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Phase
Thomas Schaefer is haunted by a memory. He has devoted a large part of his adult life to finding his kidnapped daughter. Since Amber’s disappearance ten years ago, Schaefer has become an expert in the recovery of missing people – his particular speciality is rescuing young adults from cults. When an old friend brings him a case that bears striking similarities to Amber's kidnapping, Schaefer starts down a dark path that threatens his very existence.
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2014
3 people are currently reading
1884 people want to read
About the author
Adam Hamdy
35 books340 followersI'm a Sunday Times and international bestselling author and screenwriter.
I write topical, thought-provoking novels that aim to entertain, and I love lived research, so the events in my books are often inspired by real events.
Before I became a professional writer I was a strategy consultant and advised global businesses in a variety of sectors. I co-founded Capital Crime and am now on the advisory board. I'm also on the board of ITW. I enjoy rock climbing, skiing, sailing and competitive shooting.
I live in Mauritius with my wife and our three children.
I write topical, thought-provoking novels that aim to entertain, and I love lived research, so the events in my books are often inspired by real events.
Before I became a professional writer I was a strategy consultant and advised global businesses in a variety of sectors. I co-founded Capital Crime and am now on the advisory board. I'm also on the board of ITW. I enjoy rock climbing, skiing, sailing and competitive shooting.
I live in Mauritius with my wife and our three children.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 7, 2014
I’ve always been a firm believer that thrillers and horror make for a good fit when you are mashing genres together. Cults, possession, dark magic and kidnapping are a fertile playground when it comes to thriller fiction.
From the first page, Hamdy’s writing does a good job of giving us plenty of insight into Schaefer’s fragile, angry character. You quickly get the sense that you’re really getting under his skin. Thomas Schaefer is a man who has sacrificed everything, and I mean everything – his career, the rest of his family and possibly even his sanity – just on the off chance that he might be able to locate his daughter. He’s reached rock bottom and exists in a weird twilight world. The London described in Phase is a dark and sinister place. Full of sleazy information brokers and suspect government types, it feels like the dark underbelly of the metropolis is being laid bare. Each step Schaefer takes on his journey moves him further and further away from a normal life. He ekes out a meagre existence helping other families locate their own missing loved ones. He casts a pitiable shadow working out the back of a pub fuelled by a diet of unlimited booze and melancholy. Perhaps Schaefer isn’t the nicest person you’re ever likely to meet, but I’d imagine any parent would be able to empathise absolutely with his ever-worsening predicament.
When I started reading Phase, I was reminded of something and it took me a while to put my finger on it. Glad to say it, but eventually it came to me. There’s an old Alan Parker movie from 1987 called Angel Heart. In it, Mickey Rourke plays a down at heel private detective called Harry Angel. Though the time periods and locations are completely different, 1950s New York and present day London, Schaefer goes on a similar journey to Angel. While looking for a missing person, and both are pushed to the very edge of their limits both physical and mental. There is that same wonderfully dark tone and a lead character who feels adrift in his own life. The real differences between the two is that I think a reader gets a far better understanding of Thomas Schaefer than I think you ever get of Harry Angel.
A quick Internet search reveals that Adam Hamdy is also involved in comics and film so it hardly comes as a surprise that his writing has a very descriptive almost visual style. I wouldn’t be massively surprised if this story makes the leap from page to screen at some point, it seems like the next logical step. This is exactly the sort of ambiguous tale that the BBC excels in producing. I shall start pondering my dream cast immediately.
Sometimes it’s nice to start reading a book and have absolutely no preconceptions as you begin. I didn’t know anything about Adam Hamdy before I started reading Phase, but now I’ve remedied that situation I’ll certainly be looking out for his name again in the future. Phase is a short sharp shock of a novel the perfectly captures its intended darkly supernatural thriller vibe.
From the first page, Hamdy’s writing does a good job of giving us plenty of insight into Schaefer’s fragile, angry character. You quickly get the sense that you’re really getting under his skin. Thomas Schaefer is a man who has sacrificed everything, and I mean everything – his career, the rest of his family and possibly even his sanity – just on the off chance that he might be able to locate his daughter. He’s reached rock bottom and exists in a weird twilight world. The London described in Phase is a dark and sinister place. Full of sleazy information brokers and suspect government types, it feels like the dark underbelly of the metropolis is being laid bare. Each step Schaefer takes on his journey moves him further and further away from a normal life. He ekes out a meagre existence helping other families locate their own missing loved ones. He casts a pitiable shadow working out the back of a pub fuelled by a diet of unlimited booze and melancholy. Perhaps Schaefer isn’t the nicest person you’re ever likely to meet, but I’d imagine any parent would be able to empathise absolutely with his ever-worsening predicament.
