Les intrus

by Michael Marshall, Jean-Pascal Bernard (Translator)

The bestselling author of The Straw Men makes his American hardcover debut with a searing, atmospheric tale that ratchets up the suspense, page by page, until its shocking end

For Jack Whalen, it all starts with a visit from a childhood friend, now a lawyer, who asks for his help on an odd case. The family members of a scientist have been brutally murdered, and the scientist—who may have had something to hide—is nowhere to be found.

But Jack has more pressing matters on his mind. His wife has told him that she's on a routine business trip to Seattle, yet she hasn't checked into her hotel. Calls to her cell phone go unanswered, and when Jack travels to Seattle to investigate, she's vanished.

And in Oregon a little girl goes missing. She's found miles away, but it soon becomes clear that she's not an innocent victim, and is far from defenseless.Unusual events, all leading to the same place. As a former patrol cop who left the force under difficult circumstances, Jack is determined to find some answers. Yet the more he digs, the more the intrigue grows. Searching into the dark secrets of a past that still haunts him, Jack discovers that the truth has roots deeper and more evil than he ever feared.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Crime, Suspense, Science Fiction

392 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

A pseudonym used by Michael Marshall Smith

Michael Marshall Smith (who dropped the "Smith" to write The Straw Men) lives in north London with his wife Paula, and is currently working on screenplays and his next book, while providing two cats with somewhere warm and comfortable to sit.




Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

(1) Michael Marshall - Religion/Spirituality
(2) Michael Marshall - Acting
(3) Michael Marshall - Fishing/Geography
(4) Michael Marshall - German Children's Books
(5) Michael Marshall - Indonesian Fiction

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally I was thinking of describing this one as bastard child of Coben and Connolly(John), but the more I read the more it became undeniably clear that this book is a child of no one, this is all Marshall. It is original enough, interesting enough, exciting enough to proudly stand tall on its own two paper feet in the ever densely populated mystery thriller genre. Yes, I didn't love the protagonist, but he suited the story well and got the job done. Marshall smartly doesn't give away the premise till quite late in the book and so I won't either, but it's a really wild and clever one, one of those mind blowing what ifs that a really good story can posit. The basic recipe here involves a genuinely mysterious mystery combined with a genuinely thrilling thriller sprinkled with relentless suspense and wrapped up in really impressive writing with dashes of dark humor. Stir and serve generously, to the tune of nearly 400 pages, for a very good, highly entertaining read. Recommended.

[Alisa Kester · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the novel the new BBC America series is based on, and I have to say, this is one of those rare times where the screen adaptation is SO MUCH BETTER than the book.

I'm so glad I watched the series first; the twists (especially the one at the very end) pack so much more of a punch when they're not diluted down by the very meandering plot explanation/info dump at the end of the book.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was quite good.
Michael Marshall (Smith) is one of my favourite story tellers. Not only does he have a fertile imagination, but his prose and dialogue are darn near perfect. And no matter how serious in nature the story may be, he can also make you laugh out loud with his dry wit.

The Intruders is best read without knowing anything about it. For most of the novel, you have no idea where it is all going to lead to. That's the fun of it. I was quite satisfied with the resolution of it all (even though it was slightly spoiled for me), and I recommend this and anything else he's written.
Still not as good as Only Forward, but not much is.

[Tzu-Mainn Chen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Intruders is a thriller with a (literally) killer opening scene, a suitably gripping mystery, and wonderful hard-boiled narration ("... guy who looked so disreputable you could have arrested him just for being alive and probably made it stick.") There are so many great ingredients going for this book - so why was it such a struggle to read?

There are some lesser flaws - an opaque plot that takes a little too long for the reader to make sense of; a resolution that feels hurried and a bit obvious compared to the build-up that comes before. But these are all issues that can be overlooked, if not for one murderous problem: the book has nothing that made me want to sympathize with any of the characters.

I don't mean that they're flawed or morally grey. I simply mean that they're not the sort of person you'd want to hang out with at parties. The main protagonist is an ex-cop-turned-writer who exudes unpleasantness, the sort of person who'd scowl if you made eye contact when passing in the street. A secondary character, a nine-year old girl desperately trying to understand how she ended up miles away from her parents, is written with sympathy but no liveliness, providing the reader with no personal connection beyond her external circumstances.

