Eve Black’s family was murdered in their family home when she was a child. Twelve-year-old Eve was the only survivor with her mother, father and younger sister brutally murdered. Two decades later, the murderer still has not been found. He is a serial killer dubbed The Nothing Man by reporters as the police had nothing on him. He was linked to several other murders and rapes in the area. Hoping to rekindle interest in the case, as well as adding information and opinions about the murderer, Eve writes a book outlining each of The Nothing Man’s victims including her own family. Working with a detective, she painstakingly adds information that no one else would have known. Her goal to antagonize the Nothing Man in the book and during interviews is successful and he can no longer sit back and allow her to live any longer.

This was a creepy, suspenseful story that had me staying awake at night. This book is written in such a way that it sounds like a true crime book and that really hooked me. This was an intense read about a serial killer and his surviving victim playing a game of cat and mouse. It is not overly graphic which I liked, but you know that his crimes were terrible. As I read, I did not know who would win the game, which had the suspense high. The writing and narration were wonderful. I definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes a thriller, and this one is written in a very clever and different way. The audio narration was well done. Both narrators, Alana Kerr Collins and John Keating did a great job with their expression and tone giving the book that creepy and suspenseful feel. Wonderfully done.

Going with a rounded up 4.5

This is my first Catherine Ryan Howard novel but it won’t be the last.

I was honestly surprised by how quickly I became engrossed in this book. The premise, the lone survivor of a serial killer’s attack on her family wrote a book about her experience while the never-caught killer reads it, seemed very original to me.

I was taken in by both story lines and was happy to be in either place, which doesn’t always happen with split POV books. Although, the POV of the survivor is completely contained within the killer’s reading of the book and it worked really well.

The writing style of the author and the plot was great. I definitely recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good murder/thriller book. I listened to the audiobook and thought the two narrators (one for the survivor and one for the killer) did a wonderful job. That’s always a bonus!

Big thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this really well done book.

The Nothing Man is a really interesting reading experience because it's told from two unique perspectives - a serial killer who has gotten away with his decades old crimes, and the book one of the survivors of his crimes has written about him. We read the book along with Jim Doyle, finding out how much Eve Black has learned about him through the years at the same time he does. 

It's a very unique audiobook experience because of this, and both narrators did a great job. The character perspectives are what carried this book for me, as I found reading a book within a book a fun twist as the story went along. The plot wasn't too predictable, and I was satisfied with the way the story wrapped up. 

I think lovers of crime novels, thrillers and true crime will really enjoy this one. 

Book CW: murder, sexual assault, stalking, violent descriptions

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ➯ THE NOTHING MAN
BY AUTHOR CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD
NARRATED BY ALANA KERR COLLINS & JOHN KEETING

THE DETAILS❐
❐ A BOOK WITHIN A BOOK
❐ SERIAL KILLER MYSTERY
❐ WHERE YOU ALREADY KNOW WHO THE KILLER IS
❐ DUAL POV'S
❐ GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENT CRIMES
❐ LENGTH OF AUDIO - 9 HOURS, 54 MINUTES
❐ I LISTENED TO AN ADVANCED LISTENER COPY VIA NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR A HONEST REVIEW

MY THOUGHTS❐

FULL DISCLOSURE:  I had an advanced listener copy of this through Netgalley, but there App's usability is so poor that I used a credit for this on Audible.  I'm not fully upset about this, either...since it was so freaking good.  I guess that answers the question they ask you on Netgalley --would I buy this for myself or a friend?

The narration by Alana Kerr Collins and John Keeting was performed swimmingly by both and made the audio of this book a treat.  They made both the victim of the Nothing Man and the Nothing Man himself come to life.

I had no clue that I would like a crime fiction/murder mystery where you, the reader, already know who he is...and you're even privy to what makes him tick.  Doesn't sound like much of mystery when you know all this from the very beginning, right?  The real mystery at work here is when will the victim (Even Black), from long ago when she was just a child, figure out who he is because she is so very determined to figure it out...and what will ultimately happen to her and him when she does.

The book within a book thing was so very clever and overall this was a satisfying, and refreshingly different story...even the epilogue was cleverly executed.

MY RATING➯ 5 STARS

BREAKDOWN❐
Narration Rating ➯ 5 STARS
Plot ➯ 5/5
Characters ➯ 5/5
The Feels ➯ 5/5
Pacing ➯ 5/5
Addictiveness ➯ 5/5
Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 5/5
Originality/Believability ➯ 5/5
Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ➯ 4.5/5
Mystery ➯ 5/5
Ending ➯ 5/5
Summation ➯ 5 STARS

Eve Black was twelve years old when her family-mother, father, and little sister-were murdered in their home. It was only chance that spared Eve. She spent the rest of her childhood with her grandmother never speaking of the events that destroyed their lives. As an adult, Eve became determined to find the serial killer known as the Nothing Man. A college assignment turned into her true-crime memoir, the first step on her journey. Now, she's on a book tour that takes her back to the scene of the crime and seemingly everyone is reading about her trauma, everyone including the Nothing Man himself. With every page he reads his rage and panic grows. His only loose end has come back to haunt him. 

This book ticks all my boxes! 

A book within a book
A true crime "memoir"
Pursuit of justice
Surprise twists
A potentially unreliable narrator
An Irish setting and Irish audiobook narrators
The story of the Nothing Man is told from two perspectives. Readers experience Eve's memoir along side Jim Doyle, the sixty-something store security guard who killed the Black family nearly two decades ago. The memoir portion reads as an homage to Michelle McNamara and her quest for the Golden State Killer, while Jim's unraveling ratchets up the tension. This is a must read for fans of true crime and psychological thrillers. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advanced audio copy of this book. 

~Megan

The Nothing Man has received rave reviews and I appreciate and understand why. The concept itself is a unique one...a serial killer reading about his past deeds in a book about himself. Despite the widespread appeal, I unfortunately, didn’t love this story. 

For some reason, this creepy novel just never grabbed my attention. I couldn’t find the hook that made me want to keep reading, in fact, I found it to be rather dry. We find out early on who the killer is and we already know what transpired so many years ago, though we continue to learn more as the book progresses. 

It could be that the audio-version just didn’t work for me. The Irish dialect and accent was difficult for me to understand and the lilting, question mark endings to each sentence were a bit grating. Perhaps some books are just better in physical form. 

There were also quite a few characters and stories that were recounted and I found it a challenge to keep them all straight and even follow the plot easily, especially in regards to which parts where the fictional book and which were the actual narrator. What also struck me as odd was the concept of a retired serial killer now living a rather ordinary life. Though I’m not an expert in this field, that feels a bit far-fetched. Do serial killers retire?

So though the concept was eerie and intriguing, the story itself just didn’t captivate me.

Well Hot, clever, Diggity, brilliant DANG this one is one of the best thrillers I have read in a long time! Don't miss out on this well crafted, exciting thrill of a chill read!

Well, all I am going to do is rave about this one and it's not a hyped-up thriller!! It's one well crafted, original thriller with chilling and thrilling twists and turns that relies on just great writing to keep us turning the pages!

I have read books within a book before; however, Catherine Ryan Howard uniquely weaves in a true-crime memoir about The Nothing Man, who has disappeared after killing her family while the nothing man-killer Jim is reading it. The story brilliantly alternates between passages from Eve's book and Jim's reaction to them. I found it fascinating to see Jim's reaction to the memoir while he is reading it and it makes for an exciting and interesting twist to the story.

Eve is obsessed with finding the Nothing Man, and she won't stop writing until she finds him, and he is hooked and can't stop reading it. With each page, the tension rose for me and with each page, Jim becomes angrier with Eve. The twists to the story are heart-pounding exciting and while we can imagine what is ahead, Catherine Ryan Howard had some surprises for me with those exciting twists.

Eve's book concentrates on the victims rather than the killer himself. The crimes of The Nothing Man are horrifying and distributing however, Eve does not focus on that and leaves and the disturbing details up to the reader to think about or not.

I received a print copy and audiobook copy from the publisher and I ended up reading it because listening to it didn't work for me as well as I would have liked. I thought narrators Alana Kerr Collins and John Keating did a great job capturing the voices of the characters and it worked well when Jim responded to parts of Eve's book, but for some reason, I didn't find it as thrilling to listen to as I did reading it. The setting is in Ireland and Eve's voice has a strong Irish accent, and I found that bit hard to follow even though I thought it fit the character well. Kind of doesn't make sense does it, but I think it just came down to I found it more exciting to read it.

