Mr. Nobody
Catherine Steadman, 2020
Random House
368 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781524797683
Summary
Who is Mr. Nobody?
When a man is found on a British beach, drifting in and out of consciousness, with no identification and unable to speak, interest in him is sparked immediately.
From the hospital staff who find themselves inexplicably drawn to him, to international medical experts who are baffled by him, to the national press who call him Mr. Nobody, everyone wants answers. Who is this man? And what happened to him?
Some memories are best forgotten.
Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Emma Lewis is asked to assess the patient in a small town deep in the English countryside. This is her field of expertise, this is the chance she’s been waiting for, and this case could make her name known across the world.
But therein lies the danger. Emma left this same town fourteen years ago and has taken great pains to cover all traces of her past since then.
Places aren’t haunted… people are.
But now something—or someone—is calling her back. And the more time she spends with her patient, the more alarmed she becomes that he knows the one thing about her that nobody is supposed to know. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—February 8, 1987
• Where—New Forest in Southern England, UK
• Education—Oxford School of Drama
• Currently—lives in North London, England
Catherine Steadman is an English actress and author, best known for playing Mabel Lane Fox in Downton Abbey (series 5, 2014). She is the author of two psychological thrillers, Something in the Water (2018) and Mr. Nobody (2020).
Steadman trained at the Oxford School of Drama and made her screen debut playing Julia Bertram in the ITV adaptation of Mansfield Park opposite Billie Piper, James D'arcy, Rory Kinnear & Michelle Ryan. Since then she has appeared in television dramas such as the CBC/Showtime co-production The Tudors (playing Joan Bulmer), Holby City, Law & Order: UK, Missing, Lewis, Quirke (alongside Gabriel Byrne), Fearless (opposite Helen McCrory(, and Victoria.
Most notably she played Nurse Wilson in the ITV drama Breathless, Maggie Lewis in Tutankhamun, as well as Mabel Lane Fox in Downton Abbey. She has also appeared in several comedy series such as The Inbetweeners, Fresh Meat, Trying Again and Bucket. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 6/20/2018.)
Book Reviews
[A] tricky psychological puzzle…. It’s a joy to encounter a suspenseful book whose turns lurk, rather than lumber, around the corner. The story in Mr. Nobody corkscrews and somersaults…. Past mysteries haunt the present in ways that are both startling and claustrophobic…. [Steadman] is even better at writing than acting. If her first book, Something in the Water, was the Steadman gateway drug, then Mr. Nobody is the heroin that will get you hooked. Let’s hope, for purposes of withdrawal mitigation, there’s a third.
New York Times Book Review
[A] highly imaginative tale tinged with Hitchcockian tension and kinetic pacing…. Steadman’s deliciously provocative novel dishes up enough questions to fill the entire space devoted to this review. She cleverly cloaks them in more mysteries, turns and shocking revelations. Much like Something in the Water, Mr. Nobody pits fascinating characters against each other and allows them to act on their worst impulses…. Her literary instincts are spot on, and the protagonists she creates feel as alive as some of the characters she’s inhabited on film…. This talent for inhabiting characters carries over into her writing: Mr. Nobody and Emma Lewis, though invented, seem so real. Mr. Nobody turns out to be somebody, and his unmasking makes for a delightfully compelling story.
Washington Post
A mesmerizing psychological thriller…. In a series of exciting twists and shocking turns, Emma and Mr. Nobody come to discover they are connected in ways neither could have imagined. Steadman’s story is wholly unique and exceedingly well executed. Suspense is peppered in all the right places, and every bread crumb dropped throughout the story returns in wildly imaginative ways.
Associated Press
[Mr. Nobody] somberly explores trauma and its aftermath, but ample twists and a rollicking pace make it a perfectly thrilling read.
Vanity Fair
[O]ver-the-top psychological thriller…. Point of view shifts diminish the novel’s readability at times, but the elaborate plot, filled with seemingly impossible twists, drives to a suspenseful conclusion. Readers will look forward to Steadman’s next.
Publishers Weekly
From an Olivier-nominated actress whose debut, Something in the Water, was a New York Times best seller and an ITW Thriller Award finalist.
Library Journal
Steadman once again brilliantly paces the action from the very first scene.… As in all good thrillers, lights unexpectedly snap out, a creepy house is hidden down a tree-woven lane, and long-buried secrets emerge.… A spellbinding thriller perfect for dark and stormy nights.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, please use our GENERIC MYSTERY QUESTIONS to start a discussion for Mr. Nobody … then take off on your own:
GENERIC DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Mystery / Crime / Suspense Thrillers
1. Talk about the characters, both good and bad. Describe their personalities and motivations. Are they fully developed and emotionally complex? Or are they flat, one-dimensional heroes and villains?
2. What do you know...and when do you know it? At what point in the book do you begin to piece together what happened?
3. Good crime writers embed hidden clues in plain sight, slipping them in casually, almost in passing. Did you pick them out, or were you...clueless? Once you've finished the book, go back to locate the clues hidden in plain sight. How skillful was the author in burying them?
4. Good crime writers also tease us with red-herrings—false clues—to purposely lead readers astray? Does your author try to throw you off track? If so, were you tripped up?
5. Talk about the twists & turns—those surprising plot developments that throw everything you think you've figured out into disarray.
- Do they enhance the story, add complexity, and build suspense?
- Are they plausible or implausible?
- Do they feel forced and gratuitous—inserted merely to extend the story?
6. Does the author ratchet up the suspense? Did you find yourself anxious—quickly turning pages to learn what happened? A what point does the suspense start to build? Where does it climax...then perhaps start rising again?
7. A good ending is essential in any mystery or crime thriller: it should ease up on tension, answer questions, and tidy up loose ends. Does the ending accomplish those goals?
- Is the conclusion probable or believable?
- Is it organic, growing out of clues previously laid out by the author (see Question 3)?
- Or does the ending come out of the blue, feeling forced or tacked-on?
- Perhaps it's too predictable.
- Can you envision a different or better ending?
8. Are there certain passages in the book—ideas, descriptions, or dialogue—that you found interesting or revealing...or that somehow struck you? What lines, if any, made you stop and think?
9. Overall, does the book satisfy? Does it live up to the standards of a good crime story or suspense thriller? Why or why not?
(Generic Mystery Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)