When I started reading Phase, I was reminded of something and it took me a while to put my finger on it. Glad to say it, but eventually it came to me. There’s an old Alan Parker movie from 1987 called Angel Heart. In it, Mickey Rourke plays a down at heel private detective called Harry Angel. Though the time periods and locations are completely different, 1950s New York and present day London, Schaefer goes on a similar journey to Angel. While looking for a missing person, and both are pushed to the very edge of their limits both physical and mental. There is that same wonderfully dark tone and a lead character who feels adrift in his own life. The real differences between the two is that I think a reader gets a far better understanding of Thomas Schaefer than I think you ever get of Harry Angel.
A quick Internet search reveals that Adam Hamdy is also involved in comics and film so it hardly comes as a surprise that his writing has a very descriptive almost visual style. I wouldn’t be massively surprised if this story makes the leap from page to screen at some point, it seems like the next logical step. This is exactly the sort of ambiguous tale that the BBC excels in producing. I shall start pondering my dream cast immediately.
Sometimes it’s nice to start reading a book and have absolutely no preconceptions as you begin. I didn’t know anything about Adam Hamdy before I started reading Phase, but now I’ve remedied that situation I’ll certainly be looking out for his name again in the future. Phase is a short sharp shock of a novel the perfectly captures its intended darkly supernatural thriller vibe.
August 29, 2015
Review: OUT OF REACH by Adam Hamdy
If you're looking for a convoluted, twisty, suspense-packed mystery about the Left Hand Path and the art of darkness and some of its practitioners, OUT OF REACH is definitely your novel. Literally nonstop action propels this thriller, which delves into paths most never see. Thomas Schaefer, former disgraced soldier, has endured a decade searching for his abducted daughter Amber, disappeared from her bed the day after her tenth birthday, while her parents slept a sleep akin to that of the dead. For that decade, Schaefer has investigated cults and retrieved the brainwashed, drowned himself in rum, yet never come closer to locating Amber, either dead or living. Thomas Schaefer himself has become a harborer of darkness.
If you're looking for a convoluted, twisty, suspense-packed mystery about the Left Hand Path and the art of darkness and some of its practitioners, OUT OF REACH is definitely your novel. Literally nonstop action propels this thriller, which delves into paths most never see. Thomas Schaefer, former disgraced soldier, has endured a decade searching for his abducted daughter Amber, disappeared from her bed the day after her tenth birthday, while her parents slept a sleep akin to that of the dead. For that decade, Schaefer has investigated cults and retrieved the brainwashed, drowned himself in rum, yet never come closer to locating Amber, either dead or living. Thomas Schaefer himself has become a harborer of darkness.
September 3, 2017
This book blew my mind. I just cannot understand how it can be as good as it was in such a short amount of pages. If you enjoyed the movie Taken, this is basically that premise, but better. Ok, it is hard to beat a movie that stars Liam Neeson, but really, it's better. This could've been a detective thriller that plays off of the successful Taken formula of distraught father searching for missing daughter, but the occult aspect of it ups the stakes. The reader is at the edge of their seat, eager to join Schaefer in discovering the truth about who is behind the kidnapping, the cult, and what their motive is. And the conclusion? It doesn't miss a beat. The final chapters wrap up the story nicely in a shocker that just leaves you sitting there dumbfounded.
You probably noticed that the review had no cover photo. That is because the book is literally all black, with no words (not even the title or authors name!) and only a bar code on the back. Clearly, this is an example of what happens when you judge a book by its cover. The book was way better than I thought it would be from a first glance. But now that I know how awesome this book is, I wish the author could've sprung for some cover art. I guess the black cover could symbolize the darkness of the evil in the plot or something, but even just including the title and the author's name would've been an improvement. There were also a number of grammatical errors which is really disappointing because the book would be perfection if those got fixed. At one point, one of the characters was even referred to by another name; it just needs a little clean up.
Without a doubt, you need to pick up this book. It is a quick read at only 192 pages and the plot will make it go by even faster. You think you can predict the outcome and then Hamdy hits you with a surprising twist. I'm definitely excited to see what this clever author has up his sleeve next.
