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Land of the Living
Abbie Devereaux wakes in the dark. She is hooded and bound, with no idea where she is or how she got there. Kept alive by a man she never sees, his only promise is that eventually he will kill her - like the others. But Abbie has spirit and bloody-mindedness on her side. She counts the seconds spent alone and plots her survival. Above all she dreams of returning to normal, careless, everyday life - the land of the living. Grasping at memories, Abbie recalls snatches of her identity, her career, and her disintegrating relationship with her boyfriend. Is there a connection between her real life and the voice in the darkness? And how can she survive in a place where fear becomes madness and the effort to survive seems too much to bear?
370 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Nicci French
68 books3,281 followersNote: (Nicci Gerrard and Sean French also write separately.)
Nicci Gerrard was born in June 1958 in Worcestershire. After graduating with a first class honours degree in English Literature from Oxford University, she began her first job, working with emotionally disturbed children in Sheffield. In that same year she married journalist Colin Hughes.
In the early eighties she taught English Literature in Sheffield, London and Los Angeles, but moved into publishing in 1985 with the launch of Women's Review, a magazine for women on art, literature and female issues.
In 1987 Nicci had a son, Edgar, followed by a daughter, Anna, in 1988, but a year later her marriage to Colin Hughes broke down.
In 1989 she became acting literary editor at the New Statesman, before moving to the Observer, where she was deputy literary editor for five years, and then a feature writer and executive editor.
It was while she was at the New Statesman that she met Sean French.
Sean French was born in May 1959 in Bristol, to a British father and Swedish mother. He too studied English Literature at Oxford University at the same time as Nicci, also graduating with a first class degree, but their paths didn't cross until 1990. In 1981 he won Vogue magazine's Writing Talent Contest, and from 1981 to 1986 he was their theatre critic. During that time he also worked at the Sunday Times as deputy literary editor and television critic, and was the film critic for Marie Claire and deputy editor of New Society.
Sean and Nicci were married in Hackney in October 1990. Their daughters, Hadley and Molly, were born in 1991 and 1993.
By the mid-nineties Sean had had two novels published, The Imaginary Monkey and The Dreamer of Dreams, as well as numerous non-fiction books, including biographies of Jane Fonda and Brigitte Bardot.
In 1995 Nicci and Sean began work on their first joint novel and adopted the pseudonym of Nicci French. The Memory Game was published to great acclaim in 1997 followed by The Safe House (1998), Killing Me Softly (1999), Beneath the Skin (2000), The Red Room (2001), Land of the Living (2002), Secret Smile (2003), Catch Me When I Fall (2005), Losing You (2006) and Until It's Over (2008). Their latest novel together is What To Do When Someone Dies (2009).
Nicci and Sean also continue to write separately. Nicci still works as a journalist for the Observer, covering high-profile trials including those of Fred and Rose West, and Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr. Novels include Things We Knew Were True (2003), Solace (2005) and The Moment You Were Gone (2007). Sean's last novel is Start From Here (2004).
Nicci Gerrard was born in June 1958 in Worcestershire. After graduating with a first class honours degree in English Literature from Oxford University, she began her first job, working with emotionally disturbed children in Sheffield. In that same year she married journalist Colin Hughes.
In the early eighties she taught English Literature in Sheffield, London and Los Angeles, but moved into publishing in 1985 with the launch of Women's Review, a magazine for women on art, literature and female issues.
In 1987 Nicci had a son, Edgar, followed by a daughter, Anna, in 1988, but a year later her marriage to Colin Hughes broke down.
In 1989 she became acting literary editor at the New Statesman, before moving to the Observer, where she was deputy literary editor for five years, and then a feature writer and executive editor.
It was while she was at the New Statesman that she met Sean French.
Sean French was born in May 1959 in Bristol, to a British father and Swedish mother. He too studied English Literature at Oxford University at the same time as Nicci, also graduating with a first class degree, but their paths didn't cross until 1990. In 1981 he won Vogue magazine's Writing Talent Contest, and from 1981 to 1986 he was their theatre critic. During that time he also worked at the Sunday Times as deputy literary editor and television critic, and was the film critic for Marie Claire and deputy editor of New Society.
Sean and Nicci were married in Hackney in October 1990. Their daughters, Hadley and Molly, were born in 1991 and 1993.
