The Lying Room by Nicci French #review

Title: The Lying Room
Author: Nicci French
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

[Synopsis]

It should have been just a mid-life fling. A guilty indiscretion that Neve Connolly could have weathered. An escape from twenty years of routine marriage to her overworked husband, and from her increasingly distant children. But when Neve pays a morning-after visit to her lover, Saul, and finds him brutally murdered, their pied-à-terre still heady with her perfume, all the lies she has so painstakingly stitched together threaten to unravel.

After scrubbing clean every trace of her existence from Saul’s life—and death—Neve believes she can return to normal, shaken but intact. But she can’t get out of her head the one tormenting question: what was she forgetting?

An investigation into the slaying could provide the answer. It’s brought Detective Chief Inspector Alastair Hitching, and Neve’s worst fears, to her door. But with every new lie, every new misdirection to save herself, Neve descends further into the darkness of her betrayal—and into more danger than she ever imagined. Because Hitching isn’t the only one watching Neve. So is a determined killer who’s about to make the next terrifying move in a deadly affair…

[My Review]

I was completely gripped by this intriguing standalone thriller by the brilliant authors who write as Nicci French. It’s a fairly basic premise to start with – Neve has been having an affair with someone she works with, and she heads over to his flat to find him lying on the floor, brutally murdered.

I won’t say anything more about the plot but the boom manages to really convey Neve’s despair and how she becomes dangerously embroiled in the crime scene and investigation, to the point where she can’t see a way out without either going to prison or destroying her family and very fragile daughter.

I absolutely loved everything about this book. The characters are convincing and, despite Neve’s faults, she is still really likable – I was rooting for her throughout and it made me only more invested in the story. The authors effectively conveyed how someone could feel so desperate and trapped, and we witness Neve’s desperation grow. as the plot builds. The ending also left me satisfied – I was worried it would be completely unbelievable but it felt like a fitting end.

With brilliant writing and a great plot, this is definitely a novel I’d recommend!

[Rating: 5/5]

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing a copy of this novel, on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.

DON’T FORGET… FOLLOW ME ON: INSTAGRAM @SNAZZY_BOOKS_ / GOODREADS LAURA / AND TWITTER @LAURANAZMDEH!

2 comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *