Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
33rd out of 159 books
—
20 voters
The Intruders
The bestselling author of The Straw Men makes his American hardcover debut with a searing, atmospheric tale that ratchets up the suspense, page by page, until its shocking end
For Jack Whalen, it all starts with a visit from a childhood friend, now a lawyer, who asks for his help on an odd case. The family members of a scientist have been brutally murdered, and the scientis...more
For Jack Whalen, it all starts with a visit from a childhood friend, now a lawyer, who asks for his help on an odd case. The family members of a scientist have been brutally murdered, and the scientis...more
Hardcover, 392 pages
Published
August 7th 2007
by William Morrow & Company
(first published August 1st 2007)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,009)
I've read several novels (and a number of short stories) by sci-fi/fantasy/horror author Michael Marshall Smith, all of which were pretty amazing. I've wanted to read some of his non-sci-fi work, published under the name Michael Marshall. The bookstore where I picked up The Intruders listed it as "mystery" or "thriller." And it seemed to be that for the first three quarters of the book, before it took a hard turn into the sci-fi/fantasy/horror realm. Not that I minded that, just that it was a li...more
Feb 05, 2009
Bookmarks Magazine
added it
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 a
...more
Jack Whalen is an ex LAPD cop, getting on with life in his own way, until his wife goes missing and everything turns upside down.
A ten year old goes missing although she is more than what she seems and can take care of herself and anything that gets in her way.
The two become tangled with many more people and the story unravels as it progresses.
This book is a mind boggle, it starts really well, a family is brutally murdered with the father being the main suspect but from there it just goes weird...more
A ten year old goes missing although she is more than what she seems and can take care of herself and anything that gets in her way.
The two become tangled with many more people and the story unravels as it progresses.
This book is a mind boggle, it starts really well, a family is brutally murdered with the father being the main suspect but from there it just goes weird...more
This book is teaming with ideas. Like a few recent thrillers, it doesn't try too hard to give you all the answers or explain away things that aren't really important to the story. It is what it is, it happens, deal with it. You only ever know what the lead character knows helping add to the tension as the character crashes wildly from one discovery to the next, in a permemnt state of confusion.
There are a few flaws - some things that we really should have had explained are missing - and if i was
...more
Apr 28, 2012
Mallory Anne-Marie Forbes
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Mallory Anne-Marie by:
Kealan Patrick Burke
Shelves:
april-2012-reads,
armchair-pacificnw-us
Can I give it 17 stars, or 26?
Stunning. Awe-inspiring. Metaphysical. Beyond Reality. Supreme. Michael Marshall Smith shares a gift in common with the equally superb Kealan Patrick Burke: literary eyes that glimpse beyond what we in consensus reality perceive, and not just glimpse, but observe-study-analyse-consider-recount. “The Intruders” is over-the-top perfect, as is Mr. Smith’s “Bad Things,” and although I read it through apace, I am at a loss for description. Reading his novels (and Mr. Bur...more
Stunning. Awe-inspiring. Metaphysical. Beyond Reality. Supreme. Michael Marshall Smith shares a gift in common with the equally superb Kealan Patrick Burke: literary eyes that glimpse beyond what we in consensus reality perceive, and not just glimpse, but observe-study-analyse-consider-recount. “The Intruders” is over-the-top perfect, as is Mr. Smith’s “Bad Things,” and although I read it through apace, I am at a loss for description. Reading his novels (and Mr. Bur...more
This was a book that's good on concept, but lousy on execution. I was very disappointed. It took me two weeks to read this book (which is a lifetime for me!) because I started reading and had a hard time get into it. I had to put it down for a week before I could convince myself to pick it back up again. A reviewer on amazon said that there were too many characters. That's almost true. It wasn't that there were too many, it was that the author did a bad job of making sure I could tell who was ta...more
I did enjoy this thriller-with-a-supernatural-twist, but ultimately, I was a bit disappointed. Though it is not a direct sequel to his Straw Man trilogy, events and even one character were mentioned, seeming like a rather purposeful red herring tossed out to his own fans, which is a little... well, intentionally rude. The ending was not terribly satisfying either. The beginning, and general premise, was very strong, as well as Marshall's general witty writing style. The idea and resolution just...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Maybe i've OD'd on MMS recently as this didn't light my usual fire. Don't get me wrong, it's more than just a good read and far better than the rest on offer ... it's just that my MMS expectations are so high and this fall's beneath his usual standard. I found the whole affair rather plodding & quite obvious. The twist's can be spotted a mile off, i couldn't have cared less about Amy, Gary was a whinny arse, & Jack was ..well .. the standard MMS lead guy, just a bit below par this time a...more
I'm always amazed at how fluid Michael Marshall's writing is, how easily you fall into a trance and are completely captured by his characters and the situations they face.