Eerie and disturbing, reminiscent of I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, which the author says was an inspiration, but this books is a work of fiction.
I listened to part of this as an audio book and read the rest in print. It is excellently plotted and although we know the identity of the killer from the first page, we get insights into his mind as he reads Eve's true crime book and tries to determine just how much this survivor knows about him.
She has many insights into the true crime phenomenon of the present day--from podcasts to videos to endless internet threads pored over by citizen detectives, putting all of that into a compelling mystery feels fresh and intriguing.
I liked the audio book narrators, they helped me to follow the storyline and know which parts were the killer and which were the true crime novel. I do think that the book is pretty disturbing overall and it makes it all the more creepy to listen to as an audio book.
Overall, if you like suspenseful thrillers, this is definitely a great choice.

I loved the hell out of this premise, dude.

Basically, a retired serial killer who works as a grocery store security guard finds a book (in his store, if I  remember correctly) about a serial killer named The Nothing Man written by the only survivor of a family slaying more than 20 years ago. The catch? The Nothing Man is HIM! He basically relives his murders through Eve Black’s (surviving victim) memory, research, and writing. This pisses him off. Some of what she says isn’t true, he thinks. Or at least it’s things about himself he doesn’t WANT to be true.

What I loved about this book is the style of novel this is. It’s a book WITHIN a book. It’s told in two perspectives: the killer’s and the writer’s (as the killer is reading the book!)

I also really enjoyed the ending of this novel, as it concludes with a strong message about how society feeds the popularity of murder with our obsession of serial killers. I, for one, completely relate to that. I love learning about  serial killer’s—the “why” they do it aspect of them mostly—but also I’m so interested in how the world perceived them in the end: were they successful? were they idiotic for getting caught? are they forgiven? I loved the final sentiments that we shouldn’t be naming the serial killer’s, but instead focusing on the victims. WE ALWAYS FORGET ABOUT THE VICTIMS and I find that to be such an embarrassment of our society. 

What I didn’t like about the book—the book summary promises a catch-and-mouse game between the 63 year old pissed off killer and Eve Black, but that is not at all the case. I also found 0 thrills about this book. In many parts of the book, it reads more like a nonfiction, like a true crime book. So if you’re into that sorta thing, you’ll love it. But if you’re not, and you want to be scared, get goosebumps, and be thrilled....then this book is gonna be a 3 ⭐️ and under for you too. 

I also listened to the audiobook, thanks to Blackstone Audio and Netgalley. I enjoyed the narrations as they were both of Irish decent or at least carried an Irish accent and this book takes places in Cork Ireland. I also liked how they chose a more mature sounding male narrator for the old serial killer man.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

WOAH.

I honestly didn't think I would love this one as much as I did!

THE NOTHING MAN was my first NetGalley audio so thank you to them for this great listen!

Originally, I planned to listen to this while doing other thing (laundry, washing dishes, etc.), but once it got going I couldn't stop! I found myself being wrapped up in the story and forgetting that I had other things to do.

Plot: A survivor of a serial rapist and murderer writes a memoir and he reads it with growing anxiety.

Characters: I didn't want to throttle anyone in this book! (WHAT?!) Well apart from Jim, duh. If I had to complain, the wife Noreen did kinda irk me at the end. Katie I felt SO SORRY for! And without spoiling, I love the end for Eve.

Setting: Ever since After He Died I've been kinda wary of Irish narrators. It's not that I don't like them, I don't know why, but the accents and the vernacular grate on me. This one still had weird (to me) phrases, but it wasn't infuriating!

Conflict: The whole book is a conflict. It seriously jumps right in to the problem. 'Reading' THE NOTHING MAN along with the actual Nothing Man is fascinating! Of course hearing what he did is terrifying, but also hearing what he was thinking during those attacks is so interesting.

Resolution: While I do think everyone pretty much got what they deserved, I WANTED MORE.

Now I'm going out to get the physical copy-on August 20th.