By the mid-nineties Sean had had two novels published, The Imaginary Monkey and The Dreamer of Dreams, as well as numerous non-fiction books, including biographies of Jane Fonda and Brigitte Bardot.
In 1995 Nicci and Sean began work on their first joint novel and adopted the pseudonym of Nicci French. The Memory Game was published to great acclaim in 1997 followed by The Safe House (1998), Killing Me Softly (1999), Beneath the Skin (2000), The Red Room (2001), Land of the Living (2002), Secret Smile (2003), Catch Me When I Fall (2005), Losing You (2006) and Until It's Over (2008). Their latest novel together is What To Do When Someone Dies (2009).
Nicci and Sean also continue to write separately. Nicci still works as a journalist for the Observer, covering high-profile trials including those of Fred and Rose West, and Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr. Novels include Things We Knew Were True (2003), Solace (2005) and The Moment You Were Gone (2007). Sean's last novel is Start From Here (2004).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 410 reviews
October 19, 2020
2014 view: One of my all time favourite UK suspense novels. A woman wakes up with partial amnesia, bound, gagged and held captive in the dark. She escapes. No one believes her, and the kidnapper is still out there!!! Totally keeps me on tenterhooks throughout. A great suspense novel! 8 out of 12.
2004 views: Such a dark page-turner from the start as a woman finds herself tied and up and held prisoner in the having no real memory of how she got there... and after she escapes things get worse! It appears that my one time fave blended team of Nicci Gerard and Sean French yet again present a bad-ass suspense thriller with real characterisation. But evidently back in 2004, this was not enough for me, as I gave them a paltry 6 out 12. Tough audience!
2004 views: Such a dark page-turner from the start as a woman finds herself tied and up and held prisoner in the having no real memory of how she got there... and after she escapes things get worse! It appears that my one time fave blended team of Nicci Gerard and Sean French yet again present a bad-ass suspense thriller with real characterisation. But evidently back in 2004, this was not enough for me, as I gave them a paltry 6 out 12. Tough audience!
March 22, 2017
"If I went on sitting here, sooner or later - and probably sooner, tomorrow or the next day, I could sense the moment was near - he could murder me."
- Abbie Devereaux
- Abbie Devereaux
April 7, 2022
An early Nicci French standalone that grew on me.
Twenty five year old Abbie Devereaux wakes up in a darkened room with no recall of how she got there or any recent events. She is bound up and suffering abuse from an apparent stranger and fearing for her life. Abbie manages to escape but the nightmare is not over, she finds herself in a local hospital, with the doctors seeing her story as a cry for help and no one believing her. She is interviewed by Detective Inspector Jack Cross but his investigations lead no where when a crime scene can’t be located. On her release from hospital Abbie goes home to discover that her life is in ruins and both her job and relationship with boyfriend Terry are finished. She is left searching for answers, why has all this happened and is she still in danger.
This is a fast paced psychological thriller with very interesting characters that got better the more I read. An early Nicci French novel that showed promise of what was to come from the crime writing partnership. Well worth a read.
Twenty five year old Abbie Devereaux wakes up in a darkened room with no recall of how she got there or any recent events. She is bound up and suffering abuse from an apparent stranger and fearing for her life. Abbie manages to escape but the nightmare is not over, she finds herself in a local hospital, with the doctors seeing her story as a cry for help and no one believing her. She is interviewed by Detective Inspector Jack Cross but his investigations lead no where when a crime scene can’t be located. On her release from hospital Abbie goes home to discover that her life is in ruins and both her job and relationship with boyfriend Terry are finished. She is left searching for answers, why has all this happened and is she still in danger.
This is a fast paced psychological thriller with very interesting characters that got better the more I read. An early Nicci French novel that showed promise of what was to come from the crime writing partnership. Well worth a read.
February 28, 2021
I've read this in 2017 but I've forgotten all of it so it was like I read a brand new story. The writing was somewhat simplistic but the intensity of this was superb. It was very long time ago since I've read a thriller book where I was so intensley engaged and glued to the page. I had to take breaks on this as my emotions while reading this book where so intense and this was one of the rare novels that actually made me wanna bite my nails. The kidnapping in the beginning, is not the worst I've read but Nicci French made it feels like I could Imagen the discomfort and horror to be in the situation. And the story after just keept the intensity. ( Wow how many time can I use the word intense? 😅). I got two more books by Nicci French and I'm so eager to read them as well!
