These are always good reads, French novels .. and this is too.. by its shorthand hints at character and dilemmas, (almost staccato) you are drawn into caring.. I didn't like all the duplicity .. seemed so affluent, and then to get caught out (i won't give it away).. ingenious. And i was hooked despite that vaguely sour feeling .. the stark tragedy wakes everyone up! Very good value...

This standalone book by the talented partnership Nicci French was one I looked forward to eagerly every night. I even feigned sleepiness to sneak away early, a time or two, so I might dwell in this world and unravel the mystery along with Neve. I have so enjoyed being a guest of Neve and Fletcher's throughout this entire novel. Neve, especially, embodied a casual easiness that makes her quick friends with all she meets. Sadly, the brutal murder of her lover brings the guilt she carries over the love affair to the fore as she strives to hide her connection to the victim whilst unearthing the real culprit.

This book certainly kept me guessing and I was of a 5-star mind throughout the entire yarn but the end just wrapped up too cleanly for me feeling anticlimactic in its lack of a finale shocker. I really wanted, and expected, a gotcha that never developed. Also, the aloof Mabel and her previous troubles, which were alluded to numerous times, just didn't ring true for me. Maybe she was the antithesis to all the easy, chummy socializing that orbited her magnetic mother and occurred in her family's home? She was the one element of Neve's life that didn't simply slot into place with no effort or thought. Perhaps she resented her mother's siren-like effect on others?

Regardless, I absolutely devoured this novel and was transfixed by the journey to conclusion. Though I have a couple tiny niggles, this is a novel to read and share with others. Especially very close friends, like Neve's.

Firstly, an admission as I have never read any of Nicci French's books before!

But what a joy this book was - a classic 'whodunnit' centred around Neve Connolly who finds a dead body of a man she knows and doesn't tell the police. Neve is a wonderfully drawn character and, saying that, Ms French is excellent at the other main characters, and domestic life.

Thus we have a book with an addictive and brilliant start, with a "no spoiler" excellent ending. Surely the makings of a two part TV drama? (Jed Mercurio where are you?).

A fast paced, hectic novel. Quite brilliant and addictively written. One to be read under cover on dismal winter days.

There’s a few twists and turns in this book. It’s a great modern take on a who dunnit mystery novel. Neve starts to suspect everyone close to her in her life could be guilty of murder. As the spotlight begins to shine on her she starts to dig deeper into her nearest and dearest and secrets and lies begin to unravel.
Neve makes some questionable decisions throughout the book but I think her intentions were good really.
I enjoyed this book although I did work out who the killer was before the end of the book.

This is a brilliant fast paced domestic thriller with Neve as the central character – and looking at her relationships with her family and friends.

The storyline races through – and sometimes you feel like you’re reading it almost in real time – the adrenaline is pumping in you as a reader as much as the characters in the book.

It’s very cleverly written – and, like Neve, you’re not sure who you should trust and who you shouldn’t!

Some of the character’s back stories are unpicked in depth – but others just hinted at. I kept expecting to find out more of what had happened in Neve’s daughter Mabel’s life historically (the mother / teenage daughter relationship is written brilliantly) – but it is never explained in full.

As well as the room that is lying, Neve’s house is also a focal point of the storyline – with friends coming and going all of the time. The ‘craziness’ of it all really comes across in the writing.

The pressure builds and builds as the book progresses. The climax is brilliant – and not predictable at all – a really great read.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced review copy – and definitely think about pre ordering ready for publication in early October.

I’d like to thank Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Lying Room’ by Nicci French in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Neve gets a text message from her lover Saul telling her to meet him at his flat. When she gets there she finds him lying dead, hit on the head with a hammer which has been left on the floor beside him. Neve doesn’t want her family to know about Saul so she scrubs the flat from top to bottom in an attempt to destroy any evidence of her presence. Neve knows she hasn’t killed Saul so who has?

I’ve read all of Nicci French’s novels and there aren’t any I haven’t enjoyed. Unfortunately ‘The Lying Room’ just missed out in my estimation as I didn’t like any of the characters who I found muddled and mundane, and although the plot was dark and interesting it became tedious and drawn-out in the middle and I had to force myself to keep reading. I’m giving my review on the story itself but I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention the terrible punctuation: no capitals at the beginning of sentences or for some of the names ie Neve, Mabel or Gary, which were continually in lower case. I’m presuming this will be rectified before publishing but it made the story hard to read. I’m sorry I can’t give a glowing review but this is my own honest opinion.

Thank you to netgalley.co.uk for giving me a free copy of this in exchange for a free and honest review.

