The Intruders (Hardcover)

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Review
Praise for Michael Marshall: 'A definite page-turner -- and a terrifying discourse on the nature of human evil and the darkness among us ... this is as fierce as thriller writing can get.' Guardian 'The taut pace, crisp style and ever-present sense of menace are those of a top-drawer thriller.' Telegraph 'Marshall is a cracker at writing tense, rich scenes.' Observer 'Just when you think there's nothing new under the sun in the world of the suspense novel, along comes one hell of a nasty spider called The Straw Men. It's brilliantly written and scary as hell. Be the first on your block to stay up all night with this one; it's a masterpiece, reminding us that even paranoids really do have enemies.' Stephen King

Potent, character-driven thriller about personality manipulation and brainwashing.Marshall (The Straw Men, 2002) ignites his exciting narrative in a clever, back-handed fashion with a gruesome double murder followed by an initially baffling flashback to the suicide of a girl named Donna. It all comes together when successful Chicago lawyer Gary Fisher calls up Jack Whalen, a former high-school acquaintance who offered some words of comfort after Donna killed herself over Gary. Why does Fisher want to see him? Because Whalen used to be with the LAPD and is now a writer living in Seattle, where that double murder took place. Its victims were the wife and son of Bill Anderson, an inventor linked to an estate Fisher's law firm is handling. Fisher convinces Whalen to investigate the case further. After all, the writer's not getting much work done while worrying about the strange behavior of his wife Amy. An advertising exec who travels frequently, she's been failing to turn up in places she's supposed to be or disappearing altogether for no discernible reason. She's also been frequenting a bogus storefront office in downtown Seattle in the company of other oddly acting characters. Meanwhile, a missing nine-year-old girl whose memory has been erased turns up at various places in Seattle, including Amy's advertising offices, displaying a new and strangely mature personality. All of these changeling personages have contact at some point with a dangerous creep who calls himself Federal Agent Shepherd. Marshall uses Fisher's and Whalen's personal histories to give some chilling psychological depth to his spooky portrait of disgruntled obsessives forming secret societies to search for "hidden truths." Subtle, satisfying - and really scary. (Kirkus Reviews)

Product Description
The latest conspiracy thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author. Jack Whalen was an LAPD patrol cop for twelve years. He left in difficult circumstances and now he's not really sure what he is. He's not too sure about his wife, either -- when she goes missing on a routine business trip to Seattle, Jack heads up there to find her: only to discover she's not really missing after all. Over the coming days it becomes increasingly clear that something has changed, however -- and is still changing. Jack is meanwhile contacted by a childhood acquaintance, Gary Fisher. Fisher's a lawyer now, and wants help in solving an odd little mystery concerning a businessman's will. The further Jack digs, the bigger the mystery seems to be -- and the stranger Fisher becomes. And in Oregon, a ten-year-old girl goes missing. It gradually becomes clear that she's at least partly in control of the situation, however -- and also that she's very far from defenceless. Searching for answers in the dark secrets of a past that still haunts him, Jack discovers that the truth has roots deeper and darker than he ever feared.

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27 Reviews 5 star:  (7) 4 star:  (7) 3 star:  (5) 2 star:  (6) 1 star:  (2)           Average Customer Review 3.4 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   61 of 63 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent Marshall, 17 April 2007 By  Dr. Babus Ahmed "Ajooba Cats" (West Midlands, UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)       This is not your average crime/thriller read in so many ways. It is a gritty and well paced book, with so many threads, weaving into a complicated tapestry, culminating in a common conclusion. It takes immeasurable talent to be able to write like this. Our lead character, Jack Whalen finds his simple life shattered by the disappearance of his wife, which brings to light a number of anomalies, he gets drawn deeper and deeper into an elaborate world where nothing and no one is who they seem. You really do feel the poor man is the unluckiest guy in the world by the end of it. I have read everything from Michael Marshall including those books written under Michael Marshall Smith, and was expecting a conclusion from a great imagination. I don't think we'll ever get a run of the mill crime stories with guns and knives without these twists from Marshall, which are enthralling. The Straw Men books are excellent, and I don't feel this was the same standard-although I loved it. I only wish he'd write quicker, as I've waited so long for this, but I don't want to compromise on quality. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   12 of 12 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A thriller, but maybe a little more, 9 Jul 2007 By  S. Bentley "stuarthoratiobentley" (North Yorkshire) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)       I find the fact that the Intruders is being marketed as a thriller is a little bit of a cheat. The book certainly is a thriller, and a damned good one, written in a style familiar to connosieurs of the genre and those who read Marshall's Straw Men trilogy. However, there is a quirk to the plot that takes over the book as it heads to its conclusion that suggests there is something more to the tale. And this something more steers us deeply into X-Files territory and the place Marshall used to be when he was writing Only Forward, Spares and One of Us. This isn't a bad thing at all. I've been looking forward to Marshall returning to his sci-fi horror thriller roots for a while and I think this book delivers on its promise, it's taut, tough and intriguing and written in an eminently readable style in a world weary first person and glib third person narratives. I'd say it's the best thing he's written since the original Straw Men novel (I have to say that I felt that that trilogy seemed an unecessary extension of the plotline with the second novel - ironically, another story which tiptoes into science fantasy horror - entirely superfluous). And given that he is in my top five authors, that's no small thing. However, if you want an entirely plausible thriller I can't wholeheartedly recommend this book. Yes, an alternate explanation is offered for the more outre elements in the plot, and it may well turn out that if there is a sequel (which I kind of hope there isn't) this will be investigated more deeply, but it doesn't seem to be lent the same level of credence as the more fantastic interpretation. But that's just a caveat emptor. If you are a fan of Marshall's earlier work and you don't mind suspending your disbelief a little, you're in for one hell of a treat. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   11 of 13 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars Not his best by a long shot, 7 Aug 2007 By  Kaye L. Elling "k-matic" (Leeds, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    I really wanted to love "The Intruders", as I'm a massive fan of Michael Marshall Smith, and had heard that this was somewhat of a return to his horror/sci-fi roots that drew me to his writing many years ago. However, I can't help feeling a little cheated. Yes, the book has a great premise, the twists are there, the familiar first person narration and the endless teasing of the reader with all kinds of unanswered questions...but ultimately none of the good stuff kicks in until nearly 300 pages into the 400 page hardback - and it's a long, hard slog getting there. "The Intruders" gives the impression that it was a short story or novella the publishers demanded be padded out to full novel size. It often feels like Marshall is just phoning it in, with many of the peripheral characters' voices blurring into one, as sketchy character archetypes come and go almost at random. The protagonist, who is frustratingly "irresolute" (an overused word in the book - a Freudian slip perhaps?) for much of the narrative, never attains the depth of Ward of "The Straw Men" trilogy, for example, or engages the reader like Stark in "Only Forward". Marshall teases the reader for so many chapters, dripfeeding information slower than Chinese water torture, that I eventually stopped caring what the big reveal might be. It was reasonably clear for a long time before my suspicions were confirmed. No great shocks like in "Hell Hath Enlarged Herself", no heart-breaking insights of "Always". Had this been a short story in a collection, or a significantly shorter novella, things would have been very different. This book won't turn me off Michael Marshall as a writer, but it has made me anticipate forthcoming works with some trepidation. Let's hope this is just a blip on the radar and not the shape of things to come. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 27 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews 1.0 out of 5 stars Dreadful What the heck is going on with Michael Marshall? I took this one away with me to Greece on holiday and the only reason I managed to finish it was because I had nothing else to... Read more Published 10 months ago by Warren Bowman 2.0 out of 5 stars We want the Smith Back I've got to say I was hugely disappointed with this. I think the books he wrote as Michael Marshall Smith are all fantastic, and I also enjoyed the Straw Men series (by now... Read more Published 10 months ago by Charlie_Crocker 5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Another slightly offbeat but extremely compelling thriller from MM Smith - excellent characters who you really believe in and a well developed plot. Read more Published 12 months ago by Mr. B. G. Cops 2.0 out of 5 stars what a let down. After reading straw men, which by the way I thought was a great, great read, this was like walking under water. Read more Published 12 months ago by Sally Jane Cronin 3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, but not for everyone An enjoyable thriller that relies more on gradually building tension and suspense than fast-paced action. Read more Published 13 months ago by XTR 5.0 out of 5 stars Deliciously creepy If you like your thrillers traditional - murder, murder, murder: solution - then this is not for you. Read more Published 13 months ago by Annalise 3.0 out of 5 stars Definitely please bring back the Smith Warning, a bit of a spoiler in this review. As a previous reviewer says, you lose interest in what is happening as it takes too long to bring the various strands together, and... Read more Published 15 months ago by Demo 2.0 out of 5 stars The first MM(S) book I had to force myself to finish! It's all relative - Michael Marshall is without doubt one of my favourite authors. USAULLY you'll get vicious wit, heart-felt insights into human nature, abrupt philosophical... Read more Published 15 months ago by N. Cooper 3.0 out of 5 stars just ok this is the fisrt Marshall book I've read so I've nothing to compare it to and must admit that I was drawn to the brief on the back and the 'amazing reviews' that were offered... Read more Published 15 months ago by P. Gill 4.0 out of 5 stars Something different I found this to be an unusual book but enjoyable nevertheless. As the other reviews say, it's not your average kind of thriller, it's more supernatural so some people might not... Read more Published 15 months ago by crime reader Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 27 customer reviews...

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