Despite the characterization issues, the plot is intriguing enough to make reading the book feel somewhat rewarding. But The Intruders is not a book to make you fall into its pages, one that makes you regret reading the last word. Instead I rushed through for the plot, and once I was done I shrugged my shoulders and went to perform the next chore on my list.

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a very odd book. It starts off remarkably well and then for the next 200+ pages I had to keep asking myself what on earth was I reading.

I liked the hero, Jack Whalen, who was fearless in his quest to uncover the truth about the murder of the family of Bill Anderson (which is right at the start of the book) but as for the rest of it I had no idea what was going on half the time, I have to say.

The only way I can describe it is like a badly written Stephen King book, but I use that comparison extremely loosely.

I was struggling to finish it if only to see what has been going on as, when a friend recommended this book to me, they actually advised me not to read the blurb as this would spoil it for me. In fact, had I read the blurb I don't even think I would have started it.

I have heard there is going to be a TV adaptation of the book which may transfer nicely to the screen, but I doubt I will be tuning in to see it.

My first Michael Marshall book but, after having finished it and read a few reviews, I have discovered that it is not his best novel so may try some others in the future.

[Dea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

I struggled to write this review. Not because I could not find something nice to say but because I had nothing bad to say. My usual modus operandi is to focus on things that I didn't like, things that sounded unrealistic or were disruptive to the overall immersion into the book, “the intruders” simply lacked all of those bad qualities that I could complain about. Be it the narrative or the plot, or even the ending, while unexpected, did not leave room for me to say things should have turned out somehow differently.
So with nothing bad to say, I will say only one thing. Pick it up, read it, I do not think you will regret it.

I am not a big fan of the horror genre. Although I should not say that, I am a fan of the kind of horror that is realistic. The kind that you know could be happening right next door without you knowing anything about it. This is the kind of horror – thriller “the intruders” is. It is not that Shepperd is going around killing people, it is that the people that are the closest to you could be taken over internally by intruders. Within days those closest to you can become someone else, and in a way it is worse than having those people die. When a person dies, in a way it is a period at the end of their story, you can close the book and start moving on. When a person is slowly morphing into someone you do not recognize you are constantly reminded of the person you have lost and the person you will never again find and it makes it almost impossible to move on and find closure. To add onto the possibility of the book being true is the short but important discussion of mental illness and substance abuse. It is, entirely possible that people around us are fighting intruders in the minds right as we speak.


Plot: 5
Writing: 5 (I think I have come to the conclusion that I like British writers more than American writers.)
Characters: 5

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this thriller-with-a-supernatural-twist, but ultimately, I was a bit disappointed. Though it is not a direct sequel to his Straw Man trilogy, events and even one character were mentioned, seeming like a rather purposeful red herring tossed out to his own fans, which is a little... well, intentionally rude. The ending was not terribly satisfying either. The beginning, and general premise, was very strong, as well as Marshall's general witty writing style. The idea and resolution just needed a bit more flesh to make this a truly wonderful book. I must admit that it was exciting, and I am still looking forward to the last book that I have purchased by this author (Bad Things). I do hope that this one involves a better conclusion, and maybe a different sort of villain...

[Lainy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 392

Publisher - William Morrow

Source - on my shelf for years

Blurb from Goodreads

For Jack Whalen, it all starts with a visit from a childhood friend, now a lawyer, who asks for his help on an odd case. The family members of a scientist have been brutally murdered, and the scientist—who may have had something to hide—is nowhere to be found.

But Jack has more pressing matters on his mind. His wife has told him that she's on a routine business trip to Seattle, yet she hasn't checked into her hotel. Calls to her cell phone go unanswered, and when Jack travels to Seattle to investigate, she's vanished.

And in Oregon a little girl goes missing. She's found miles away, but it soon becomes clear that she's not an innocent victim, and is far from defenseless. Unusual events, all leading to the same place. As a former patrol cop who left the force under difficult circumstances, Jack is determined to find some answers. Yet the more he digs, the more the intrigue grows. Searching into the dark secrets of a past that still haunts him, Jack discovers that the truth has roots deeper and more evil than he ever feared.


My Review

Jack Whalen is an ex LAPD cop, getting on with life in his own way, until his wife goes missing and everything turns upside down.

A ten year old goes missing although she is more than what she seems and can take care of herself and anything that gets in her way.

The two become tangled with many more people and the story unravels as it progresses.