I have no words to express how perfect this book was! It felt like it was written just for me, I loved it that much! I also loved the narrators of the audiobook, so it was an amazing experience. 
I love how it is a book in a book, I loved the characters and I loved how the author was able to make the format work so well. 
I will need to buy a physical copy of this book for my favorites shelf!

3.5 stars

I honestly understand the appeal to this book because it quite literally is a book within a book, which is pretty fascinating as a premise. However, I just wasn't sold on the execution as much as some. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of times that I think the story worked well to highlight the gruesome acts that The Nothing Man committed, but there were definitely moments where I was confused as to whether we were in the book or the main storyline.

I don't understand the mindset of a serial killer and don't pretend to; it's outside of my expertise. That being said, I really couldn't wrap my head around Jim Doyle aka The Nothing Man. He's a retired serial killer who is now a washed up supermarket security guard. He stumbles upon the book about himself (written by Eve Black, the sole survivor of his last and most gruesome attack) and it sets off a chain of events that lead to him desperately trying to keep his identity concealed while also taking pride in the heinous acts that he committed.

There's definitely plenty of twists and turns along the way, and Eve doesn't shy away from the gruesome details of The Nothing Man's victims. I definitely had a few jarring nightmares thanks to those details.

I think this is one of those books that if you really enjoy the psychology of serial killers then you will really enjoy this book.

Thank you to Blackstone Audio for providing an advanced listening copy through NetGalley. This didn't influence my review. All opinions are my own.

The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard is one of the best thrillers I've read this year. It is a captivating game of cat and mouse between a serial killer who has been dormant for 20 years and the daughter, now grown up, who managed to escape the brutal fate of her family who fell victim to his crimes. 

As an adult, Eve Black is a writer, and she doesn't want to write about the tragedy of her youth, but when she's convinced that writing about her story may help catch a killer she writes The Nothing Man. This taunts Jim Doyle, who had settled into family life and sets him on a path to kill Eve before she can expose him. 

I had the chance to listen to this as an audiobook, which enhanced the experience with Alana Kerr Collins and John Keating as narrators. Run time is 9 hours and 57 minutes. 

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Blackstone Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Sometimes when I’m deciding which book to read next I go to Goodreads and check what my friends have thought about a book. I don’t read much of the reviews because I want to go in mostly blind but I look at star ratings and the first sentence or two just to get a sense. Here’s what I found when I looked up The Nothing Man: 

“5+ outstanding stars!” - Lindsay - Traveling Sisters Book Reviews
“WOW what a thriller!” - Berit
“This book completely caught me off guard in the best way.” - Dennis
“Honestly, THIS is what a thriller should be!” - Chelsea

That was certainly enough testimony to get me excited to pick up this book next and I’m so glad I did!! The book starts with Jim, a security guard at a grocery store, seeing a customer with a new book called The Nothing Man. 

The book is written by Eve who was the only survivor twenty years ago when her family was murdered by the serial killer known as The Nothing Man. He earned that name because the police had nothing on him. She’s written this book in an attempt to find him. Why is Jim so thrown off to see the book? Because he was The Nothing Man. Does Eve know? Is there a chance they are on to him? 

Told in alternating perspectives between Jim and Eve (through her book) this was a great twist on the typical thriller. We know who the killer is right from the start - but will he get caught?

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook and audiobook copies to review.

Eve Black was the only member of her family to survive a serial killer when she was 12. Now years later she is writing a book hoping to bring “The Nothing Man”, the serial killer to justice. It is a well-written, a book within a book. Some chapters are from Eve’s book some from the Nothing Man himself. The book doesn’t keep it a secret that Eve knows who the Nothing Man is, it is more about the cat and mouse game as she and a police detective work to bring the Nothing Man back into action after so many years of silence.  The audio book narrated by Alana Kerr Collins and John Keating, do an excellent job of bringing this Irish story to life. The Irish accents are there, but not broad enough to make it difficult to understand. The voices bring tension and suspense to the forefront.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: An addictively dark and multifaceted serial killer novel that will grab you from page one.

If I am being honest, THE NOTHING MAN has it all. Howard has given us a story told by the victim and the serial killer with equal weight. However, for me, it was the book within the book that brought it to the next level. The melding together of the narrators and the Eve Black’s true-crime memoir is such perfection. It allows the story to flow all the while adding to the suspense and emotion.