I don't read many mystery/thriller novels but it is books like these that make me feel like I'm missing out. I thought this was wonderfully written and the novel kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I was desperate to find out what was coming next.
I thought the plot kept me guessing, I usually say a book is bad when you can guess what is coming next but not this book. I could never guess what was going to happen and I felt like I was getting inside the mind of the character Neve; I felt like she was unreliable but I thought this was a brilliant addition to the mystery aspect of the novel.

Nicci French books are just reliably great, aren't they? The authors are masters of twists, turns, and hooks, with believable, flawed, human characters and experts in adding enough detail to make every scenario feel totally real.

This book takes the reader on a journey of growing paranoia, fuelled by circumstance and exacerbated by a lack of sleep and vanishing trust. The claustrophobia of having people constantly around and a growing lack of personal space makes it a really engaging story to follow.

As hinted in the book's title, a key theme of the story is lies piling up. Lies creating lies; lies upon lies creating a tower where one lie being discovered would cause the tower to topple.

There is a pivotal dinner party about halfway through the book which felt very Agatha Christie. The build-up scene to it felt a little soap opera at times, which was the only wobbly bit for me. It felt like it was supposed to both be a little light relief in a tense story, but also continue to build up a feeling of claustrophobia, however at times (the window being shattered just as guests arrive, for example), took me out of the realm of total believability.

