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Michael Marshall Smith
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The Intruders Mass Market Paperback – December 30, 2008

by Michael Marshall (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 470 ratings

For ex-cop Jack Whalen, it all begins with a visitfrom a childhood friend, a lawyer who needs Jack's help. The family of a noted scientist has been senselessly, brutally murdered, and the scientist is nowhere to be found.

But Jack has more pressing concerns. The past that drove him from the L.A.P.D. continues to haunt him. And his wife has disappeared during a routine business trip to Seattle. She never checked into her hotel, she isn't answering her cell phone. She is gone.

A third missing person, a little girl in Oregon, is found miles away. But it soon becomes obvious that she is not an innocent victim . . . and far from defenseless.

Something very strange is happening—a perplexing series of troubling events that's leading Jack Whalen into the shadows. And the secrets buried there are unlike anything he, or anyone, could possibly have imagined.

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  1. Print length
    416 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harper
  4. Publication date
    December 30, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    4.19 x 1.04 x 6.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0061235032
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0061235030
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

For ex-cop Jack Whalen, it all begins with a visitfrom a childhood friend, a lawyer who needs Jack's help. The family of a noted scientist has been senselessly, brutally murdered, and the scientist is nowhere to be found.

But Jack has more pressing concerns. The past that drove him from the L.A.P.D. continues to haunt him. And his wife has disappeared during a routine business trip to Seattle. She never checked into her hotel, she isn't answering her cell phone. She is gone.

A third missing person, a little girl in Oregon, is found miles away. But it soon becomes obvious that she is not an innocent victim . . . and far from defenseless.

Something very strange is happening—a perplexing series of troubling events that's leading Jack Whalen into the shadows. And the secrets buried there are unlike anything he, or anyone, could possibly have imagined.

About the Author

Michael Marshall is the author of the trilogy that includes The Straw Men, The Upright Man, and Blood of Angels, as well as the stand-alone novels The Servants, The Intruders, Bad Things, and Killer Move. He also works as a screenwriter for clients in London and Los Angeles, and is currently writing a television pilot set in New York City. He lives in London, England, with his wife and son.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 30, 2008
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0061235032
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0061235030
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.19 x 1.04 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 470 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Michael Marshall Smith

    Michael Marshall Smith

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Novelist, short story writer and screenwriter, writing under the names Michael Marshall Smith and Michael Marshall. As the former, author of ONLY FORWARD, SPARES, ONE OF US, THE SERVANTS and the upcoming HANNAH GREEN AND HER UNFEASIBLY MUNDANE EXISTENCE. Also winner of the August Derleth, International Horror Guild and Philip K Dick Award — in addition to winning the British Fantasy Award for best short story more times than any other author in history.

    As Michael Marshall, an internationally-bestselling writer of thrillers including the STRAW MEN trilogy and THE INTRUDERS — recently televised starring John Simm, Mira Sorvino and Millie Bobby Brown.

    www.michaelmarshallsmith.com

    Twitter @ememess

    Insta @ememess

    See more on the author's page
  2. Michael Marshall

    Michael Marshall

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    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
470 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoy the book's good mystery plot with supernatural elements and find it a fast-paced, tightly written read. They appreciate its readability, with one customer noting it's worth the investment. The writing style receives positive feedback, with one review highlighting its creative descriptions. The explanation aspect receives mixed reactions from customers.

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48 customers mention "Story quality"40 positive8 negative

Customers enjoy the story's twists and turns, good plot development, and supernatural elements, with one customer describing it as a mind-bending thriller.

"...I must say I agree with him. Although I did enjoy the television series, the book has many nuances that were minimized or completely overlooked in..." Read more

"...The Intruders succeeds as a thoroughly gripping and surprising creepy tale -- although, in the end, it left me with more questions than..." Read more

"A good mind-bending thriller with an interesting take on a group of immortals and what happens when they come back in a new life...." Read more

"...But the story is compelling! I want to figure it out!..." Read more

38 customers mention "Readability"38 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable to read, with several noting that the payoff is worth it.