In a single chapter, he'll manage to make you laugh, sneak in a history lesson, debate the morality of humankind, and then pull the rug out from under you when you've become too comfortable. I never have any inkling what the hell is going to happen in one of Marshall's books, and that's the way a good book should be. The old "...more
In a single chapter, he'll manage to make you laugh, sneak in a history lesson, debate the morality of humankind, and then pull the rug out from under you when you've become too comfortable. I never have any inkling what the hell is going to happen in one of Marshall's books, and that's the way a good book should be. The old "...more
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm. Mr Marshall has a knack for writing good stories that just pull you in. For the first 80% of the book. Whether he runs out of ideas or just isn't good at closing out books or just simply doesn't flesh out the ending until too late, I don't know. I do know this is ...my fourth(?) Marshall book. That should tell you he's a good storyteller. This one and The Straw Men are just terrific...till he has to come up with a plausible ending. There it falls apart.
This one was really just...more
This one was really just...more
Everything Marshall writes is a pleasure to read, and this thriller doesn't disappoint. As usual his writing moves at a pace, with short chapters dense with fascinating characters and vivid locations which jump out of the page. As is his tendency, what seems simple at first develops into a backdrop of conspiracy with a tinge of fantasy/sci-fi underpinning it all.
Highly recommended, I just wish he'd go back and apply his talent to some more pure sci-fi as Michael Marshall Smith.
Highly recommended, I just wish he'd go back and apply his talent to some more pure sci-fi as Michael Marshall Smith.
This is really a 3.5 star book. Bizarre is perhaps the best word to describe this book. There are several stories going on at the same time, which Marshall ultimately brings together in the last quarter of the book. In the meantime, I had no idea what was going on! There are hints, but...huh? This is a page turner of a book. It reads like a current day book, but has a Stephen King-esque twist. A bit creepy.
Sometimes paranoia is a good thing, as it can force you to see things that others might miss. That's a key point in Michael Marshall's book. I found his story to be well written, plotted, and paced. It moved quickly, with a great feeling of tension spread throughout the story. My only problem with the book was that the reveal of "The Intruders" themselves is "spoiled" earlier in the book...ie our main character learns about it well after the reader has figured it out.
I'm definitely going to sear...more
I'm definitely going to sear...more
By the end I was really enjoying it. I liked the concepts of the story and thought the ending was very well done. However the first 2/3 of the book felt slow and seemed to have little impact on the rest. Although by the end it all makes sense there seemed to be a lot that could have been left out, and too many coincidences used to drive the plot.
I hated this book---actually could not even finish it! I wanted to like it but just could not get into it. Too many plot lines going on at once and none of it made any sense. I finally gave up about 2/3 of the way through because I knew I could be reading something much better. I rarely, if ever, don't finish a book so it had to be pretty bad.
I'm having a hard time rating this book. I'm unable to judge whether the story is a bit chaotic or whether it was just ME and the current chaos in MY life while reading this book.
Danielle, this book I read when I first got to Springfield from Bahrain. This will help explain to you what was going on with me while reading this book.
Danielle, this book I read when I first got to Springfield from Bahrain. This will help explain to you what was going on with me while reading this book.
This should have been better, but it just didn't draw me in. It had the characteristic MMS wit, leaving me giggling helplessly many times in the first half of the book, but for some reason I kept finding other things to do. It's a long way ahead of the two other books that I have partly read right now, but that really isn't saying a lot.
