Welcome to Litsy!

The Nothing Man, by Catherine Ryan Howard (2020)

Premise: A man reads a true crime book written by the lone survivor of one of his twenty-year-old crimes.

Review: I don‘t read a lot of thrillers (or in this case thriller-adjacent books) but I try to pick up at least a few each year. I‘d been hearing the praises of this one for years and I‘m very glad I finally picked it up. Cont.

It‘s just too hot today to do anything except read

This is the perfect fiction book for fans of I‘ll Be Gone In The Dark. Howard even cites that specific book as inspiration in the Acknowledgements. If you‘re looking for a book to give a true crime aficionado – or if you‘re one yourself, looking to try something different – this is the one to go with. Catherine Ryan Howard remains a must-read author for me! Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-nothing-man-catherine-ryan-howard/

I listened to the one via BorrowBox,
I found it ok,
maybe I should have read this one and her other one via e book instead,
as I didn't love either that much sadly.

Read for reading challenges.

3.75/5

Such a cleverly written story with realistic characters and the perfect level of suspense
Eve is the only surviving member of her family after a serial killers attack. She decides to write a book about her and other victims experiences with the killer who has never been caught. The perpetrator starts to read her book and gets angrier page by page. It‘s written like a book within a book, diving into the psyche of a killer
4.5 ⭐️

This was a really cool concept for a novel. A story-within-a-story, a survivor of a serial killer writes about her experiences and therefore brings the monster back out into the open. We get to hear excerpts of her book, giving us some background on what happened, alternating with the killer‘s POV. I loved these parts most as we get a peek into the egotism and insanity that drove him. Really quick listen as well. Very good overall! 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

I really really liked this one a lot. It was so fun with the book within a book aspect. Great pick for the group!!

#BookSpinBingo

Clever thriller but the pace is definitely lacking. The author is able to keep the reader tense, but I prefer a shorter version. Seriously would have been definitely better.

First read of June ♥️

This was my first book by this author and its clever book within a book conceit made for entertaining reading. Eve Black was the only survivor of a horrific crime that ended the lives of her parents and younger sister. Now, 20 years later, she‘s written the story of “the nothing man” in the hopes he might be caught. The man himself is not too pleased. Not scary, but a well-written page-turner.

Still going strong. I guess I like serial killer thrillers…

I REALLY like The Nothing Man, so that was an easy choice.

Ooh, this was fantastic!! The sole survivor of a serial rapist and murderer writes a true crime memoir about the case, in the hopes that it might stir up some new leads and finally lead to his identity and capture. Meanwhile, the very man they're looking for is reading the book... and thinking about tying up loose ends 😱

I was HOOKED. Super clever and captivating in a way that not a lot of thrillers are these days! 👏🏽

I LOVED this book! It‘s basically like what if Joseph DeAngelo read I‘ll Be Gone in the Dark right after it was published, and how would he react? There‘s a book within a book, a memoir/tell-all from a survivor of a serial attacker. The attacker? Well, he‘s out there, reading the book, and he is not happy.

I think this is the earliest in a month I have finished a #BookSpin. This was so creepy that I finished it fast both because I wanted to know what happened and because I wanted to get it out of my head. I liked the concept of a book within a book and the role the book played in the story. This author does a good job with thrillers.

What if The Golden State Killer read “I‘ll be Gone in the Dark” by Michelle McNamera?

That‘s the concept Catherine Ryan Howard explores in “The Nothing Man,” which is a fictional account of a serial attacker and murderer who finds out that a non-fiction book about the search for him. Will the young girl who survived and witnessed the aftermath of The Nothing Man be a lie to find and catch him years later?

I‘m going in, excited for the next round with you all!

May pick for #12booksof2021 This was my first Catherine Ryan Howard and I really liked it! It caused me to check out more of her books and I‘m so glad I did. She is now an auto buy author for me. 😀

I just noticed that a bunch of Catherine Ryan Howard‘s books are on sale for $0.99 today! I really liked 56 Days, so I‘m looking forward to reading a few more of her titles! #kindledeals

This is my first CRH read, but I‘m jumping on the Litsy bandwagon. Serial killer, The Nothing Man, leaves a child alive after killing her family. As an adult, the survivor writes a true-crime book about what happened and is determined to find out who he is. I listened to this but it was definitely a page-turner.

November Review

I had a great time with this book about a serial killer who is addressed by the one girl who survived and has written a book about it twenty years later. I will find you, she promises. Quite the pageturner!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With a compelling twist on the serial killer thriller, this was a gripping and fast-paced listen! Readers see inside the mind of The Nothing Man, who is reminiscent of The Golden State Killer, and his only surviving victim, who just published a book about him. A clever and chilling game of cat and mouse ensues! 🎧

#WeeklyForecast 42/21

Progress is slow so I am sharing my ‘in progress‘ books (the upper three books) and the ones I have planned to read this week (below). Ambitious I know…

Thinking of you Cindy! I hope you are having a wonderful day 👰‍♀️ 🤵‍♂️ 🤍

The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard

While working security, Jim sees a new release titled THE NOTHING MAN, a true crime book about the titular serial killer—written by his only survivor. Jim picks up the book thinking, “I let this kid live and she wrote a book about me!?”

The narrative switches between Jim in the present, and the book about himself which he‘s reading. It‘s a fascinating, disturbing, thrilling tale that I couldn‘t put down.

