The Blurb:
“Nina Landry has given up city life for the isolated community of Sandling Island, lying off the bleak east coast of England. At night the wind howls. Sometimes they are cut off by the incoming tide. For Nina though it is home. It is safe. But when Nina’s teenage daughter Charlie fails to return from a sleepover on the day they’re due to go on holiday, the island becomes a different place altogether. A place of secrets and suspicions. Where no one–friends, neighbours or the police–believes Nina’s instinctive fear that her daughter is in terrible danger. Alone, she undergoes a frantic search for Charlie. And as day turns to night, she begins to doubt not just whether they’ll leave the island for their holiday–but whether they will ever leave it again.”
(source: Amazon)
What I thought:
This book starts at 10.30am and ends at 6pm the same day. Inbetween the pages and the hours, a teenage girl, Charlie, goes missing on her paper-round just hours before she and her family are meant to be going on holiday to Florida. With the last-minute packing and the surprise birthday party that is thrown for her Mother, Nina, nobody seems to notice her disappearance for a few hours and when they do it’s taken as teenage high-jinks rather than a serious missing persons case. The only one who seems to believe that something is wrong is Nina, but nobody, least of all the police, is listening to her.
What follows is what I have now come to expect of Nicci French novels: the protagonist is disbelived by police and ends up chasing all over town on her own trying to solve the mystery. Granted, this makes for a good page-turner but as alsways I have a fair few eye-rolling episodes whilste in the company of their books. In all the books I have read by this author(s) I have never yet come across a copper, nurse or Doctor who is anything but completely incompetent. Of course, the books would be somewhat duller if anyone actually did what they were paid to do, but still.
So why do I still read Nicci French books? ‘Cos they’re great fun that’s why. Suspend your disbelief for a while, expect hysterical females running all over London and Detectives who do very little detecting and you have yourself a nice few hours with book whose pages just turn themselves.
Have you read any Nicci French books? Which ones did you like the best?
I read this one awhile ago…and I’ve read a few others she’s written. I can’t recall the titles, though. Which tells me…fun while they lasted, but not necessarily memorable.
Thanks for the great review.
That is exactly how I feel about them, Laurel-Rain! You have hit the nail on the head.
I find Nicci French’s books a bit hit and miss. They’re definitely pretty formulaic, but I do remember thinking that Beneath the Skin and Killing Me Softly were both brilliant. It was a few years ago that I read them though – I might not like them as much if I reread them.
Either way, I would advise against watching the film adaptation of Killing Me Softly – it’s truly a stinker!
I haven’t read either of those two, Ruth, but I have heard the same thing about the film too.
Sounds like a good read- entertaining while it lasts…
And I’m so jealous Boof- Olu Deniz is one of my favorite places on earth, it’s so beautiful and relaxing! Enjoy and have fun and take lots of pictures
I certainly will, Lua. I can’t wait – this time in 4 days I will be lying on the beach round the blue lagoon. Bliss!
I had to laugh when you called the professional characters incompetant. I haven’t read anything by this author before.
Put it this way, Marce, in real life they would surely be struck off!