Praise for Books
“Gripping, beautifully written, and genuinely chilling, The Nothing Man had me from page one. Simply stellar.” —Meg Gardiner, Edgar Award–winning author of The Dark Corners of the Night
“A haunting and heartfelt novel, Beyond the Horizon is an utterly transporting tale of love, loss, and artistic passion. Eoin Lane’s debut heralds the arrival of a striking new talent.” —Dan Sheehan, author of Restless Souls
“The Nothing Man is the most original and chilling thriller I’ve read in a long time, and is perfect for fans of Serial and The Fall.” —Mark Edwards, bestselling author of The House Guest
“I was transported rapidly into the world of Colin Larkin to embark on a journey of tragedy, creativity, love, and loss in an emotion-filled story. Lane has a gift for poetic visual storytelling that reels you in and helps you combine images with text to heighten the experience and ultimately connect the reader to all the themes and threads throughout.” —Elsie Nolan, artist
“Expertly crafted—storytelling at its best.” —Patricia Gibney, bestselling author of The Missing Ones
“A stunning read! Moving. Couldn’t put it down. The author being a painter as well as a writer makes for a real tour de force.” —Dr. Noelle Campbell-Sharp, founder of Cill Rialaig, artist and writers retreat
“A book to steal your waking hours and haunt your sleeping ones. Chilling and brilliant.” —Cass Green, award-winning author of In a Cottage in a Wood
“Trials and tragedies can spur artists to great heights, but they can also undermine everything they’ve worked for. Such is the weighty conundrum behind Eoin Lane’s Beyond the Horizon, about six decades of an artist’s life on the breathtakingly beautiful shores of Ireland…Lane’s spare but precise prose sings…As Colin’s quest leads him from Ireland to the United States, Italy, and back again to Ireland for a poignant conclusion, Lane spins a thoughtful tale of artistic integrity and redemption.” —Foreword Reviews
“The queen of high-concept crime fiction strikes again: this is the first novel I’ve read that really captures the chills and twists of the true crime that obsesses us. Catherine Ryan Howard has always been thrillingly good at what she does, but she’s just getting better and better with every book.” —Jane Casey, author of the Maeve Kerrigan novels
“Eoin Lane’s Beyond the Horizon is a book for anyone who loves Ireland, loves the sea, and loves art—particularly, the painter’s dangerous romance, or passionate duel, with canvas and paint. Lane’s deep understanding of this process, both its tragedies and its triumphs, animates every page, every word.” —Daniel Hecht, bestselling author of On Brassard’s Farm
“I was truly blown away and couldn’t read it fast enough. I can’t shower it with enough praise. Terrifying, brilliantly plotted, and extremely satisfying.” —Jo Spain, bestselling author of With Our Blessing
“Eoin Lane has crafted an intensely visual novel, capturing a play of light and shadow, and the substance of a life lived on the seam between brightness and grief.” —Neil Hegarty, author of The Jewel
“Utterly compelling, completely original, The Nothing Man will be the standout novel for 2020. This is a book you won’t forget as Catherine Ryan Howard brings crime writing to a new level.” —Sam Blake, bestselling author of Little Bones
“Eoin Lane uses words like brush strokes as he tells Colin’s story, describing in a painterly way how storm clouds gather on his horizon, buffeting him and those around him. Driven by his creativity he learns cope with loss, love, and friendship, seeking shafts of sun to light his canvas.” —Sarah Maine, author of The House between Tides
“Whip-smart, thrilling, and utterly compelling.” —Liz Nugent, bestselling author of Lying in Wait
“Eoin Lane’s Beyond the Horizon creates a portrait of the inner-life of a man as vivid and striking as any Irish landscape. With graceful, assured prose Lane crafts a moving mediation on trauma, loss, and the redemptive power of art.” —Robert Haller, author of Another Life
“Fiendishly clever…Howard uses serial killer tropes in original and surprising ways in this tour de force.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Having known Eoin back when we both started out as painters many years ago, I found Beyond the Horizon interesting to have such a formative experience seen through his eyes. A moving, sensitive first novel that deals with love, loss, and the journey of an Irish artist across the topography of an evolving cultural and personal landscape.” —Gavin Lavelle, Irish artist and owner of the Lavelle Art Gallery
“This is probably one of the best books I ever read…I absolutely loved the book within a book format…The author did a fantastic job, and if you are a fan of Meg Gardiner, which I am, you will love this book.” —Seattle Book Review
“Eoin Lane’s dual talents as both artist and author are brought together with stunning effect in his novel, Beyond the Horizon. Language and image are artfully combined in this portrayal of the mind and heart of an artist, the obsession that drove his art, and the toll it exacted on his personal life. Poetic, evocative, and rich in visual imagery, this book draws us into the consciousness of the artist, and the elemental forces of ocean, horizon, and sky that shaped his art.” —Brenda Malley, artist
“[A] compulsive thriller…Those familiar with Michelle McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, which inspired Howard, may spot similarities between the Nothing Man and the real-life Golden State Killer, but Howard (nominated for an Edgar for The Liar’s Girl) takes her story in other directions. The Nothing Man is an ingenious nesting doll, revealing surprises in alternating chapters from Eve’s book and those from the killer’s point of view as he reads said book. Howard can paint moving depictions of grief and survivor’s guilt while terrifying readers and making them triple-check the locks on their doors. This isn’t nothing; it’s the author’s best work yet.” —Shelf Awareness (starred review)
“An artist with natural talent, Colin lives through his senses. There are tragedies, love affairs, and betrayals but it’s his art that carries his life along. A beautiful and poetic debut, I adored it.” —Sue Leonard, Irish Examiner
“It might be cliché to say that a strong storytelling tradition runs in Irish genes, but…Cork native and current Dubliner Catherine Ryan Howard would seem to be indicative of this…This juxtaposition of predator and prey—and the underlying question of just who is which—renders the stakes breathtakingly high. It’s a clever, meta construct—and one the author fully, and frankly, embraces…The Nothing Man is clearly influenced by Michelle McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone In The Dark…but don’t be mistaken: it’s still very much a work of fiction, albeit one that’s grounded in the realities of crime, recidivism, and victimization. The Nothing Man himself may be quite ordinary, but Catherine Ryan Howard’s book-within-a-book is anything but.” —Strand Magazine
