The Nothing Man

Wow, wow wow!One of the most amazing books I have read in a long time! I just couldn’t stop reading it…I needed to know how the story followed.I was on the edge of my seat, scared and anxious, in the best way.You have to read this amazing book!

The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard was published with Corvus August 6th and is described as ‘a brilliantly twisty thriller’. It is a book that I had been looking forward to reading and it certainly did not disappoint.Based in Cork City, The Nothing Man is receiving huge praise from many quarters‘A deftly blended composite of the serial killer, psychological thriller and true crime narratives, The Nothing Man is a compelling novel that brilliantly deconstructs the genres clichés of the charming sociopath' – The Irish Times‘Riveting from beginning to end. Whipsmart, thrilling and utterly compelling' – Liz NugentThe Nothing Man is written in an extremely ingenious manner. It is a book within a book. Jim Doyle, is a security guard in a supermarket when, one day, his eye is drawn to a book entitled The Nothing Man. Jim’s is initially intrigued but, as he starts to read it, his anger swells. This book is about him. Jim Doyle was nicknamed The Nothing Man when his violent actions led to multiple traumas and death. Jim was a sadistic, vile individual who got pleasure from hurting women but as his actions got more horrific, Jim craved more. Jim Doyle was never caught. Always one step ahead of the Gardaí he was given the moniker, The Nothing Man. They could get nothing on him. Until now….Almost twenty years ago Eve Black was the sole survivor following a horrific and violent attack in her family home. Eve was taken to the West of Ireland by her grandmother to escape the frenzy of the media and also for her own safety. At 12 years old, Eve was unable to process what really happened that night, locking away the trauma. She created a new identity, finished school, went to college but could never settle. Drawn to writing she took a course and submitted a short piece about her past. Her teacher knew there and then that there was a book in Eve. She needed to tell the world her story. With the assistance of An Garda Siochána, Eve trawled through old records and information in an attempt to piece together the movements of this monster, this man who had wrecked her life and that of many others.Eve had to face many demons during this research trying to trace back over the months these crimes were committed. With the use of modern technology and collating all the information now on hand Eve writes her book, naming it after the monster who killed her family. Is Eve any closer to finding the truth? Will this book draw out the killer?Jim Doyle is panicked. He has covered his tracks well but his temper begins to fray. Why now? Why is she looking for him? Has she figured out his identity? As Jim reads deeper into the book, the reader jumps between two books, one written by Eve Black and the one written by Catherine Ryan Howard. As unorthodox as this may sound, it works really well.Jim is a married man, retired from his previous job and now working part time in security. He is depicted as a very angry man, a man with a major chip on his shoulder. His wife, a cowering individual who has led a very lonely life alongside this bully of a husband, is walking on eggshells as his mood swings are more frequent. The reader is offered insights into why Jim Doyle tread such a violent path but there is no sympathy for this evil man.The Nothing Man is set in Cork, my hometown. While reading it I found myself quite jittery out in public spaces. I was nervous of going outside after dark. There is an underlying, creeping sense of menace throughout this book and as the story unfolds the evilness of The Nothing Man is excellently depicted. This really is a high-concept thriller and it is only through reading it that you will truly understand what I mean by that. The characters are all very well fleshed out and it is really quite fascinating to see how Catherine Ryan Howard brought the story to it’s inevitable climax.A possible movie in the making I would think, the malevolence permeates throughout the novel and definitely, for someone like me living in Cork, it felt terrifyingly real. Much of Catherine Ryan Howard’s writing is inspired by true-life events and The Nothing Man is no different, adding a real touch of authenticity to her novels.“My new novel, The Nothing Man came from reading another book: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara. It detailed the late McNamara’s obsessive search for the identity of a serial rapist and murderer nicknamed the Golden State Killer. Two months after the book came out, a man was arrested and charged with the Golden State Killer’s crimes. It got me thinking: had he been aware of the book? Did he read it? What was his reaction to it if he did? I started planning a book that was half a (fictitious) true crime book and half the killer’s reaction to it as he reads.”– Catherine Ryan HowardThe actions of a serial killer always create that sense of shock yet also a twisted kind of curiosity. With The Nothing Man, Catherine Ryan Howard explores it from a very different and intriguing angle. A very unique read, one that I can happily recommend to all.Menacing. Original. Tense.

Written from two points of view and also as a book within a book the author has crafted a wonderful story with two very strong characters.Jim is a security guard at a shopping centre near Cork. His life is nothing spectacular just a guy making ends meet for his wife and himself. Their daughter is no longer at home but close enough to visit. Jim takes a lot of stick but it doesn’t tend to bother him even his boss can’t do that, though he tries, because Jim has a secret. He hasn’t always been unimportant once he was The Nothing Man – a rapist and murderer – a feared man who was never caught and now twenty years later he’s still a free man. One day Jim sees a customer carrying a book and he suddenly thinks that his freedom may be put under threat. The book is about him, it has his name on the front ‘The Nothing Man’ and the author is the twelve year old girl he left behind, alive, that night nearly twenty years before. The night he retired from his ‘other life’ but now he needs to know has he been discovered? Surely not, as he’s still free. He is compelled to read the book, to make sure. As he reads it becomes blatantly clear what he must do. He must become The Nothing Man once more and put a stop to this. He must kill Eve Black.Eve, the girl who, has lived a difficult life ever since her family – Mother, Father and little sister Anna – were annihilated one night. The night that The Nothing Man came to their home. Eve was twelve years old and has lived under the shadow of that night ever since. Taken away by her Nannie from Cork to live near Dublin to escape the horror of what happened Eve grew up with questions she didn’t, couldn’t ask her Nannie, not anyone. She went to college. She took a writing course. She kept her horror to herself. She wrote about anything other than that. Then, up against a deadline, she wrote a piece so instinctively it all came out – yes, it was fiction but it was also true and her tutor encouraged Eve to publish it, which she did. Then she was introduced to a publisher and so began the road to writing her book ‘The Nothing Man’, her search to find the man behind that name and bring him to justice.As we alternate between the book – Eve’s true crime memoir – and Jim’s story we are given two points of view that of the perpetrator and, quite unusually, of the victim. It is the victim’s story – mainly Eve’s but also her family’s and the other victims – that is given, quite rightly, such an important and unique place in the book within this book.The juxtaposition of the two points of view, which are very clear, tells not just the story of what happened but it shows the role reversal as the story unfolds. There are some terrible, brutal and incredibly sad things happening through the book; dark, shocking revelations are made and the ending well it felt right.This is clever storytelling and the book is very well written. If there are any tiny issues, for me, there was nothing to detract or distract from this cracking story. It feels like true crime, as you read it feels very real and is all the more chilling for that. It is a nightmare come true and the tension builds as each crime is retold until the very last one. Will Jim remain a free man? Can a murderer and rapist remain free forever? Or has time run out and has Jim finally made that vital, inevitable mistake? Had he already made it? Will there be more victims? Will the victims be remembered? Will Eve get her justice?I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would certainly recommend The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard.

I was truly scared to read more, but was too anxious to stop!

Really good read recommended