This here was my airplane book on the way home from Cupertino. Better than I expected; X-Files feel; characters still rather two dimensional. Solid thriller, smarter than most. Almost gave it three stars, but it's not one I'll be keeping or reading again. Off it goes to the book exchange table!
1st. let me say, the prologue hooked me & I thought I was in for somethin great. I had a hard time w/ this book up till pg 147, then everything seemed to take a turn for the better. The author rambled throughout the book. After that 147th page, everything seemed to start comin together. I was no longer, trudgin thru the book, just to finish it.
This book had A LOT of characters to keep up with & just as 1 chapter, started to get good, it would end & switch gears altogether. The autho...more
This book had A LOT of characters to keep up with & just as 1 chapter, started to get good, it would end & switch gears altogether. The autho...more
I think I would have liked this book a lot more if I had gotten an explanation of what was going on earlier than 3/4 of the way through the book. Interesting concept for the book (I won't give anything away), but I would have liked a little more upfront exposition.
terrible book, I wouldn't suggest it to anyone. The plot line is feeble and difficult to follow, Mr Marshall does a horroble job of creating the carachters, all of which are so stereotypical that the result is somewhat comical. The book has no identity and no heart. I 'm giving it a one star because you can't give zero.
not sure what to think of this book...intersting, different, but Im not sure how much I liked it. I was lost for most of the story, unsure how it all fit together. I don't think enough was explained, to much left unsaid.
Decided this was not worth finishing. If it was meant to be supernatural/occult, there wasn't enough of that. If NOT, there was too much of that. I could not buy the entire subplot involving the child Mackenzie. At a certain point, I found that I just didn't care and there were too many good books in the world to waste time on this one.
Has some wonderful lines and good writing on places, moods and relationships. Good action sequences and some chills but I just didn't get the plot on this one. The 'Straw Men' Trilogy was better for me.
Mar 17, 2008
Jaca
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of the genre - try it, maybe you'll get something from it I missed
I'm a big fan of Michael Marshall-Smith, and greatly enjoyed the Straw Men trilogy from his incarnation as Michael Marshall. However, this book doesn't deliver to his normal high standards. The books well written and there are places that show Marshalls distinctive characterisation, with slightly bleak, self-aware characters. But while the premis is simple it doesn't appear to be strong enough to fully engage the authour, who opts to forgoe any deep consideration of the topic and instead produce...more
Aug 18, 2007
Mike
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
airplane riders, thriller readers, those addicted to conspiracy fiction
Better opening than wrap-up, which is probably typical in the "what-the-hell-is-going-on?" genre. For a hundred pages, events pile up without any clear sense of cause or correlation, and part of the fun of such books is not knowing what the patterns are. (It's a paranoiac's thrill: all the stuff going on in our lives might just very well be ordered in ways that make some other kind of sense....)
A fast read, and fun enough; not as good as Michael Marshall's stuff written under his full name (with...more
A fast read, and fun enough; not as good as Michael Marshall's stuff written under his full name (with...more
What starts off as a man questioning his wife's fidelity turns into a thriller/horror of an ancient order taking control of people-- particularly harrowing is the take over of a young girl.
I love Michael Marshall's books. They grip you and don't let go. I love the way he writes and the stories he tells, although they're really dark indeed. One of my new favorite authors!
This was a very suspenseful book but an odd topic--based on the premise that there are spirits attempting to enter into children's bodies in order to continue a previous life.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
(1) Michael Marshall - Religion/Spirituality
(2) Michael Marshall - Acting
(3) Michael Marshall - Fishing/Geography
(4) Michael Marshall - German Children's Books
(5) Michael Marshall - Indonesian Fiction
Also, when Michael Marshall Smith writes horror, he uses the name Michael...more
More about Michael Marshall...
(1) Michael Marshall - Religion/Spirituality
(2) Michael Marshall - Acting
(3) Michael Marshall - Fishing/Geography
(4) Michael Marshall - German Children's Books
(5) Michael Marshall - Indonesian Fiction
Also, when Michael Marshall Smith writes horror, he uses the name Michael...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Feb 22, 2013 09:31am