Really fun, exciting, interesting book. Easy to read!

I'm not much of a thriller reader, but I saw this book on a YouTuber's list of recommendations, and I was curious enough to give it a go. Overall, there were a lot of things I liked: I appreciated Howard's focus on victims and the way the author stressed how serial killers are ordinary people (not geniuses). I can't say whether or not this book really stuck with me, however, and there were things I found somewhat dull or lacking. But overall, I saw what Howard was trying to do, so this book gets 3.5 stars from me.

Writing: Howard's prose is fairly straightforward and simple. I'm not sure if that's because thrillers and true crime books avoid overly vivid or literary language or if that was a conscious choice, but I think it suits the book well. Given the focus on victims, I don't think it would have been appropriate for the violence to have been depicted using heightened rhetoric or dramatic phrases.

I also liked that this book was told in two perspectives: one was Eve's (though filtered through her book) and the other was Jim's (which was much more immediate). I did like the dual perspectives because it had a lot of potential for tension. I also liked that the structure meant that we had to be conscious that Eve was probably withholding something (after all, you can't reveal everything in your book if the perpetrator is still at large). However, there were some moments when I felt like Jim's POV was unnecessary and didn't enhance or challenge Eve's perspective much. This isn't to say that I wanted a recap of events from Jim's perspective, but I do think there were moments when Jim interrupts and the interruption is not fruitful for the story.

Plot: The plot of this book follows two main characters: Eve Black, the only survivor of the last attack by a serial rapist and murder called "the Nothing Man," and Jim Doyle, the Nothing Man himself. Eve has just published a book about her quest to uncover the Nothing Man's identity, and in between chapters from her book, we read Jim's perspective as he goes through it himself.

What I liked most about this plot was the consistent focus on victims and the disillusionment with serial criminals. Eve's book always put victims at the forefront and withheld the most gruesome details of rapes and murders (though there is enough description to let the reader know what happened). I liked this approach both because it felt like it was refusing to indulge in sensational violence and because it focused on things like loss, trauma, etc. (rather than the horror of the crimes).

I also liked that Jim's POV gave readers insight into just how ordinary and mediocre serial killers can be. Seeing Jim struggle at his job and treat his wife poorly meant that I as a reader was more and more unimpressed and had very little sympathy for him. The POV also injected a lot of tension that didn't have to do with violence; Jim grows more and more irritated by Eve's book, which means that his egotism is on full display. The tension, therefore, comes from wondering whether or not Jim will do something stupid and get caught or whether Eve will reveal something in her book that points directly to him. I liked this approach more than tension arising from, say, Jim breaking into a house and preparing for his next kill.

But even with all of this in mind, I do think a lot of the narrative felt slow. This book reads more like a memoir than a thriller, and while I enjoyed myself sometimes, I must admit that I still wanted to see some more clever twists or revelations. Howard comes close with the reveal about Eve and her dad (no spoilers), but the implications of that didn't feel fully fleshed out.

Characters: Eve, our protagonist, is a little hard to pin down. In her narrative, she comes across as sympathetic and there were times when my heart truly went out to her. However, we only get her perspective when reading her book, and I was conscious from the very beginning that such a filtered view meant that we would never be privy to her complete, unmediated thoughts and emotions. It also meant that I was conscious that Eve was constructing a view of herself that may or may not be true, and while I intellectually understood the purpose was to withhold enough to catch the killer, I also felt like I too was being kept at arm's length.

Jim, our antagonist, is easy to dislike. He's horrible to his wife and he makes horrible threats to his neighbors. He thinks way too highly of himself and doesn't seem to be good at anything except crime. But even with all this, there are some moments that humanize him (like him having an irritating boss). I liked these rather dull, everyday moments because it showed us that Jim (a d serial killers in general) aren't mad geniuses that are just too smart to ever be caught - their success comes down to luck, and in real life, they are disappointingly ordinary.

Supporting characters were fine, and I don't think any of them needed to be fleshed out more than they were. Ed, the guard who helps Eve with her research, seems kind and I felt a lot of sympathy for him for the way the Nothing Man murders affected his life. Noreen, Jim's wife, was also sympathetic and I frequently felt angry on her behalf.

TL;DR: The Nothing Man is a clever, dual-perspective thriller that reads more like a memoir than a sensationalized crime novel. Though I occasionally longed for more narrative twists and reveals, I ultimately appreciated the focus on victims and the disillusionment with serial killers, and I think this is a good read for people who perhaps dislike heavy blood and gore.

Creepy and hard to put down.