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.

I was looking forward to reading this book. I enjoy these authors' books and think over the years they have brought something original and exciting to the genre. However I was neither entertained nor convinced by The Lying Room.

The characterization is thin. We are continually told rather than shown the traits of each person. I found it difficult to relate to such two dimensional individuals. The main character's motivations for her bizarre actions don't really come across. The men merge into one 2 dimensional middle class middle aged discontented blur. The female characters aren't much better, though Neve's behaviour does at least have the element of surprise, because everything we are told about her seems to be disproved by her actions. It is as though we are being asked to assume this is someone behaving out of character, when actually we are not really aware of any character out of which she could have been behaving.

The plot is contrived. There's no seeding of clues or snippets of information for the reader to puzzle over or follow. Just the endless (and I mean endless) ruminations of Neve and some late plot devices to bring it all together.

On the plus side (and I am struggling here) there is a fascinating idea here, and I have already debated with friends what we would do if we found ourselves in Neve's situation. None of us would have chosen the laundry.

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

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK for the review copy. This is an unbiased review of the author's work and style. If you want plot lines and spoilers please see the publishers blurb and other reviewers' reports.

Nicci French, (aka Nicci Gerrard and Sean French writing duo), have one great advantage over other authors and that is their partnership. Their books are smart, devious, complex and very enjoyable. I especially like their stand alone volumes giving them much more room to manoeuvre and deceive their readers.
Here in 'Lying Room' they have set a very clever plot line and then set out to extract every nuance from it. Don't skip, or peek just sit and read and enjoy.

Another five start effort.

I enjoy Nicci French’s books so was excited to receive this review copy via NetGalley.
The Lying Room is a stand-alone psychological thriller about a mother of three, Neve, who has been having an affair with a work colleague.
However, despite her best efforts to keep everything secret and carry on with her normal life, something dreadful happens and she has to make a decision about whether to come clean to her family or try to cover it all up.
I did feel for Neve, who seemed intrinsically a kind and helpful person who had made a few bad decisions which led to her life spiralling out of control. She tries to be supportive to everyone in her life including her difficult teenage daughter, her lazy husband who seems too wrapped up in his art to bother with a normal job and all her work colleagues who need her help for various reasons. She is even the one who ends up feeding the family guinea pig every day despite her problems and personal dilemma. No one else seems to care!
Neve gets herself into an impossible situation and it is very difficult to see how she can extricate herself.
Most characters in this book are flawed in some way including Neve herself but she makes for a very compelling lead and I was willing her to find a way out, desperately hoping all would be ok at the end.
Nicci French is a good psychological thriller writer and this book definitely had me hooked from the very beginning. If you’ve enjoyed her other books you will certainly enjoy this.

A perfectly pitched psychological thriller here from Nicci French, with very strong domestic drama elements and a twisty as you like storyline that is immediately involving.

I read this in one sitting, so caught up in the life of cleverly written main protagonist Neve, who faced with the dead body of her lover tries to extricate herself from a dangerous situation..

An ever more tangled web is woven as Neve tries to protect her family and herself, this is a highly engaging and extraordinarily addictive read, often unexpected and with an intelligent conclusion.

Some of my favourite parts involved Neve versus Inspector Hitching, those portions crackled with tension in a kind of cat and mouse chase with no real indication who might come out on top.

Overall a really great read. One for your October lists not to be missed. Don’t worry. I’ll remind you…

Recommended.

‘The Lying Room’ is the first standalone that the husband and wife writing partnership, Nicci French, has produced since the finale of the wonderful Frieda Klein series. In comparison, it disappoints. London remains the setting and the central character, mid 40s Neve, is rarely without her bicycle. We are given very detailed descriptions – almost directions – of her routes but, whilst the portrayal of London in the Frieda Klein novels was vivid, surprising and illuminating, in ‘The Lying Room’ it feels like little more than padding.
Neve’s marriage is suffering; she and her husband, Fletcher, are feeling the weight of years of supporting their difficult daughter Mabel who may, or may not, be off to university soon. Mabel certainly holds all the power at home. Her younger brothers are pretty much side-lined and her parents’ energy goes on caring for her. This is a family quietly in crisis. Neve begins a clandestine affair with her boss, Saul, a well-practised adulterer. Energised and revitalised by the thrill of their assignations, Neve knows exactly what she is doing and she delights in her transgression. It makes her feel that she is desired for herself, not just as a wife or a mother.
However, her double life is destroyed in seconds. Her lover is brutally murdered and the shock of this makes her take some very bad decisions. From this moment on, the credibility of the plot suffers. Usually so adept at sweeping the reader along in the narrative, Nicci French fails to do so in ‘The Lying Room’. A lot of cleaning goes on; plenty of cooking, cycling, drinking and interviewing. Nonetheless, within the social group of these middle-class slightly bohemian people, little feels authentic. To be in this world is to inhabit a darker version of a Waitrose advert!
Whilst the final moments in present time, focusing on Neve on her allotment, work very well – the sensory notes of autumn, the reminder of time passing - the last chapter entitled ‘Time, you thief’ detracts from the previous ‘regrowth’ extended metaphor. It feels unnecessary and does nothing to either surprise or illuminate. Better off without it!
My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Shuster UK for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Reading this book is a little bit like being stuck in a nightmare. One wrong turn, one deception, one mistake and then everything goes from bad to worse, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t escape. The main character is so compelling that I identified fully with her and battled with her through all her doubts and fears. What would you have done? What could you do? As always with a Nicci French novel, I couldn’t put it down. Compelling, gripping and very satisfying.

After the rich, dark, confections that are the Frieda Klein series, this feels thin and rather hackneyed as a perfectly ordinary wife and mother outwits the London police by covering up and investigating the murder of her lover. The story behind the killing has been written many (many) times before, as has the climactic final scene. I love Nicci French but this feels rushed and unoriginal, disappointing in comparison to these authors' usually high and fresh standard.

In comparison to the many psycholigical thrillers I've read this one was a slow starter for me. However, it wasn't long before I found myself delving into the story of Neve and her determination to cover her tracks whilst also trying to be normal and liaising with the police. Neve is a strong and clearly intelligent character who appears to have a close and loving family but has struggles like the rest of us. I wasn't expecting her to get away with the things that happened even though she was innocent so the ending was a bit of a disappointment but it was a good read nevertheless.

Neve is having an affair with her boss but when she turns up for an early morning tryst she discovers him dead with his skull caved in. Instead of calling the police she does the one thing she shouldn’t do and removes all trace of herself. As investigations into the murder begin with tough questions being asked and secrets coming to light, Neve is left not knowing who she can trust.

A well thought out thriller with an excellent storyline. This story has plenty of twists along the way and was a good entertaining read.