*I received a free copy of this book for this review from the author.
You probably noticed that the review had no cover photo. That is because the book is literally all black, with no words (not even the title or authors name!) and only a bar code on the back. Clearly, this is an example of what happens when you judge a book by its cover. The book was way better than I thought it would be from a first glance. But now that I know how awesome this book is, I wish the author could've sprung for some cover art. I guess the black cover could symbolize the darkness of the evil in the plot or something, but even just including the title and the author's name would've been an improvement. There were also a number of grammatical errors which is really disappointing because the book would be perfection if those got fixed. At one point, one of the characters was even referred to by another name; it just needs a little clean up.
Without a doubt, you need to pick up this book. It is a quick read at only 192 pages and the plot will make it go by even faster. You think you can predict the outcome and then Hamdy hits you with a surprising twist. I'm definitely excited to see what this clever author has up his sleeve next.
*I received a free copy of this book for this review from the author.
October 8, 2014
I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.
Phase is a really good book. After you're halfway in. For the first 100 or so pages, I thought it was well written and the story line was good - even if it seemed a bit like a supernatural Taken - but it just didn't grip me. I could tell that I was reading a good book, but I could put it down too easily and leave it for a week without any desperate desire to pick it up again. It took me weeks to get through the first 100 pages. The took me two days to finish the next 90.
At that point, the action picked up and I was completely sucked into Schaefer's world. I couldn't put it down. In fact, the only reason it took me two days to finish was because I was so tired that I literally fell asleep while reading.
One of the things that makes this book so captivating is Schaefer. At the beginning of the story, we see only a normal man, desperate to find his daughter. But as the story progresses and his actions become more questionable, we start to wonder how much he is motivated by the need to find his daughter and how much of his behaviour is just pure darkness, residing within him. He's quite a complex character, and it was a breath of fresh air to read a book with a protagonist I wasn't quite sure about. Is he a good man doing bad things motivated by love? Or is he a bad man using love as an excuse to do terrible things?
If you, like me, have trouble getting into it, my advice would be to stick it out. It's not long - only 192 pages - so getting to the exciting, can't-put-it-down bit shouldn't take too much time.
Read it. You won't regret it.
Phase is a really good book. After you're halfway in. For the first 100 or so pages, I thought it was well written and the story line was good - even if it seemed a bit like a supernatural Taken - but it just didn't grip me. I could tell that I was reading a good book, but I could put it down too easily and leave it for a week without any desperate desire to pick it up again. It took me weeks to get through the first 100 pages. The took me two days to finish the next 90.
At that point, the action picked up and I was completely sucked into Schaefer's world. I couldn't put it down. In fact, the only reason it took me two days to finish was because I was so tired that I literally fell asleep while reading.
One of the things that makes this book so captivating is Schaefer. At the beginning of the story, we see only a normal man, desperate to find his daughter. But as the story progresses and his actions become more questionable, we start to wonder how much he is motivated by the need to find his daughter and how much of his behaviour is just pure darkness, residing within him. He's quite a complex character, and it was a breath of fresh air to read a book with a protagonist I wasn't quite sure about. Is he a good man doing bad things motivated by love? Or is he a bad man using love as an excuse to do terrible things?
If you, like me, have trouble getting into it, my advice would be to stick it out. It's not long - only 192 pages - so getting to the exciting, can't-put-it-down bit shouldn't take too much time.
Read it. You won't regret it.
June 3, 2014
Thomas Schaefer had his daughter kidnapped ten years ago. Ever since then he has been hunting her down. Since an occult symbol was found in Amber’s room, Thomas has made cults his specialty. Over the years he has helped may people get loved ones back from cults but he is driven by an obsession to find Amber. This has lead to the destruction of his health, mainly drinking until he passes out.
Thomas has a quick temper and prone to beating the truth out of people. Although he thinks he is firmly set in reality, he does have to depend on a psychic and an occult bookstore owner to give him advice on different parts of The Collective. But that just keeps him fighting for the truth.
This is a great book. Thomas is wracked with guilt about the loss of Amber and will to do anything to find her. But things are not going his way but The Collective keep finding ways to stop him at every turn. They even frame him for the murder of a cop. The worst part is that he doesn’t realize how this is doing nothing but eating him up and leaving a shell of the man he used to be
In all honesty, I have not heard of this book and couldn’t find anything except the press material from the author on what this book was supposed to be about. But I’m so glad that I read this book I got sucked in right away and couldn’t wait to find out what happens next. And when it looked like Thomas was getting close, the story would take a turn for the worse.