"...picture of what's going on.... but hang in there, because the payoff is worth it...." Read more

"I show the series and just had to get the book. It is worth it. The series was good the book much better...." Read more

"...So, I decided to read the book. It was amazing! So many twists and suspense! It actually kind of makes you wonder if this could happen in real life." Read more

"...one of the few people I read that is a great story teller as well as a great writer. Very good, just not great." Read more

7 customers mention "Writing style"7 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, with one noting its unique approach and another highlighting its creative descriptions.

"...A very well-written and -thought-out novel with a lot of suppositions that make you wonder what the possibilities might be." Read more

"...They didn't do a half bad job. The book is pretty tightly written but leaves a lot of things un-explained and half dealt with...." Read more

"...the few people I read that is a great story teller as well as a great writer. Very good, just not great." Read more

"...However, it is a good read and I enjoyed the author's style and pacing." Read more

6 customers mention "Pacing"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, describing it as fast-paced and a quick read.

"...you didn't watch the series, read the book and thoroughly enjoy the fast-paced and captivating story...." Read more

"...A quick read, and well worth it." Read more

"...around you the entire time to the point where it's unnerving, the pace is perfect." Read more

"...However, it is a good read and I enjoyed the author's style and pacing." Read more

7 customers mention "Explanation"3 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed reactions to the book's explanations, with one customer finding it helpful for understanding the BBC mini-series, while another describes it as a muddled mess.

"...time in my many years of reading, I stuck with a book that was wildly confusing and full of WTF moments...." Read more

"...Although I did enjoy the television series, the book has many nuances that were minimized or completely overlooked in the show, which answer many..." Read more

"...The book is pretty tightly written but leaves a lot of things un-explained and half dealt with. It's as if there were to be other volumes...." Read more

"Loved this author! Caught the series on BBC America and had to read the novel. I hope he write a sequel to the Intruders...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Avid Reader
    5.0 out of 5 stars Is it fiction or not? Does Mr. Smith know something we don't?
    Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I read this book at the urging of my husband, who read it while we were watching the series on television. He had told me it differed in a number of ways from the screenplay, and thought the book was better in many respects. I must say I agree with him. Although I did enjoy the television series, the book has many nuances that were minimized or completely overlooked in the show, which answer many questions and add greatly to the plot.

    The plot of the book deals with a subject that makes sense in a lot of ways and really makes you stop and think about whether it could be true or not (at least it did for me). Without giving anything away, think about the way animals react before a storm or the uneasy feeling you get when entering a spooky house. Have you ever met a stranger that you are sure you have met before? Must be reasons for these things.

    Michael Marshall Smith definitely has a way with words and situations and is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. And he has quite a unique sense of humor as well, as you will note if you visit his blog (love his photo, which gives a glimpse into his devilishness). I have gone back and read his earlier works and look forward to what is coming in the future.

    One thing I find very interesting is Mr. Smith is British but the book takes place in Seattle, Washington, where he visited for a short time. I am from the Pacific Northwest and very familiar with Seattle, and his descriptions of places are spot-on. He has really done his research. Eerie in itself!

