Nicci French is really two people…am I the only one who didn’t know that? Sean French has written 6 books, Nicci Gerard has written 8, and together (as Nicci French) they have written twenty-five. In any case, they have a new thriller coming out, and it’s a fun read!
The main character is Tess, a single mother who shares parenting responsibilities for her daughter Poppy with her former partner Jason. Tess is not only cautious when it comes to her daughter: “I’d always felt so unsure of myself that I also felt unsure of anyone who fell in love with me because why would they fall in love with me?” She is aware of her tendency to be perhaps overcautious: she knows she “…had spent my life avoiding confrontation, being the first to apologize, assuming everything is my fault.”
But perhaps her caution when it comes to Poppy is justified. She and Jason work hard at the whole co-parenting thing, and Tess seems to be doing fine, although it definitely hurts her to see Jason enjoying his new married life with another woman (who is pregnant).
After one of her weekends with Daddy, Poppy comes home seeming both overly tired and odd, and begins behaving strangely. She draws a picture that is incredibly violent, and although Jason says it was an uneventful weekend, Poppy explains it as “He did kill her.”
From there, Poppy begins to exhibit other strange behaviors, including bullying and bedwetting. Tess just KNOWS something is wrong, and she is determined to get to the bottom of it. That’s when she began going to the police repeatedly, breaking up with her boyfriend, talking to professionals about what might be going on, and generally being really annoying, I realize that because I am not a mother, I don’t really get the whole parenting thing, but Tess really went overboard, IMO.
There is obviously something to be uncovered (wouldn’t be a Nicci French thriller without it, right?) and the authors do a great job of building suspense and revealing both the issues and the identity of the perpetrator(s) gradually and cleverly. I am the world’s worst at figuring out the mystery, and this was no exception for about 70% of the book. It’s a good escape and another solid effort by her/him/them. Four stars.