I have two questions bugging me about one of the climactic scenes at the end:

~~~SPOILER~~~
How did Will know to go to the flat just as Neve was there? And, knowing that Neve suspected him, why did Mabel not phone her to warn her that he'd left their house?

Hopefully I've missed something that answers those questions, because if not it seems like a bit of a plothole in a crucial scene.

Overall though, another great Nicci French book, and I need to read more of their back catalogue!

Review posted to Goodreads. Thank you to NetGalley and S&S UK for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

When we meet Neve Connolly it's pretty obvious that she has something to hide. She crept into the house after midnight, carefully putting her clothes into the washing machine and she can't wait to get husband Fletcher and children Mabel, Connor and Rory off on their various ways the next morning when she gets a text telling her to come to the flat. He has a few hours to spare and can't wait to see her. Only, when she gets to the flat she finds Saul Stevenson, her boss and lover, dead on the floor. The hammer that's been used on his brain is at his side.

The next step's fairly obvious, isn't it? You ring the police. You might try begging them not to tell your husband, but if they can't oblige then you're going to have to face his reactions. Only... Well, Neve's got other considerations. Her daughter Mabel is mentally fragile. She's supposed to be going to university in a few days' time and nobody in the family knows whether or not she's going and there doesn't seem to be any way into that conversation. A family breakup would undo all the hard work they've put into giving her a stable and loving home background over the last few years. Then there's Fletcher, whose lack of work is leaving his ego feeling a bit fragile and he's been perilously close to depression of late. Neve might have broken her vows, but she doesn't want what might happen to Mabel and Fletcher on her conscience too.

So, what can you do? Well, if you're Neve Connolly you set to and clean the flat thoroughly removing all traces of the lovemaking that she and Saul had enjoyed the night before by washing sheets and putting wine glasses through the dishwasher. By the time she's finished the flat's pristine - apart from the dead body in the middle of the floor, that is. Then you get on with your life and do your best to look surprised when the news of the murder is announced at work. DCI Alastair Hitching senses that Neve knows more than she's telling, and that her story of once having been at the flat to deliver a parcel is not the whole truth. How can Neve steer a course through the mess which she knows is entirely of her own making?

Wow, what a book! I was planning on reading it over a lazy few days, but finished it in less than twenty four hours. Nothing was more urgent than finding out who killed Saul and whether or not Neve could survive unscathed. Oddly enough, this is the first Nicci French book that I've read and I really didn't know what to expect. I was stunned by the characterisation: every one of what seemed like a cast of thousands came off the page perfectly formed. I never had to do any of that annoying flicking back and forth to work out who was who. I particularly liked Neve, prone as she is to making dubious decisions, but I really wanted everything to work out for her - and I really liked Mabel. She's a complex character with fierce loyalties and in a fight you'd be glad to have her on your side.

French can certainly ramp up the tension. I was only a few pages into the book before my heart was in my mouth and I don't think it slowed and returned to position until I turned the final page. The plot is brilliant and totally convincing. It's a great piece of crime writing and I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have an advance reading copy.

Neve Connolly – a put upon wife and mother whose affair with her boss stands her life on its head when she finds him murdered. But who did it?

Neve is the central character of this psychological thriller – she’s on ever page, with the story told entirely through her actions and reactions. That’s a lot for one character to carry, and unfortunately for me, she doesn’t carry it off. When we’re not being deluged with the details of what she buys at the local deli or what she puts in the kids packed lunches, there’s and endless litany of how tired she is and how confused she finds it all.

Crucially, there’s almost no depth to her relationship with the other characters in the book, one of whom has to be her lover’s killer. Family and friends are all briefly positioned as possibly being responsible, but the case for each is so shallow that the red herrings barely register as minnows. DCI Hitching, investigating the murder is one of the few characters that had any depth but even he fizzles out, undermined at the final reveal by another one dimensional police officer how appears out of nowhere.

When Neve throws off her bleary-eyed exhaustion to solve the mystery, it’s so sudden and implausible any sense of relief was displaced by disbelief. Was I kept guessing until the last page? Yes – but not in a good way.

Absolutely loved this book. Couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Nicci French never fails to please. The plot was brilliant and I had no idea all throughout of the outcome. Highly recommend.

Nicci French is the mistress of suspense! I could never have guessed the ending. Neve, a successful career woman, weighed down by an unsatisfactory marriage and a daughter who has gone through a troublesome time which has unsettled both her parents two younger brothers, embarks on an affair with her boss. Receiving a text to meet him at his flat she arrives to find him murdered. The decisions she makes from there on, lead to her being a murder suspect. But all is not as it seems and without giving any spoilers, we learn more about the secrets within this family and their group of close friends . It will keep you turning the page and guessing till the very end!

This book started well, with a great premise. Lots of intrigue, lots of unanswered questions and the reader was well and truly hooked. A large cast of interesting characters fleshed out the first half.
Then came the dinner party. The house was awash with the comings and goings of this large cast and the festivities seemed to go on for days. People were wandering about in the garden and the narrative stalled.
A police officer went into 'Columbo' mode and asked questions that he seemed to know the answers to. Myriad people had access to 'the murder flat' . Perhaps the victim had given everybody a key? Then followed a highly improbable ending and an all-too-swiftly wrapped up police investigation. The prologue seemed to hint at unrequited love from twenty years previously. All in all, a jumbled affair. A disappointment.

I’ve always enjoyed Nicci French’s books and this was one was no exception. The pace and the plot kept me guessing throughout and I really engaged with all the characters. I especially liked the authors’ portrayal of the effect of children on a marriage.
I liked reading about Neve’s life and was rooting for her throughout despite her own wrongdoing. There were also small enjoyable details such as Whiskey which made the story very relatable. A highly-recommended four stars!

I was so glad to see that Nicci French had a new novel out and I was gripped from the first page. Never has been having an affair and she goes round to his flat one morning to find him lying there, dead. She immediately starts clearing up and hiding all trace of her being there. But as we all know, one small lie turns into lots of bigger lies and this is the theme of the book.
I thought the characters were built up really well and there were lots who were under suspicion for the murder.
However, the last few chapters seemed very rushed and I was confused as to the motive for the killing. The lies had got all tangled and it was a bit of an anticlimax really which was disappointing. Otherwise, it was a great read which kept me hooked

This is great. Imagine having an affair, your lover contacts you to come to his flat and you find him there, brutally murdered what do you do? Neve decides to clean up traces of her ever being there. A web of lies begins, and proliferates. Who could the murderer be, could it even be Neve's daughter? This will keep you engaged and you won't guess who the killer is. Brilliant!

This book grabbed me from the very beginning. It held my attention throughout and kept me on the edge of my seat trying to guess what would happen next.

A clever suspenseful novel full of twists that keep you engaged and wanting to find out more.
I would definitely recommend this book to friends.

When Neve gets a text telling her to go to meet her lover Saul at his London flat she doesn’t think twice, shooing her children off to school and saying goodbye to her husband, she is excited at the prospect of this unexpected meeting. When she arrives to find him dead Neve panics and cleans up any trace of her ever having been there and leaves.
Unfortunately the fact that he was her boss means she can’t just hide away and hope no one ever finds out that she was ever there. When DCI Hitching arrives at the office asking everyone who knew Saul questions Neve tries her best to stay calm. As more details emerge about Saul’s private life the DCI finds he is not short of suspects or motives and Neve discovers she wasn’t Saul’s only recent affair. As Neve fights to keep her family together she knows that the only way to do it is to find out the truth about how Saul died.

Neve is having an affair.
She is married with three children but wants more. Her daughter is off to university following a moody and disruptive time which has upset the whole family. Her business, which she set up with her three closest friends has just been sold and although, they still all work together things are changing.
She then meets Saul, who is married and one of her bosses and starts the affair.
One morning she receives a text to visit him in his flat but when she arrives he is lying on the floor dead.
She panics and after cleaning the flat from top to bottom leaves.
Who has killed him, who can she trust? Did they know about the affair? Will the police suspect her?
This will have you gripped from start to finish and will not disapoint.