    If you watched "The Intruders" on television, read the book and note how it answers questions you may have and fills in the gaps. If you didn't watch the series, read the book and thoroughly enjoy the fast-paced and captivating story. A very well-written and -thought-out novel with a lot of suppositions that make you wonder what the possibilities might be.
    25 people found this helpful
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  • Heather D. Couillard
    4.0 out of 5 stars Creepy, chillng... thought-provoking for geeks like me
    Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    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.
    30 people found this helpful
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  • M. Marchand
    3.0 out of 5 stars Good -- and it helps explain the BBC mini-series
    Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    A good mind-bending thriller with an interesting take on a group of immortals and what happens when they come back in a new life. I was interested after seeing the BBC series, which is also a good mini-series to watch.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Dimi Mestier
    5.0 out of 5 stars What is going on?!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    OK, for the first time in my many years of reading, I stuck with a book that was wildly confusing and full of WTF moments. In the past, I'd have tossed it within the first 50-100 pages (Kindle pages). But the story is compelling! I want to figure it out! I know nothing about a TV series--and I live in the US--but I'm satisfied enough with the ending to not go hunting for more. Maybe that's short-sighted of me; so be it. I can live with myself. <wink>
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  • C. Brown
    4.0 out of 5 stars FUN NOVEL, GREAT SETTING, COOL TWISTS
    Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I started this book because I saw ads for the TV series on BBC America that will premiere this August. It's a really intriguing premise, and the main character, a former cop with a scaled down life and a wobbly marriage, is sympathetic from page 1. Set mostly in the Pacific Northwest, the novel does a great job with atmosphere, from the protagonist's stylish house to a creepy office building in downtown Seattle. The first few chapters of the book may be confusing, as the point of view shifts several times and the reader never gets the full picture of what's going on.... but hang in there, because the payoff is worth it. Not many novels successfully blend old fashioned sleuthing with supernatural elements, but this one succeeds. A quick read, and well worth it.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Kindle person
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the read
    Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I show the series and just had to get the book. It is worth it. The series was good the book much better. Not going to tell you about it, dislike, when reviewers tell the plot. Just saying if you like supernatural, twists and good characters, this book is for you
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Konstantinos
    3.0 out of 5 stars Nice plot but badly written
    Reviewed in Italy on January 12, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I watched the series and I was curious to learn what happened in the end. When I read the book I realized that the series followed the book to the letter and that's why it didn't go on. Until you read the 75% of the book you can't guess what's going on. This was really boring... There are many errors in the text and useless slung that in my opinion doesn't make much sense for a book unless you read it out loud to someone else. My biggest complaint is that the plot unravels too slowly...
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  • leslie j toth
    5.0 out of 5 stars different...very good
    Reviewed in Canada on November 23, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    very good.......
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  • S. Bentley
    5.0 out of 5 stars A thriller, but maybe a little more
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    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.
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  • Elise Abram
    3.0 out of 5 stars “The Intruders” is good, as long as you read the book first.
    Reviewed in Canada on November 12, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    “Intruders” is perhaps the best new sci-fi television shows this year. One of the things I liked about it was the slow build it took toward the climax, meting out hints about the true theme of reincarnation in small bites. In fact, viewers were kept guessing until after the first few weeks. John Simm, a favourite of mine since “Life on Mars”, is amazing in the role of Jack Whalen. Ditto James Frain (from “True Blood”) who plays cold-blooded Richard Shepherd. When the season ended, I wasted no time buying the book to relive the thrill and mystery.

    But for the television connection, I don’t think I would have finished reading Michael Marshall Smith’s The Intruders. Breadcrumbs in the novel were dropped at a much slower pace than on TV. Readers are kept in the dark until the last chapters, and even then, they’re kept guessing as to what was actually going on.

    As a testament to casting, Simm’s acting rings true to the voice of Whalen in the series.

    By contrast, Madison, another of my favourite characters, was poorly fleshed out in the novel. Chapters detailing her story alternate from the points of view of Madison, her parents, Shepherd and Marcus Fox, which makes it difficult to follow.

    Like the series, Anderson’s ghost machine is mentioned but never explained. Also like the series, Amy leaves Jack, but the connection to the secret society that organizes and funds the returned souls, as well as the connection to Rose, isn’t truly there. The novel’s climax does not do the suspense justice, unlike the series finale which left me hoping for another season.

    Though the narrative–especially when told through Jack’s eyes–was intriguing as is the premise, The Intruders falls flat. Smith’s novel is great as a companion to the series, so long as you read the novel first.
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  • benbetty
    4.0 out of 5 stars Typical Michael Marshall
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 29, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    You have to like this genre of thriller and be open minded to his storylines. Having read the Straw Men saga I knew what to expect and it lived up to those expectations. You don't have to believe in the supernatural or the paranormal to enjoy his writing after all it is a book and is fiction. Well worth a read.
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