I’ve been huge fan of Nicci French’s Psychological thrillers so was excited they were writing a new standalone suspense novel. However I’m afraid I found this a disappointing read. The main problem for me was the characters, especially Neve, lacked depth and felt to me very generic. In the end I just couldn’t care about them and by extension I wasn’t emotionally invested enough to care about the plot. But perhaps other readers might be feel differently.

I’ve been a huge fan of Nicci French for many years and although I’ve loved her recent Frieda Klein series, I have missed the writing duos standalone psychological thrillers. So I was really looking forward the The Lying Room. For me there were lots of positive things in this tale of a woman who finds her lover dead in his flat one morning. But I also struggled with the storyline due to wondering what the hell Neve was thinking and the way in which events played out. None of the characters were particularly likeable which doesn’t normally bother me but Neve seemed to be so well liked by everyone and I really couldn’t take to her in the way I was probably expected to.
This is a drawn out investigation into what really happened that morning and who was responsible. It’s a slow burner for sure but it still dished out just enough to maintain my interest. I found the relationship between Neve and the detective to be the most satisfying part of the narrative for me and that’s kept my rating higher than it possibly would have been without that chemistry. And I loved the epilogue!
It’s been a long wait so maybe my hopes and expectations were set too high for this one. Not my favourite Nicci French by a long shot but still a good read that I’m sure will be well received by fans old and new.

As I have come to expect from the Nicci French portfolio, Murder; twisting plots; blind alleys,; who was the perpetrator. I followed slavishly lapping up each carefully crafted word. The daughter was the most intriguing character. How did she work it out?
As usual I thought at the end that I must have missed something along the way. I should have known. Still I'll read it again and try to see what happened that I missed.

A storming read from Nikki French.

Complex relationships that span the years. A thrilling read that will really hold your attention.

Characters that you can easily identify with.

I really enjoyed this and for the first time had no idea who the killer was.

Not the strongest offering by the duo that write as Nicci French but still a story that keeps you reading until the end. Probably more a 2.5 stars but I chose to round up.

It centres around a woman called Neve who finds a man murdered when she enters his flat. Due to her own personal reasons she does not tell anyone and tries to continue her life with the addition of this huge secret.

The large group of friends who simply appear in houses makes it feel like Nicci French's Frieda Klein series yet the characters in The Lying Room just are not as likable. I felt as though some of their personalities altered hugely given certain situations, which didn't fit with how we'd seen them before and how they developed throughout. Some of the 'twists' could be seen coming quite a while out, and alibis were all a bit of a mess. Lots of unnecessary background drama, particularly involving Neve's husband.

Loved the use of location becoming its own character, the couple behind the novel truly excel at exploring the landscapes.

ARC received from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for a review.

It scares me to realise I am in my third decade of loving Nicci French novels. I was therefore delighted to be given the chance to read ‘The Lying Room’, which I enjoyed. The main character, Neve, is a wife and mother with an already chaotic life which then spirals into downright frenzy when someone she has been working closely with is found dead. Needless to say, the police are suddenly taking an unnervingly close look at her and those around her. But then, so is Neve herself. Because suddenly her account of what’s been going on of late is not the only one that doesn’t add up. There are a lot of characters here, every one a potential suspect and/or victim in their own right, with twists aplenty.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me see an advance copy.

I enjoyed this stand alone novel from duo Nicci French, who also write the successful 'Frieda Klein' series.
The lead character Neve Connolly is a popular person, wife, caring mother and a friend to go to. She feels trapped in her marriage to Fletcher and is experiencing problems with her teenage daughter Mabel. When Neve starts an affair with a married colleague, she feels revitalised and happiness is back in her life. Her life is shattered and thrown into turmoil when on visiting her lover she discovers his dead body. He has been murdered. She now faces choices that will have great consequences on her family. Does she report the murder to the police and come clean about her double life or does she try to hide the truth to protect her family. There are life changing decisions to be made and who killed her lover?
DCI Hitching leads the hunt for the murderer and every lie Neve tells just leads to more complications. The suspects mount and the finger of suspicion is getting closer to home.

Well written with a gripping plot that will make it difficult for you to put the book down.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Simon and Schuster UK for supplying a copy of this novel by co-authors Nicci Gerrard and Sean French in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Simon and Shuster UK for the ARC.
I really am in two minds about this book. On the one hand I did just have to keep reading just to find out where the story was going; on the other, well, there is just so much background musings from the main character that I found myself thinking "please, just get on with it".
Neve is her household's provider; her husband works from home but there doesn't seem to be any money coming in from him. Between her work, her children (especially Mabel who is so thoroughly sullen and due to go off to university in a few days), her depressing husband, lack of money for household repairs, and her penchant for cycling everywhere, she is a juggler of some considerable note. Busy, Busy, Busy. However, she also has time for an affair with her boss, and receives a text asking her to meet him at his town apartment - he's supposed to be at a conference but says he has some free time that morning.
Letting herself in, she discovers him dead on the floor, a bloody hammer alongside him.
In her panic to protect her family from her affair she embarks on a mammoth clean-up to remove all trace of her.
In the middle of the night she remembers she's left something in the flat - and cycles back there. BUT, that item and the bloody hammer have disappeared!
From the beginning the story is a full-on farce of lies and cover-ups and unbelievable actions, but Inspector Hitchings is determined to get to the truth - all people keep telling him is "ask Neve-she'll know".
There are a few twists and turns but at times it felt like I was reading a comedy sketch.

