“THERE’S A SERIAL KILLER ON THE RUN
AND HE’S HIDING IN YOUR HOUSE

Thomas Brogan is a serial killer. Having left a trail of bodies in his wake, and with the police hot on his heels, it seems like Thomas has nowhere left to hide. That is until he breaks into an abandoned house at the end of a terrace on a quiet street. And when he climbs up into the loft, he realises that the can drop down into all the other houses on the street through the shared attic space.

That’s when the real fun begins. Because the one thing that Thomas enjoys even more than killing, is playing games with his victims. And his new neighbours have more than enough dark secrets to make this game his best one yet…

Do you fear The Resident? Soon you’ll be dying to meet him.”

Hello and a very warm welcome to damppebbles. I am delighted to be sharing my review of one of my most eagerly anticipated books of the year with you today — The Resident by David Jackson. I am a huge fan of Jackson’s writing, particularly his DS Cody series which you JUST HAVE TO READ! When I heard Jackson was due to release a standalone novel with Viper Books, I knew I had to get my mitts on a copy – by fair means or foul. Thankfully desperate measures were not called for as the lovely folk at Viper Books sent me an early copy. Huge thanks to the publisher for sending me a free ARC of The Resident which has in no way influenced my review.

Your home is your castle. Your safe sanctuary from the rest of the world. But what if it wasn’t? What if someone was living in your loft. And not just anyone, a deranged serial killer. If that’s not got your attention then we need to have words! If you’re a regular visitor to the blog then you will know that I’m a die-hard crime fiction fan. I read a lot of crime and that’s just fine because that’s the way I like it. However, I can count on one hand the number of books I’ve read from the killer’s point of view. And that’s exactly what makes The Resident a darn special read. This is Thomas’s story.

There are several other elements which make The Resident stand out from other books in the same genre. A large proportion of the dialogue is between Thomas…..and Thomas. Yup, you read that correctly. Thomas is a very damaged soul and we get to see the inner workings of his strained mind. It’s fascinating stuff. I wouldn’t say he has a good side and a bad side (he’s a serial killer for flips sake, it’s ALL bad!) but there’s a definite divide in his thought processes. Evil Thomas….and eviler Thomas perhaps. One side of his personality definitely leads the other into some pretty tricky situations. The other thing I loved about this book is that the setting is quite compact. Thomas manages to find his way into an abandoned house, and from there he heads to the loft space for a bit of nose around. Once he’s in the loft, he realises he can access the other three houses in the row as none of the loft spaces are fully bricked up. From here we’re introduced to the neighbours; elderly Elsie, husband and wife Martyn and Colette Fairbright, and to a lesser extent, Janice and Brian. As you can see, the cast of characters is also quite compact but by gosh, it works a treat! Thomas spies on the neighbours, works out their schedules and invades their homes. He likes to taunt and play with them, make them think they’re losing their minds. Martyn and Colette become the main objects of his attention, partly due to a fascination (obsession?) he develops over Colette. It’s nail-biting stuff as the reader knows that Thomas is just playing with his latest ‘toys’ and a terrifying, blood drenched end at the hands of a serial killer is nigh for the couple.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. This is a fascinating and original take on a serial killer thriller and I loved it! I found myself strangely warming a little to what is a very dark and twisted character. I loved that Thomas was able to form a somewhat odd relationship with one of the other characters in the book and it seemed to be something which, until that point, had been missing in his life. And the ending was superb! The author has absolutely nailed it with that brilliant ending. I love Jackson’s books and this is another brilliant addition to his catalogue. Highly recommended.

I chose to read and review an ARC of The Resident. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Resident by David Jackson was published by Viper Books on 16th July 2020 and is available in hardcover, paperback and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which mean I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | Book Depository | Goodreads |

I was a latecomer to fiction writing, having spent most of my adult life producing academic papers and reports. After some limited success entering short story competitions, I submitted the first few chapters of a novel to the Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger Awards. To my great surprise, the book was not only short-listed but given the Highly Commended accolade, which stimulated the interest of agents and publishers and eventually led to the publication of PARIAH. Since then, I have written several more crime thrillers, the most recent of which are set in my birth city of Liverpool. I still have a day job in Liverpool as a university academic, but now live on the Wirral with my wife, two daughters and a British Shorthair cat called Mr Tumnus.

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