This book is a mind boggle, it starts really well, a family is brutally murdered with the father being the main suspect but from there it just goes weird. Jack is contacted by an old school friend and it jumps back and forth between Jacks past and present and the other characters place in the here and now. It hints at what was the cause for the family being killed and why Jacks wife went missing and is behaving strangely.

Even after finishing the book there are so many questions and even if I got all the answers I still don't think I would be happy. It was too weird and long drawn out for me so a 2/5 for me. This seems to be well loved by many so give it a go, would love to heard your thoughts on it.

The above is my review from 2011, so this was a re read, i remember nothing of this book and it has been on my shelves for years. Folk seeing me reading this had reached out and said how much they loved it so I am in the minority in not loving it. It isn't a bad book by any means just a bit all over the place for me I struggled to keep up and even when finished still had many questions, some folk love that, I am one of those who like all my questions answered and I always have a billion, 2.5/5 for me!

Also, to add, apparently I have read this before. I don't remember it at all but my review is bang on my thoughts after putting the book down.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Falling Angel I felt like reading another crime thriller with a supernatural twist. Many years ago (way before Goodreads) I read The Straw Men trilogy, consisting of The Straw Men, The Lonely Dead and Blood of Angels. All 5 star reads. This was a time when I was reading thrillers but now, I read mainly horror, then some Science Fiction and the occasional thriller. So, I opened The Intruders and started to read.

Mr Marshall’s writing style has not changed, and it immediately draws you in. The characters and dialogue. His dry wit is present throughout and adds to the story. Plenty of suspense and mystery in a sinister and dark atmosphere.

Jack Whalen is an ex-cop who is visited by a childhood friend who is now a lawyer seeking help on an odd case. At the same time a young girl goes missing after an encounter with a stranger. Then, Jack’s wife disappears. He digs deeper and the story takes a supernatural twist.

While the supernatural element is there, it is more like a X-Files episode and less of a horror. The story was all show and no tell and could have ended on the penultimate chapter. However, the last chapter was all tell as everything was explained. It felt like an add on information dump.

Back to some horror for my next read.

[Roger · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Intruders is a book I have heard about for years. So excited to read it, but then I read it, and I am not excited anymore. Actually I want all the time I spent reading it back, but alas that is not to be. This book starts off really strong with a lot of intriguing and sinister happenings. But even after all of the author’s careful work suspension of disbelief never really occurs-I just could not buy the big reveal and so everything else fell apart. Cannot recommend.

[Hamza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitabı az önce bitirdim ve sanırım Polisiye-Gerilim türünde okuduğum en farklı kurguya sahip kitaplar arasına girmeyi başardı , gereksiz yerler biraz fazlaydı evet ama son bölümde yazar toparlamış. Yazarın dili akıcı , okutturuyor kendini. Madison beni az korkutmadı gerçi ama :D
Yazarın diğer kitaplarını da en kısa sürede okumak istiyorum. Umarım onarda iyidir.

[Nina Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is filled with much mystery that kept me turning the pages! I will say it’s intricate with a few convoluted subplots, which don’t make it bad, but adds layers to the deep and dark overall mystery. It has a strange and sad outcome, but it made sense considering the rest of the book.

[Zeynep Dilara · Rating 3 out of 5]

konusu baya güzeldi ama neden böyle oldu :(

[Marguerite Giguère · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting book to read. The story was special and the writing was good. At first, I was expecting something very realistic so it surprised me when all the supernatural things came to light. Even though it isn't the best book I've ever read, it was a page turner and I really wanted to know what was going to happen.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was intrigued by a commercial which I saw for the television adaptation of The Intruders which the BBC is creating. Naturally I had to read the book first, so I tracked it down. The Intruders is an interesting blend of mystery and the supernatural which focuses on a retired LAPD police officer who begins to believe that his wife is having an affair. Unfortunately for him, the truth is much more sinister. She is actually the host of another soul which is beginning to take control of her body. The story alternates between Jack Whalen and other characters including a little girl who may or may not have been abducted.

I thought that the author's use of POV was well done. The chapters told from Jack's POV are first person while those which follow the other characters are told in the third person. This fits well with the notion that these other characters do not represent on single person, but an amalgam of multiple personalities.

The Intruders has at its core a fascinating idea, sort of a twisted version of reincarnation. Unfortunately, as interesting as this idea is, the information is often presented in large chunks. I can not be sure if I would have figured out the mystery of the returning people before it was revealed as I was already aware of it from the television commercials. It does, however, come quite late in the book. Indeed, the first two-thirds of the book are a little slow in terms of action. Jack's introspection is thought provoking, but the story could have gotten to the point earlier and earned another star.