Took me a while to get going on this one, mainly because the protagonist behaved in such an extraordinary way on discovering the body of her lover. I couldn’t reconcile the behaviour with how I’d already ‘boxed’ her up in my mind. Once the detective emerged, I was more hooked. I wasn’t completely convinced by the denouement, but it was certainly unexpected with some twists along the way.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review.

Nicci French has fast-paced, character-driven thrillers down to an art, and this one doesn't disappoint. A solid purchase for collections where thrillers and/or French's other books are popular.

This book is brilliant! It should also put anyone who reads it off ever having an affair. It tells the story of Neve, who finds her lover murdered, then gradually realises she is being set up to be arrested for the murder. Neve does seems to have quite an annoying bunch of selfish friends from her university days, but her teenage daughter is a character who will resonate with any parent. The first third of the book is particularly tense, I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended.

This was an okay read, I didn’t consider giving up on it before the end, but it lacked something.....
There was scope for this to be much more exciting than it was, which is a shame as it got off to a promising start.

Brilliant read, couldn't put it down, if you are into crime or thrillers set in uk then you can't go wrong with Nicci French, never fails to deliver, if you don't believe me " Ask Neve".

Loved this book, kept me gripped from beginning to end, with a surprising finish. Some of the characters were unbelievable. Her daughter had been addicted to drugs, self harming, and had been on a downward spiral, staying out all night, having to have stomach pumped etc. But then you were expected to believe that although she was still fragile and at risk and vulnerable, she had managed to complete her A levels and get into uni. I'm not quite sure that would really have happened in such a short recovery time. But other than that, I loved the story and really enjoyed it.

Nicci French never disappoints. This book is a twisting who done it after Neve stumbles into a murder scene and attempts to keep her secrets hidden as she makes mistake after mistake trying to work our who the murderer is and why they seem to be framing her.

Fans of Nicci French will be familiar with the gripping and finely detailed style of the husband and wife team of Nikki Gerrard and Sean French. Their latest novel, The Lying Room is a stand alone psychological thriller that draws you into the narrative very quickly and doesn't let you go until the last pages.

Neve Connelly is a wife and Mum who has very recently embarked on a completely out of character, whirlwind affair. Wracked with guilt, she knows she is playing with fire, but is addicted to her lover, and boss, Saul. After enjoying an evening of illicit passion with Saul she returns to her husband Fletcher and their emotionally defective marriage. Not expecting to see Saul for a few days as duty calls him away, she is surprised and excited to receive an unprecedented text message from him, asking her to meet him at his London flat as he has a few hours to spare. Neve hops on her bike, her favoured mode of transport, and heads over to their love nest. When she arrives, however, she is greeted with the horrific scene of a murdered Saul, his head caved in with a hammer, abandoned nearby.

From this point on, Neve makes a series of very fast, necessary, but not necessarily good decisions, that put into action a train of motion that gathers momentum and takes her with it. Neve finds herself playing a very dangerous game, and doing so while juggling her husband, her troubled daughter Mabel and her two younger son; leaving her mentally and physically exhausted. Not to mention the appearance of some old friends following a reunion get-together, and the best friend who suddenly needs Neve to provide her with more emotional support than she can really handle. Throw in the secret lover's wife to the mix and it's perhaps no wonder that Neve is making some decisions that at best seem odd and ill-advised.

The appearance of DCI Hitching is an excellent introduction to the story as the friendly, yet deeply suspicious and omnipresent policeman – he knows something's going on, and that Neve's not telling him the whole truth, but can she keep 0ne step ahead of him?

There is a lot of family angst in this novel, lots of cleaning and domestic duties, but for me that added to the feeling of minutia and normality of everyday life that Neve's secrets are threatening to blow apart. Everything seems so normal, but under the surface, it's all falling apart.

I started this book as I set off on a 3 hour plane journey and finished it at my destination later that day. It was a gripping novel, and although I debated some (ok, most) of Neve's decisions, I liked her as a character, and liked the irony that for the first time in her life she'd gone out on a limb and done something she saw as being purely, selfishly, for herself, only to see it backfire so quickly and spectacularly. All in all, a very enjoyable read.

Killing me softly was the first book I read by Nicci French and I have been hooked since. This book did not disappoint. Imagine finding your lover dead,if you ring the police your secret is out so what do you do? Or what does Neve do?
Not what you expect that is for sure.
What follows is a rollercoaster ride which tramples through the lives of family and friends with secrets being dragged in to the present.
Do we know our friends,our family?
This gives a close insight in to how we are on life’s treadmill and don’t see what is tight in front of us.
Brilliant characters,creepy but perceptive detective and a husband I wanted to give a good shake.
A must read.
You know the killer is there but who is it?

I've read one other of this author but not recently, I really enjoyed the story line through this book.

Would definitely read this author again.

This thriller is a standalone one after this author’s Frieda Klein series.
Neve is having an affair, but it all goes horribly wrong when she turns up for a clandestine meeting at his flat and finds him murdered.
The rest of the novel is about how Neve lies to cover up the affair and finds herself drawn into a web of deceit . Can she (in true thriller style) catch the killer before her world falls apart?
I’d tired a bit of the Frieda Klein novels but this is pacy and keeps you guessing, even if it feels little familiar in story.
French writes well and the characters are well-developed and compelling, especially Neve and her interesting interior monologues.
I’d recommend it if you enjoy a well-paced thriller they keeps you on your toes right until the end.

Neve day goes from bad to worse walking in to find the body of her lover. Neve’s first instinct is to remove any signs that she had been there in order to protect her family. I found the detective in this book very much in the vein of Columbo and all a little far fetched. A definite who done it where there are a few people all with motive. An alright read but not one of my favourites