Wow, The Nothing Man sucked me in from the very first moment, and held me captive until the very end.
Eve Black, at the age of twelve, survived a serial killer entering her home and murdering her parents and her sister. Now as an adult, she has become obsessed with catching this killer the media has dubbed the Nothing Man, and has written a true crime book detailing his atrocities, in the hopes of generating renewed interest and finally catching the killer. When Jim Doyle, a security guard at a local store, sees this book, he can't resist the urge to read it. But the more he reads, the more he is enraged. Because he is the Nothing Man and he realizes that in order to keep his secret safe, he must do what he failed to do that night 20 years ago.
Talk about gripping! Once I started in on this book, I couldn't put it down. It kept me riveted, all the more surprising because it wasn't building towards a big mystery reveal at the end. We already know the guilty party, pretty much from the first page. Yet the way the story unfolds, with Jim hurrying to read Eve's book to figure out how much she knows and to keep one step ahead of her, kept the pacing taut and tensions high.
Plenty of books promise chilling atmospheric reads, though hardly any deliver. But this book does, drawing me deep into the mind of a serial killer. It's extremely creepy to read a book from such a cold and psychotic person's point of view. It was masterful how the author went about this, forming a cohesive picture of the killer through his thoughts and actions. The killer's character felt real and complex, and that is what made this story all the more disturbing.
This book had the most interesting format of a story within a story. For me, it's a complete win, and I have pretty much loved every book I have ever come across that employs it. In this case, it's a clever way to showcase two separate viewpoints, to have one read the other's, while they are both moving towards a common destination. Authors everywhere, if you're reading this, please give me more of this story within a story!
What a memorable read this turned out to be. For sure, this has earned a spot on my favorites list for the year!
Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!
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