This is a great book. There may not be a lot of information out on it at this time, but it is one to add to your list.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Thomas has a quick temper and prone to beating the truth out of people. Although he thinks he is firmly set in reality, he does have to depend on a psychic and an occult bookstore owner to give him advice on different parts of The Collective. But that just keeps him fighting for the truth.
This is a great book. Thomas is wracked with guilt about the loss of Amber and will to do anything to find her. But things are not going his way but The Collective keep finding ways to stop him at every turn. They even frame him for the murder of a cop. The worst part is that he doesn’t realize how this is doing nothing but eating him up and leaving a shell of the man he used to be
In all honesty, I have not heard of this book and couldn’t find anything except the press material from the author on what this book was supposed to be about. But I’m so glad that I read this book I got sucked in right away and couldn’t wait to find out what happens next. And when it looked like Thomas was getting close, the story would take a turn for the worse.
This is a great book. There may not be a lot of information out on it at this time, but it is one to add to your list.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
September 15, 2015
I would like to thank Endeavour Press and NetGalley for providing me with an electronic copy to review.
Thomas Schaefer needs to get answers from a madman murderer named Leon Yates, but was denied both justice and explanation when Yates took a plunge off a roof. As the police round up all of Leon's acolytes, called the Area Boys, Schaefer attempts to use his experience in investigating cults to find answers to his daughter's kidnapping. However, something older, darker, and more sinister may be that which Schaefer seeks. Thomas Schaefer is a well drawn character - full of flaws, but guided by a heightened sense of the wrongness in the world. His dedication to finding the truth consumes him, realistically touching upon emotions that any parent might feel in similar circumstances. With a well developed plot, Out of Reach has many twists and turns which culminate in a surprising conclusion. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and I look forward to reading more by Adam Hamdy in the future.
Thomas Schaefer needs to get answers from a madman murderer named Leon Yates, but was denied both justice and explanation when Yates took a plunge off a roof. As the police round up all of Leon's acolytes, called the Area Boys, Schaefer attempts to use his experience in investigating cults to find answers to his daughter's kidnapping. However, something older, darker, and more sinister may be that which Schaefer seeks. Thomas Schaefer is a well drawn character - full of flaws, but guided by a heightened sense of the wrongness in the world. His dedication to finding the truth consumes him, realistically touching upon emotions that any parent might feel in similar circumstances. With a well developed plot, Out of Reach has many twists and turns which culminate in a surprising conclusion. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and I look forward to reading more by Adam Hamdy in the future.
May 22, 2014
I received this book from a goodreads giveaway.
It was quite interesting reading this book as I wasnt sure which way it was going to go. All through it I wanted the main character to be ok and really liked him, even though he seemed so messed up at times. The thought of losing his child to find her at the end and her not to be who he thought she could have been was a bit of a twist and the fact his oldest friend was behind the whole thing, yeah that threw me too.
I had been told it was pretty dark but it didnt seem that bad in my honest opinion. I have read book way darker than this but I really enjoyed it.
I would recommend this book, I did like it and thought the story was different than most I have been reading lately. I would recommend it to YA too as it wasnt as dark as it could have been.
Yeah I liked it so I give it 4 stars
It was quite interesting reading this book as I wasnt sure which way it was going to go. All through it I wanted the main character to be ok and really liked him, even though he seemed so messed up at times. The thought of losing his child to find her at the end and her not to be who he thought she could have been was a bit of a twist and the fact his oldest friend was behind the whole thing, yeah that threw me too.
I had been told it was pretty dark but it didnt seem that bad in my honest opinion. I have read book way darker than this but I really enjoyed it.
I would recommend this book, I did like it and thought the story was different than most I have been reading lately. I would recommend it to YA too as it wasnt as dark as it could have been.
Yeah I liked it so I give it 4 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2016
A decent story is spoilt by a stereotypical PI hero and some ridiculous fight scenes which could be compared to a violent video game. I must add, for me at least, as I suspect there are some who will enjoy Hamdy's approach.
Schaefer is the macho, hard drinking, aging, and yet fighter supreme private investigator hired to find the a missing 10 year old girl. He is a washed up and disgraced former police officer himself, and his own 10 year old daughter went missing 10 years before.