That being said, I enjoyed The Intruders, especially the idea of the biggest threat being the soul of a hundred year old sociopath inhabiting the body of a little girl and her struggle to retain control.

[Bookmarks Magazine]

Compared by critics to Stephen King and Philip K. Dick, British novelist Michael Marshall crosses genre barriers, from crime to horror to science fiction, in the fast-paced, action-packed Intruders. As the story takes one creepy, bizarre turn after another, Marshall's convincing characters act consistently and believably in a progressively implausible situation. A few complaints included the intricate plotting and the book's length, but most of the critics' objections resulted from the novel's abrupt transformation from a run-of-the-mill murder mystery into a supernatural thriller. While The Intruders may appeal most to fans of The X-Files, readers who can suspend their disbelief will be rewarded by the originality, suspense and "unwavering storytelling" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel) of this genre-defying novel.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.

[Dave Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always amazed at how fluid Michael Marshall's writing is, how easily you fall into a trance and are completely captured by his characters and the situations they face.

In a single chapter, he'll manage to make you laugh, sneak in a history lesson, debate the morality of humankind, and then pull the rug out from under you when you've become too comfortable. I never have any inkling what the hell is going to happen in one of Marshall's books, and that's the way a good book should be. The old "show, don't tell" mantra.

Well, "The Intruders" is no exception. A sci-fi thriller cop drama with hit men and ghosts and body snatchers and gruesome murders and a strange cabal of ancients. But, at its heart, it's a story about human relationships, personal identity, and how we can never truly know another person...or ourselves, for that matter.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in large part because of the BBC series and a strong recommendation from a friend. The supernatural idea hiding in this novel was I interesting and unique I felt that the execution was lacking. After having finished the book and had the entire explanation for the strange occurrences packed into the last 50 pages or so I think it could have been interspersed throughout the novel pulling the reader along at a much higher pace.

Another small note: it bothered me that everyone in the book "said" most everything. Not everything needs to be an inflection of the way it it is said, but a little deviation would be nice.

I am very willing to give Marshall another go, especially in his highly touted trilogy, based solely on the out if the box ideas he seems to have rolling about in his head.

[Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 2nd book by Michael Marshall (Smith) that I've read, the 1st being the Science Fiction book, Spares. I must say I was not as impressed with this one as I didn't feel like it really succeeded as suspense/thriller. The ending was a little bit too diffuse for me; I wasn't satisfied with it at all. Of course since this is a new, there may be a sequel on the way, but if that is the case, it failed the "stands on it's own" test. The premise is fascinating, and the writing very good; it's just that the whole doesn't seem to even equal the sum of the parts. But it wasn't bad enough that I won't try reading more books by this author.

[The Elves · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved the TV series the Intruders based on the book, so we read the book and it, while slightly different, is a really good book, a detective mystery story with a somewhat supernatural twist. In fact, we liked this book so much that we’re going to read other of Michael Marshall’s books (apparently he also writes as Michael Marshall Smith) based on the strength of this one. Really, we wish he’d do a sequel.

The Silver Elves authors of The Elves of Lyndarys: A Magical Tale of Modern Faerie Folk.

[Sayan Acharjee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those books which could have been better, the plot was good enough having an unsolved murder case, an ex-cop and the mystery surrounding his wife and then this kid having dual personality. It started as a crime story but went through many phases which was confusing and I found asking myself if this is really going anywhere? It ended up in a way which I did not like. The writing itself at times was boring, but the second half was good comparatively. I'd give it 2.5 out of 5.

[Rafay Syed · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mystery surrounding the different characters and situations was certainly interesting enough to keep me reading till the end, but the pay off was just absolutely silly and nonsensical. The writing style is... meh, a lot of times it's hard to even imagine the scene because of lack of clear details. The characters aren't particularly interesting either, mostly just generic tropes.

Wish I spent time reading something else

[micki · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 or 4 stars. I liked this but I don't think I should've read it right after watching the television adaptation. I found myself distracted and taken out of the plot because I was unintentionally comparing deviations in the story from the TV series.

[Alan Baxter · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent thriller, with a very creepy undertone and some brilliant characters. I was impressed with the way Marshall constructed the novel in first and third person. Highly recommended.

[Sage Streck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in one night. It's been a long time since I've read anything that really scared me, but this did! What a creepy book--very well-written.

