Locks Can’t Save You: #FearTheResident by David Jackson @Author_Dave @ViperBooks

I have been waiting for this moment… Are you ready?

Title: The Resident
Author: David Jackson
Publisher: Viper Books
Date of Publication: July 16th 2020
Genre: psychological thriller
Format reviewed: advance copy
Source: publisher
Number of pages: 320

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

Thomas Brogan is a serial killer. With a trail of bodies in his wake and 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 he can drop down into all the other houses 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 – the lonely old woman, the bickering couple, the tempting young newlyweds. 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.

The devil is in the details. This sentence kept going in my mind as I read The Resident. Well, in the details and the attic.

What a brilliantly unique thriller! My expectations for this novel were sky high, and David Jackson didn’t disappoint. I had no idea I would be thrown on such a dark and twisted path, far from what I’d imagined, yet better than whatever my brain could have come up with.

Brogan is a fascinating character. We learn early on that he is a bad guy. After all, he is running from the police, and the chunks of information we get don’t picture him as the guy you’d invite for a BBQ. Yet, he is not your usual serial killer. More than ‘a kill-hide- kill yay here’s blood to satisfy our quench for murders’ The Resident is a masterpiece in characterization. Brogan doesn’t simply kill, he imagines scenarios, he explores possibilities, he wants his victims to play a part and suffer both mentally and physically. The depth in this novel is such that more than the impending deaths, it is the exploration of Brogan’s mind that gave me all the chills. I can’t explain the strength with which he hit me. David Jackson has created one of my favorite killers, and given him a scary playground to play on, with the most fantastic cast to challenge Brogan, and show just how clever and resourceful he is… But not everything is black in Brogan and that may well be why I was so engrossed in his game. If it is easy to paint someone as the baddie and make them do the most awful thing, it is harder to depict a flawed and disturbed mind for which the reader can actually feel for. And I did feel for Brogan. I knew he was watching people with the intent to kill, I am no fool, but the waiting and planning allows the reader to experience a bit of his life, and the snippets of his childhood make him more real, more human. I remember I almost forgot he wanted to murder people!!!

On the run, Brogan finds himself in a killer’s heaven. An abandoned house connected through the attic to three inhabited homes. Old and vulnerable Elsie broke my heart and I prayed for her to stay alive. The role she plays in the book is essential in more ways than I thought possible and it is another example of the author’s talent. A middle house with a threat and a very loud couple. Then, The Fairbrights, a thirty-something seemingly cute couple… Brogan finds a new project, but things get complicated, and here lies the beauty of this novel. The intricacies of the plot take The Resident to another level. If you look up the purest definition of psychological thriller, you should find a link to this book.

The writing is knife-sharp and enhance every thought and action, giving every line a mesmerizing taste.

The Resident is a terrifyingly unique kind of thriller. This book is the kind of beauty I love to read. Evil with a big E and multiple layers.

Open the door and grab your copy while you can…

Thank you to Viper Books for inviting me to be part of this blog tour and for providing me with a wonderful proof copy of this novel. The actual cover is below. This review is my unbiased opinion.

My Creepy Lockdown Moment

I am not easily spooked. Creaking stairs don’t make me jump. Doors opening on their own are just proof a house is living. But something did happen during lockdown…

I do my groceries online, but contrary to when I’m at home in London, here in Bordeaux, I have to drive to pick up my order. It was probably the only times I left the house during lockdown. It happened six times.

I took the stairs six times.

I opened the door to the underground parking six times.

The lights were on despite me being alone when the doors closed six times.

The same lights would TURN THEMSELVES OFF while I was walking to my car! SIX TIMES. I would stand in the pitch-black parking, frozen. Then move my arms in the hope the detectors would notice me. THEY NEVER DID.

No one else had any issue with the lights in the parking.

I’m still confused about it. And spooked.