Monday, May 7, 2012

Blue Monday; Nicci French

Title: Blue Monday
Author:  Nicci French
Publication Year: 2012
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Edition: eGalley
Source: NetGalley
Setting:  Florida....
Date Completed: 5/1/2012
Rating: 3/5
Recommend: no


Blue Monday, by Nicci French is actually the work of husband and wife team of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. It is the first novel of seven in a new psychological thriller series featuring a 30-something, protagonist, Dr. Frieda Klein. The story takes place in London, England where Dr. Klein is a psychotherapist. She's a private, somewhat aloof person who sleeps too little and sometimes drinks a bit too much, and definitely has her demons. This first book of the new series is about a child abduction case.

The novel begins 22 years earlier with two young sisters walking home from school. The younger one Joanna Vine is taking he sweet old time walking, while older sister, Rosie, is anxious to get to the candy shop. Rosie calls for her sister to hurry up, but then goes inside the shop, and Joanna very shows up. The little girl is never found, and, she is believed to be dead.

Fast forward 22 years and five-year old Matthew Farraday goes missing. When Dr. Klein's takes on a new patient, Alan Dekker, a man who feels like he is going crazy. When he begins to tell his story to Dr. Klein, she is faced with a quite the dilemma. Her patient is troubled by dreams and constant thoughts of a child who looks like the boy who was just abducted. Unsure what to do with the information, Frieda goes to the police where Chief Inspector Malcolm Karlsson has been assigned to the Matthew Farraday abduction case. With very little information other than some rather vague information provided by Dr. Klein, Inspector Karlsson begins his investigation. Although Dekker has a pretty solid alibi for his whereabouts when Matthew went missing, before long it appears as if the Joanna Vine missing child case from 1987 and the Matthew Farraday case might have some similarities.

I loved the way the novel started out with the abduction which took place 22 years earlier. It's a complex mystery with characters that are complex and flawed. However, after that terrific opening, the story moved at a snail's pace. There were lots and lots of details about the streets of London which I grew tired of, however the clues peppered along the way kept me holding on. Once the story began to pick up again, there were lots of twists and turns, and a few nail-biting moments, but I was really looking forward to more from this first of a series. In the end I was a bit disappointed.

12 comments:

  1. The reviews for this book seem to be mixed. I'm not sure if it's for me or not.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've still got it on my list. Hopefully, this was just a "first book in series" glitch and the second will settle things down. I saw the other day that the second one is coming out in the UK.

    ReplyDelete
  3. At the beginning of your post, the book sounded such a winner that I was disappointed when you said you were a bit disappointed! sounds the beginning of a fabulous story.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, I was surprised to see that you were disappointed. I actually loved this one!

    Great review, though; we all enjoy different things.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is on my wish list - I'm intrigued by the wide range of opinions.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've got this but haven't read it yet; sometimes place-as-character works but sometimes, it feels isolating if the author doesn't evoke the place enough. Does that make sense? Anyway, will be cautious when I start this one!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh darn … it sounded so promising but I trust your judgement. If you were disappointed, I suspect I would be too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Interesting reaction! I liked it, but not without reservations. I am willing to see what the next one is like though!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh no, now I'm wondering what my reaction will be!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have never read a Nicci French novel, but they intrigue me, especially because they are written by two people. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Agpic
    Wonderful work dude, u gave nice post to us. Thanks for spending time to discuss that, Personally i think strongly regarding it

    ReplyDelete
  12. I liked this one more than you did, but agree with your thoughts on the beginning and the pace thereafter.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to visit and double thanks for any comments. If you ask a question in your comments, I will try to reply to it here, or by email if your settings allow me to do so. Thanks again for visiting.