#LittensDressedInBlood Today's prompt is Thriller

This was my first CRH book, and it prompted me to gobble up all her previous titles and guaranteed that she was a Must Read Author for me. The Nothing Man was a serial killer who's crimes devastated Ireland, but then he suddenly stopped killing. Now his one survivor has written a book about him, and The Nothing Man is not happy about it.

Brilliant concept for a book!! I have a category in my reading list called “books about books“ but this novel is really a “book within a book“. Twenty years ago, Eve Black was the sole survivor of a killing spree perpetrated by a serial killer dubbed “The Nothing Man“. The killer was never found. Now, Eve has published a bestselling book detailing this tragedy and at the same time the real killer is reading the novel with great trepidation.

This week (actually last week) in new books: All kindle, two recommended by Meredith at the Currently Reading podcast, one TJR Amazon original novella/short story recommended by Anne Bogel from the What Should I Read Next podcast. Maybe I should stop listening to podcasts! #TBR #Kindle #NoSuchThingasTooManyBooks

I found this to be a genuinely scary book. The idea that serial killers are likely average, otherwise unremarkable people made sense to me. Because of that, I thought the book was believable and good. I liked the heroine and how she wrote a book to draw the killer out.

Have you ever wondered what a novelized account of a serial killer who has never been caught, who suddenly finds himself in the spotlight when a survivor publishes their account? What would it really be like if the serial killer read the account AND the account itself was as interesting as what is happening in the current timeline? This is Catherine Ryan Howard's The Nothing Man. This is the second Howard book that I have read this month & I👇

The protagonist of the tagged book, which I just started, has the same name as a major character in a book I just finished....Whoa, indeed...

Lock your doors, @Cathythoughts !! He‘s in your neighbourhood!! 😆

What a fun thriller this one is turning out to be.

Finished my first audiobook on Audible! I enjoyed this one. A ‘true crime‘ within a fiction book. One of the main characters is a survivor from a serial killer called the Nothing Man. She writes a memoir/true crime book about him. It was a unique story! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Start of a new week and starting a new audiobook! 😀 #nutsinmay

I LOVED it!! I don‘t often give a book the five star rating but this was definitely deserving! Loved the plot, loved the characters, loved the style of writing, loved everything... AND it‘s a new Irish author that I‘d never heard of so I‘m off to find all her other books and binge read for days 😁😁 (or add them to my already humongous tbr pile.)

This was a good afternoon‘s read 👍🏻 kept me engrossed and very satisfied with the ending.
Got this after @Hooked_on_books review and have just downloaded another one that was free with prime.

Thinking about you Cathy 😁

This book! It‘s been a long time since I read a book that I would think about in the middle of the night. This book is CREEPY!! You learn in the first chapter who the bad guy is and he spends the whole book seeking revenge. There‘s a twist at the end I didn‘t see coming. Such a great read!

Jim comes across a book one day called The Nothing Man, a true crime book written by the sole survivor of a serial killer. The interesting thing is, Jim was the killer. I loved this book, which alternates between Jim and the true crime book within the book. If you like true crime and thrillers, this is a great one.

I loved this!! A book within a book mystery. I loved the alternating POV between present-day Jim and Eve's story as told via her true crime book/memoir. Really well done! 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Saturday night book and a beer! 📚🍻

I read 17 books (6 audiobooks, 5 eBooks and 6 physical books) in December! My favourites were The Nothing Man, The Majesties, and A Promised Land! #DecemberWrapUp #DecemberStats

My last read of 2020 was a huge success. I couldn‘t put The Nothing Man down! It is a clever, well-plotted, and suspenseful thriller about a serial killer who is reading a true-crime memoir written by a survivor of his crimes. With each page he reads, his anger grows. The book-within-a-book aspect is done flawlessly, and I loved the cat and mouse aspect of the story. ⬇️

At the age of 12 your family is all killed by a serial killer known as The Nothing Man...you are the sole survivor. He is never caught. Now an adult yourself you write a book about the nothing man in the hopes of finally getting justice. The Nothing Man is reading your book and now he wants to finish the family slaying he started all those years ago. A compelling read that had me hooked from the very beginning ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really loved this book- very much a twisted take on a British Golden State Killer. After quitting the serial killer scene, murderer Joe is shook when he sees the one victim that escaped him has written a book that is quite unflattering. A great back in forth between Joe's pathetic life and chapters of Eve's book. Just a great read for any murderino!

This was absolutely fantastic.. I got stuck into this and read it in Almost a day.
If you've not read any of Catherine Ryan Howard's books.. You really need to.

At the age of twelve, Eve Black was the only member of her family to survive an encounter with serial attacker the Nothing Man. Now an adult, she is obsessed with identifying the man who destroyed her life.

Well, shoot. This was very underwhelming, in my opinion. The parts I did enjoy was when The Nothing Man (not a spoiler, you know who the serial killer is from the beginning) is reading the book written about him by his only survivor. And I mean present-day; not the book within the book. I found most of those bits boring. I did have the need to finish it though because I was curious if and how he was going to be caught.

Wellllll, there may be a change of plans. I‘ve been waiting on this book and it just came available to me today. So this will probably be my next read. 😁 (and with how slowly I‘ve been reading lately I should probably read the library book first)