[Benten333 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Рука автора и, разумеется авторский стиль, видны сразу.

[Jonathan Gurney · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cross-genre tale verging between murder mystery, sci-fi and horror. This could have been a good book if only the underlying explanation had been credible and the outcome resolved. As it went on, I was growing increasingly suspicious that might not be an ending to match the body, and sadly that proved to be so. A good superstructure, but built on sand and therefore undermined in the end.

The story begins with the central character Jack Whalen, an ex-policeman turned author, being approached by an old fellow high school student, one who was never a personal friend, just someone he knew of, and one he has had no contact with for twenty years. This man has become a lawyer and asks Whalen to conduct a private investigation into a double murder, as the lawyer doubts that the police are on the right track. No-one has been arrested and the lawyer is not apparently representing anyone involved in the case, and when asked why he is interested just replies that "It relates to an estate we're handling". Whalen appears to accept all this at face value but is not interested in doing private investigation work, so the two part on friendly terms but with no reason to see each other again.

That was the first irritating feature: an intelligent person, and an experienced police officer, accepted this as a normal event. If a lawyer wanted a private investigation done, why would they not contact a professional, why someone who they last saw twenty years ago at school and who they only know used to be a cop because it said so in their bio. in a book they later wrote? Why would someone who first described himself as working in "corporate law" and then said he was handling an estate take any professional interest in a criminal matter? Corporate law specialists don't deal with inheritance or criminal cases. It was all too obvious that something funny was going on, yet Whalen apparently saw nothing suspicious in all this.

It soon becomes apparent that there is indeed something funny going on. A crank who thinks Stonehenge was a ULF sound reflector and that spies are after him is murdered. Whalen's wife suddenly starts drinking tea and claiming she always did, and he notices signs that someone has been smoking in their garden. The lawyer reappears and claims that the suspect in the murder he had wanted Whalen to investigate had been left a large sum of money in the will of a dead millionaire who had apparently never heard of him before, and that another law firm dealing with some of the dead millionaire's affairs gave an address which seems to be a derelict building. An 11-year-old girl disappears and a fake FBI agent visits the parents (the police looking for her are surprised when the parents mention the FBI calling, and soon find no real agent had been involved). The reader is left thinking there must either be a very good explanation for all this or that it will turn out to be a load of hokum.

The worst weakness of the story, once at least some of the substance is revealed, is the idea that anyone would try to supress scientific research through murder, let alone that it could succeed. Someone wants to prevent anyone studying the properties of 19 Hz sound. They do this by killing physics researchers who look into the topic. That simply would not work. Such 'unconsidered trifles' as the properties of a specific wavelength are common topics for new researchers to study, to prove they can do research properly before they get funded for more important work. Any uninvestigated topic, especially one that can be studied with only basic equipment rather than a multi-million pound university or industrial facility, will attract a constant trickle of new investigators. If you keep killing them, it will soon get noticed. It would also need a team of assassins dispersed all around the world, with an awful lot of agents supporting them by looking out for anyone taking an interest in the topic. Isaac Asimov got there first, with a 1950's short story where even a global inter-governmental conspiracy to supress research into a topic fails.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I only ever heard about this novel because I watched the show that was adapted from it back when it aired on BBCA in 2014. This book has been on my "want to read" list ever since, but I was hampered from reading it by the fact that no libraries I was a member of had it in their catalogue. Then I started checking out most books from the library via the e-library Hoopla (due to the pandemic), and they actually had it! So, I was finally able to read a book that inspired a show that I enjoyed, but honestly didn't remember much about six years later. (All I remembered was that John Simm, my favourite actor, starred in it and that there was a creepy little girl that was murdering people and saying 'What goes around, comes around!' all the time. And that dead people were stealing living people's bodies, but I could not remember why they were doing it or how the show had even ended.)

In terms of strengths, this book has a wonderful, foreboding atmosphere. I've never been to the Pacific Northwest, but the descriptions of the weather and the overhanging clouds just fed into the feeling of paranoia and strangeness. Also, because I only remembered the major turns of the story, there were some genuine mystery moments that drew me in. I knew they were in the show, but I couldn't remember what the answers were, so I got to experience certain of the story for the first time, all over again. Also, in the show, the character Madison (played by a VERY young Millie Bobby Brown, back before Stranger Things had made her a superstar) was JUST wonderfully creepy, but because we never really got to see her POV in the show and saw more of the crazy Intruder that was using her body as a vessel, I never cared much what happened to her in the show. In the book, we see inside Madison's very confused 9 year old mind and it is heartbreaking to see how hard she fights to maintain control of her very young life, and shows that kid is a mega badass for how hard she fights back.

