A psychiatrist works to unlock the mystery connecting a man to possible murder...
Published by: Viking Press/Pamela Dorman Books
Pages: 336
Nicci French is a pseudonym for the well-known husband and wife cooperative writing team!
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Where you can find out more about "Blue Monday" and read an excerpt!
This is now a Top Bestseller!!
OVERVIEW:
The stunning first book in a new series of psychological thrillers introducing an unforgettable London psychotherapist
Frieda Klein is a solitary, incisive psychotherapist who spends her sleepless nights walking along the ancient rivers that have been forced underground in modern London. She believes that the world is a messy, uncontrollable place, but what we can control is what is inside our heads. This attitude is reflected in her own life, which is an austere one of refuge, personal integrity, and order.
The abduction of five-year-old Matthew Farraday provokes a national outcry and a desperate police hunt. And when his face is splashed over the newspapers, Frieda cannot ignore the coincidence: one of her patients has been having dreams in which he has a hunger for a child. A red-haired child he can describe in perfect detail, a child the spitting image of Matthew. She finds herself in the center of the investigation, serving as the reluctant sidekick of the chief inspector.
The Dame's Take:
Sometimes I'm timid about taking on an English novelist (or two in this case) when it comes to suspense and mystery. I don't always "get" the nuances and I wonder if that causes me to lose something in the whole. But, when I started reading "Blue Monday" I knew immediately this was going to be a book I could tuck between my fingers and rest assured I wouldn't miss a blink understanding! This book is killer. I couldn't wait to get to the resolution of the story, but I didn't want it to end. You know exactly the kind of book I mean! A true suspense/thriller.
The character of Freida Klein, psychiatrist and eccentric, is just genius. She's no ordinary blank- slate minded doctor. She's involved and going outside the acceptable boundaries to help her patients. It's enough to have me out of my apple green recliner applauding!! What an amazingly humane and respectable creation she is. Hurray for women psychiatrists!! I could tag along with this one in as many books as Nicci French wants to write. Klein's friends and companions are equally entertaining and invested in helping others even when it makes them climb outside the box. This is an entire crew of people to cheer for! I adore them. Their grit, panache and absurdities are so familiar I want to jump on them!
The other, more mysterious characters developed in "Blue Monday" revolve around the kidnapping of two children of a close age, 20 years apart, within a similar circumstance. It's very difficult to do more than tell you there are fascinating connections between odd and seemingly random people. This major plot will make your head spin. Each of these primary characters are so intricately drawn that it's as if they'd been specifically diagrammed on a page of their own. They are perfection of person and psychology. Rangey, ratty and raw of emotion, these are people from the darker side of life. Scary even to read about them, even scarier to get a peek into their psychological make up.
You will find this a fantastic suspense novel with extraordinary plotting and conniving from Machiavellian minds. You'll be turned around and around in slammed doors of dead end resolutions, false turns and pot holes. Mirror-like reflections will keep you in suspense. A thrilling race for time will keep you on your toes as if you're the one hunting for the lost child. And a final drop in deep space will have you gasping.
I can't wait to read more books with Dr. Frieda Klein as the psychiatrist in charge. This is a top-notch suspense/thriller.
4 stars
Deborah/TheBookishDame
2 comments:
Oh my! This book sounds amazing!
I'm looking for a "buy" link!
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