenge Brogan, and show just how clever and resourceful he is… But not everything is black in Brogan and that may well be why I was so engrossed in his game. If it is easy to paint someone as the baddie and make them do the most awful thing, it is harder to depict a flawed and disturbed mind for which the reader can actually feel for. And I did feel for Brogan. I knew he was watching people with the intent to kill, I am no fool, but the waiting and planning allows the reader to experience a bit of his life, and the snippets of his childhood make him more real, more human. I remember I almost forgot he wanted to murder people!!!

On the run, Brogan finds himself in a killer’s heaven. An abandoned house connected through the attic to three inhabited homes. Old and vulnerable Elsie broke my heart and I prayed for her to stay alive. The role she plays in the book is essential in more ways than I thought possible and it is another example of the author’s talent. A middle house with a threat and a very loud couple. Then, The Fairbrights, a thirty-something seemingly cute couple… Brogan finds a new project, but things get complicated, and here lies the beauty of this novel. The intricacies of the plot take The Resident to another level. If you look up the purest definition of psychological thriller, you should find a link to this book.

The writing is knife-sharp and enhance every thought and action, giving every line a mesmerising taste.

The Resident is a terrifyingly unique kind of thriller. This book is the kind of beauty I love to read. Evil with a big E and multiple layers.