What I loved about this book was that it is a compulsive read with a smartly constructed story. The way the author builds the tension through her characters is so well done. There is such depth to Eve Black and Jim Doyle. Each of the characters come alive on the page. Jim Doyle’s reactions to Eve’s book bring him back to who he was when he killed her family. The way he obsesses over each word is brilliant and also adds to the creepy factor he brings to the book.

THE NOTHING MAN was hands down a fresh, compelling, and positively thrilling crime novel. I binge read this book in one day. The author expertly weaves together the best of what a true-crime novel can be with the disturbing attributes of a flawless thriller. Brilliantly dark and oh so good.

The audiobook was excellent. The narrators were initially hard to understand as I hadn't expected the accents, but once I got used to it, they just filled the story even more with their voices. Great narration of an amazing thriller/mystery book. This is the kind of book I've been wanting to read (or listen to in this case) for a long time.

"The Nothing Man" by Catherine Ryan Howard is available to purchase today, August 4, 2020. 

I loved the premise of this book. When Jim, a former police officer turned security guard at a store, sees a woman reading a book titled "The Nothing Man" he gets chills. This book is a true crime story of an unsolved serial killer case, written by a survivor. The problem is, Jim is the nothing man. He buys the book and obsessively reads it then starts stalking the author. This story is partly following JIm and partly excerpts from the true crime book itself. 

I struggle to rate this book. I loved the ending but felt the middle part was lacking a bit. I think that I grew tired of the true crime book sections. They were a bit too long and I didn't love the narrator's voice. I did really enjoy the sections that followed Jim, the killer and I loved the ending. Because of this I am giving the book a average rating of 3 stars. I do think a lot of people will enjoy this as well. 

I listened to this on audio and I think in this case I may have enjoyed the physical book more. Jim's voice was fine but the woman's voice was not my favorite. No fault to the author at all, the NetGalley app was skipping a lot and I feel I may have missed parts of the story. I can't be sure because I couldn't seem to go back to them. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

This is the first book I've read by Catherine Ryan Howard but it certainly will not be the last. And thanks to Netgalley offering audiobooks, I jumped when I saw that this one was available as an audiobook galley. 

I absolutely loved this book. It is so cleverly crafted and kept me hooked from start to finish. There were so many little twists here and there that I wasn't expecting and the tension really builds all the way through so that you are kept on the edge of your seat. There are some really chilling parts to this book, especially the parts where we find out about all the victims of the serial killer, but I always think being in mind of a serial killer can be haunting in it's own way.

I am obsessed with the whole book-within-a-book format and I loved how it was done here. Reading parts of the chapters along with the killer was just sheer brilliance, getting his reaction as he goes through the book. But even having Eve's point of view as she works on the book gives such insight to what she went through and why she ultimately wrote the book in the first place.

This was one of the best cat and mouse games I've ever read. This book isn't about finding out who the killer is - we know that right from the start. Rather, it is about the killer getting caught. And being in the mindset of the killer is so haunting and chilling. I've read other books where we are privy to a killer's thoughts and stream of consciousness, but never have I been as freaked out as I was while reading this book. It was pure brilliance.

I loved the way this book came together. It totally gets under your skin, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  It's definitely an addictive, binge-worthy thriller that I won't be forgetting anytime soon.


Audio thoughts: I loved this audiobook. I thought the narrators, Alana Kerr Collins and John Keating did a fantastic job with this audio, bringing their individual parts to life. Both narrators have Irish accents and with the book taking place in Ireland, the accents seemed natural. They really brought this book to life, and their pacing and intonations were spot on. I felt they infused just the right amount of tension and suspense into their voices as needed and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook.

𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗻.
𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝗺...

Wow! Catherine Ryan Howard's 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘯 is a bit of a book within a book. Eve Black has written this memoir about the murder of her family two decades ago.  When grocery store security guard Jim Doyle, gets his hands on it, his anger grows out of control. Jim Doyle was, is, The Nothing Man. Will Eve's book lead to justice for her family, or will The Nothing Man finish what he started? This 🌴🌴🌴🌴 four star read threw me for a loop at the very end! Check this one out tomorrow 8/4 from @blackstonepublishing, thank you @netgalley for my audio copy!