There is an element of the supernatural here also, and Hamdy does that very well. I am always interested when an author chooses to include just a touch of th supernatural, and in many books I have read this is a failure and to the detriment of the book. Here though, as Schaefer pursues a Cult movement, it works well.
Schaefer is the macho, hard drinking, aging, and yet fighter supreme private investigator hired to find the a missing 10 year old girl. He is a washed up and disgraced former police officer himself, and his own 10 year old daughter went missing 10 years before.
There is an element of the supernatural here also, and Hamdy does that very well. I am always interested when an author chooses to include just a touch of th supernatural, and in many books I have read this is a failure and to the detriment of the book. Here though, as Schaefer pursues a Cult movement, it works well.
June 11, 2014
I won this book in one of the goodread's giveaways and was drawn into the story right away. The style of the writer really catches your attention and it was hard to stop reading.
Why I do not give a full 5 stars is due to my personal aversion towards unnecessary violence, some inconsistencies in the book itself (shark-eye turns into snake-eye, Oliver turns into Oscar etc.) and the end that I felt like was constructed out of thin air.
After reading I was under the impression that the whole book was just written with half focus and not a lot of energy but that on the other hand shows me, that if someone can write such a thrilling story with one eye closed there must be a tremendous talent and I am sure this was not the last story we have seen or read from this gifted author.
Why I do not give a full 5 stars is due to my personal aversion towards unnecessary violence, some inconsistencies in the book itself (shark-eye turns into snake-eye, Oliver turns into Oscar etc.) and the end that I felt like was constructed out of thin air.
After reading I was under the impression that the whole book was just written with half focus and not a lot of energy but that on the other hand shows me, that if someone can write such a thrilling story with one eye closed there must be a tremendous talent and I am sure this was not the last story we have seen or read from this gifted author.
April 3, 2015
This is a Goodreads book.
It has several components among them occult, paranormal, mystery, thriller, action, flashbacks and conspiracy.
For my personal taste, there is too much of the occult about which I know very little. I prefer mystery or thriller with or without a touch of romance. I even enjoy some books with a bit of the paranormal. The ending was a surprise.
This is purely subjective on my part. If you like books dealing with the occult, you will probably want to add another star or two.
It has several components among them occult, paranormal, mystery, thriller, action, flashbacks and conspiracy.
For my personal taste, there is too much of the occult about which I know very little. I prefer mystery or thriller with or without a touch of romance. I even enjoy some books with a bit of the paranormal. The ending was a surprise.
This is purely subjective on my part. If you like books dealing with the occult, you will probably want to add another star or two.
August 22, 2015
I received this book as part of the Goodreads giveaway program. Although the synopsis intrigued me, I found the book at times difficult to read. I felt that the book dragged often, with the story getting lost inside wordy descriptive phrasing. That being said, Mr Hamdy does have a way with adjectives; I loved the way he gave a one word moniker for most of the bit players in the story based on his description of them. The ending of the story was exciting, but less dedicated readers would have probably already checked out long before the conclusion.
April 19, 2014
Thank you Adam for the free copy of 'Phase'!
The book caught my attention from the beginning, and while I don't usually read books about the supernatural, this one was interesting and exciting. I sympathized and grieved with the hero as he searched for his missing daughter and tried to maintain some semblance of a relationship with his son. Cannot accurately say that I expected the ending!
The book caught my attention from the beginning, and while I don't usually read books about the supernatural, this one was interesting and exciting. I sympathized and grieved with the hero as he searched for his missing daughter and tried to maintain some semblance of a relationship with his son. Cannot accurately say that I expected the ending!
November 15, 2015
I won a free copy of this book from Goodreads. This is a book I read thru with very few interruptions. My heart went out to Thomas Schaefer. He lost everything in his search for his daughter. I always felt he would eventually find her but there were a lot of twists in the plot and the ending shocked me!
April 15, 2015
Another awesome book won free from Goodreads First Reads! This was a great book,I couldn't imagine if my daughter were taken...awful,I imagine. And the kids in cults...wow! This book makes you think about what's going on in the world around us!
August 12, 2016
This is not my favourite genre and therefore two stars even though it's a good story, a real page turner with a nice twist at the end.
April 10, 2014
kept interest, a little dark for me
July 6, 2015
Wow, picked this up when looking for something else. Loved the plot twists.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews