The Intruders [Hardcover]

Michael Marshall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2007

Stunning new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of 'The Straw Men'. 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.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Bestseller Marshall (The Straw Men) outdoes his own high standards with this potent blend of suspense, paranoia and just plain creepiness. Jack Whalen, a former L.A. cop, is pursuing a new career as a writer in an idyllic small town just east of Seattle when weird things start to undermine his pursuit of the American dream. First, an old acquaintance from Jack's childhood suddenly turns up with a strange tale about a double homicide; then Jack's wife, an advertising executive, disappears briefly on a business trip. Is he going crazy, or is she leading some sort of secret life? And what about these disturbing spells he keeps having, these fleeting sensations of otherness, in which his own existence is unfamiliar to him? Meanwhile, down the coast in Portland, a nine-year-old girl having similar visions has gone missing. As Jack investigates, he stumbles onto a secret much darker than he ever could have anticipated. Marshall ingeniously threads these strands together into a provocative and supremely intelligent thriller that reads like a cross between Andrew Klavan and Philip K. Dick. (Aug.)
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From Bookmarks Magazine

Compared by critics to Stephen King and Philip K. Dick, British novelist Michael Marshall crosses genre barriers, from crime to horror to science fiction, in the fast-paced, action-packed Intruders. As the story takes one creepy, bizarre turn after another, Marshall's convincing characters act consistently and believably in a progressively implausible situation. A few complaints included the intricate plotting and the book's length, but most of the critics' objections resulted from the novel's abrupt transformation from a run-of-the-mill murder mystery into a supernatural thriller. While The Intruders may appeal most to fans of The X-Files, readers who can suspend their disbelief will be rewarded by the originality, suspense and "unwavering storytelling" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel) of this genre-defying novel.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (August 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061235024
• ISBN-13: 978-0061235023
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,247,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creepy, chillng... thought-provoking for geeks like me, September 13, 2007

By 

Heather D. Gallay (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Intruders (Hardcover)

The wife and teenage son of a Seattle-area scientist are brutally murdered by a stranger claiming to be an FBI agent, and the scientist himself is nowhere to be found. A short time later, a nine-year-old girl named Madison disappears from Oregon's ethereal Cannon Beach while her inattentive mother, despondent over the deteriorating state of her marriage, dozes inside their beach cottage.

But the tale of The Intruders truly begins when Jack Whalen, a former cop with a troubled past who has of late become an accidental author of sorts, gets an out-of-the-blue visit from Gary Fisher, a high school classmate he hasn't seen in two decades, and one to whom he was only mildly acquainted -- making the seemingly impromptu reunion even more suspicious to a been-there-done-that kind of guy like Jack. Fisher, now a lawyer teetering precariously on the brink of something he himself is struggling to understand, has ostensibly come to ask for Jack's opinion on an estate case he's handling, owing to Jack's past in law enforcement and their connection as former classmates. But, as always, there's much more to the story.

Fisher's re-entrance into Jack's life is the catalyst for massive change, and the chaos that has been loitering outside the Whalen home for the last few years has finally found its way inside. Suddenly, everything Jack thinks he knows about his life is being challenged, especially in regard to his ad-executive wife, Amy, whose recent behavior has become increasingly peculiar.

Except for overuse of the words "diffident" and "irresolute" (a nitpick, to be sure), The Intruders succeeds as a thoroughly gripping and surprising creepy tale -- although, in the end, it left me with more questions than answers. I wanted to learn more about the Nine, a secret organization central to the tale's mystery, and was left feeling a bit confused about certain key points to the story (namely a character who goes unidentified until the end). Plus, I wasn't satisfied with the resolution between Jack and Amy, and thought it was a bit anticlimactic. And yet, that aside, The Intruders captivated me from the first horrifying chapter -- so much so, that I read it all in one night.

The Intruders is a tale that will appeal to readers who want an engrossing thriller with other-worldly tones. If you're geeky, as I am, then many of the ideas in the book will resonate with that part of you that believes -- or wants to -- in the things that go bump in the night. Just know that, whereas some books are a veritable feast for the mind that leave you filled to capacity for days, The Intruders is more like a frozen dinner: tasty, but not that satisfying.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They're Here...., August 6, 2007

By 

Tom S. "filmfan3" (New York City) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Intruders (Hardcover)

The wife and child of a prominent scientist are murdered, and the scientist disappears. A little girl in Oregon goes missing. Troubled ex-cop Jack Whalen is now a writer living a quiet life in a small town in Washington--until his wife goes on a business trip and vanishes.

And that's just the beginning....

Here's a thriller that really thrills. What begins as a reasonably straightforward mystery involving a couple of murders and several missing people in the Pacific Northwest soon escalates into something dark and different and profoundly frightening. If you like your suspense novels to be offbeat and edgy, and you don't mind a few genuine shocks, THE INTRUDERS is the book for you. Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun vs. Plot, April 22, 2008

By 

Anthony Lee Hughes "Soberish Rage" (San Bernardino CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Intruders (Hardcover)

First off... I enjoy reading bad reviews for decent books. The reviews of the previous readers either gave MMS full marks or dropped him down to nothing. It's the complaints that get me. They say they want a believable mystery... then go read some true crime novels.

Michael Marshall tends to meld Harris and King and sometimes Gibson. It works, sometimes brilliantly. I enjoy that he has stepped out of science fiction. No offense.

He is a great a writer, sometimes it seems as if he struggles with direction, but even when misdirection occurs he tells it in a way that draws a reader's attention. His novels are not cut and pasted, this one in particular came off as very.... (please don't stick a spork in my spleen)"organic."

One doesn't know what is coming, or whether the author does either, but it's fun.

That keeps me special ordering his books.