I also only vaguely remembered the character of Gary Fischer and, honestly, I think maybe his character was severely diminished in the show. In the book, I was gripped by his backstory and the gradual reveals we got about what drew him to contact main character Jack Whalen. I don't remember anything about him in the show though. I can't even put a face with the name.

In terms of the negatives, there is a lot of info dumping. While the mystery is fascinating, all the answers seem to come in huge blocks and then 70 pages of nothing really and then another huge info dump. And when you have all the answers, you're just kind of left throwing your hands in the air, and going, "okay, now what?" You feel a bit for Jack because things end more on the bitter than the sweet side for him, and the man at least got his answers, but...at what cost? And Madison's story just kind of ends and while you hope it's a good ending for her, the feeling of uneasiness still pervades for me and I think she was actually still possessed. I hope I'm wrong, but Jack never really looks too deeply into finding out if she was genuinely as okay as she seemed.

It's strange though. The book did a much better job of making me like Madison than the show did; but the book left me feeling that Jack was kind of a cardboard cut out character. His reactions at the end make little sense, except that the man had been put through the emotional wringer and was probably just in shock. It's the only way I can account for his dissociative behavior in the last forty pages of the book. Also, I was spoiled by having John Simm play Jack in the show and the emotional note he brought to the character is hard to match in book form. However, Jack's thoughts on human nature and our views of death and grieving are legitimate and interesting. So, props to the writing style on the introspective bits.

Also, I feel like Michael Marshall must have had the Billy Joel song "The Stranger" playing on repeat while he wrote this novel because the plot of this book is basically that song's entire premise.

[Brien Piechos · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has been on my to-read list ever since I watched the excellent and only season of TV adapted from this novel by the BBC way back in 2014 who inexplicably cancelled it before completing the narrative. Unfortunately it's one of the cases where the "movie" was much better than the book. Whoever edited this should be banned from creative input for life. The fix was simple. Simply dumping the first person narrative chapters spent inside the voice of the detective would have made all the difference. They're lengthy, just barely nudge the plot forward, indulgent and drag the story down so badly I had a lot of trouble slogging through to the next worthwhile chapter (always narrated in the third person omniscient, shorter, and focused on more interesting characters). First person POV has to serve a purpose and Marshall's Jack Whalen did not, other than to drop a few snide quips and make the author seem hip or whatever in that style that became all the rage in the decade after Fight Club reshaped the literary landscape for young male authors. Had this novel stuck to the third it would have been more enjoyable and story focused, instead of losing momentum every time we are forced to share the glacial inner monologue of the terminally uninteresting Jack Whalen. It's too bad, because Marshall had a neat idea going on here but could not resist the lure to appear clever and this overshadowed his desire to tell what could be a compelling story, which is shocking he would make such a structural misstep considering he had been publishing regularly for a decade by this point.

[Maura Heaphy Dutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Marshall addresses his favorite theme -- Ordinary Joe has the scales ripped from his eyes, and confronts the Powers of Darkness, which have been hiding in plain sight for years/decades/millennia -- again. Whether you like this depends on how much you like Michael Marshall (Smith).

I like Michael Marshall's writing a lot. Marshall's own "very particular set of skills" reminds me of Stephen King, at his best: the ability to create characters, even walk-ons and red-shirts, who feel like real people, who have backstories, dreams and desires, and who woke up that morning not planning to be crushed under the wheels of a fiendish supernatural conspiracy. Ditto, creating dialogue for said characters, major and minor, that sounds like the way real people speak -- even when, in the interests of the plot, they are having to recite info-dumps, or the biggest load of codswallop you have ever heard.

Marshall also has a nice sense of humor -- some of the info-dumps and codswallop is leavened by side-long verbal glances that say, to me, yeah, I know. But we're all in this together. Have fun!

So, I enjoyed this, and it was a great page-turner, and I can't promise you that I won't pick up another novel my Marshall, or his alter-egos Michael Marshall Smith or Michael Rutger, as soon as decency allows. However, I do feel that I'm beginning to feel diminishing returns from the "Ordinary Joe has scales ripped from eyes, and confronts the Powers of Darkness ..." playbook.