May 7, 2010
I had to read this book for my English class, and that kind of ruins everything (it even made reading the Hobbit boring), but that aside, I didn't think this was a good book at all.
The writing was fine. The editing was fine. The point of view was fine. Even the characters were okay. It was the plot that bothered me.
It starts off interesting: Abbi awakes, doesn't know how she got there or why she's bound and hooded. Then she spends pages and pages being afraid and, well, tortured. Then she escaped.
And that's when the story takes a total unrealistic turn. Abbi just runs around being crazy, finds out she left her whole life behind for no reason. She leaves her friends because they don't believe something happened (and to be honest, I started doubting her too; I'm not sure if this was the writers intention or not, but if it was, they did a good job).
Some spoilers ahead: those few last days she finally manages to reconstruct are just ridiculous. It's totally out of character and a strange thing for a person to do. Live with someone you don't know? And then the conclusion... talk about a failure. The writers could have saved the book by making a believable ending, but they manage to make the whole search for her captor pointless. Good for her that she saves that other girl, but to be honest, I didn't really care at that point any more. And pushing your thumbs in some ones eyes? That's just plain disgusting. Complete let-down.
I wouldn't suggest this book to anyone. Just go read something else. There are way better thrillers out there than this one. I will read something else of Nicci French in the future, to see if my problem was just with this particular plot or with the writers, but I won't be breaking my neck to get my hands on one.
*****
I just noticed the other reviews about this book, and I just can't disagree more. Realistic? Really?! I don't know how many people you know that leave their normal lives behind, go crazy and spend all their money, decide to live with a total stranger, get hit on the head and held captive for no reason, then manage to escape, and forget how they got there in the first place!
And, no, this isn't a light or fast read. It took me days to wade through this over the top "no one believes me!" crap.
Don't get tricked into reading it like me. It will let you down.
The writing was fine. The editing was fine. The point of view was fine. Even the characters were okay. It was the plot that bothered me.
It starts off interesting: Abbi awakes, doesn't know how she got there or why she's bound and hooded. Then she spends pages and pages being afraid and, well, tortured. Then she escaped.
And that's when the story takes a total unrealistic turn. Abbi just runs around being crazy, finds out she left her whole life behind for no reason. She leaves her friends because they don't believe something happened (and to be honest, I started doubting her too; I'm not sure if this was the writers intention or not, but if it was, they did a good job).
Some spoilers ahead: those few last days she finally manages to reconstruct are just ridiculous. It's totally out of character and a strange thing for a person to do. Live with someone you don't know? And then the conclusion... talk about a failure. The writers could have saved the book by making a believable ending, but they manage to make the whole search for her captor pointless. Good for her that she saves that other girl, but to be honest, I didn't really care at that point any more. And pushing your thumbs in some ones eyes? That's just plain disgusting. Complete let-down.
I wouldn't suggest this book to anyone. Just go read something else. There are way better thrillers out there than this one. I will read something else of Nicci French in the future, to see if my problem was just with this particular plot or with the writers, but I won't be breaking my neck to get my hands on one.
*****
I just noticed the other reviews about this book, and I just can't disagree more. Realistic? Really?! I don't know how many people you know that leave their normal lives behind, go crazy and spend all their money, decide to live with a total stranger, get hit on the head and held captive for no reason, then manage to escape, and forget how they got there in the first place!
And, no, this isn't a light or fast read. It took me days to wade through this over the top "no one believes me!" crap.
Don't get tricked into reading it like me. It will let you down.
January 11, 2017
Η Άμπι ξυπνά σε απόλυτο σκοτάδι, δεμένη και χωρίς να θυμάται τίποτα. Κάποιος την έχει απαγάγει και την έχει κλειδώσει δεμένη και φιμωμενη. Δεν ξέρει πόσες μέρες βρίσκεται εκεί αλλά καταφέρνει να δραπετεύσει. Η αστυνομία θεωρεί ότι έχει "κατασκευάσει"την ιστορία της απαγωγής και δεν ασχολείται περισσότερο. Η ίδια αποφασίζει να ψάξει να δει τι έκανε τις τελευταίες μέρες πριν την απαγωγή της.
Καθαρά ψυχολογικό θρίλερ που σε κάνει να αναρωτιέσαι τι συνέβη πραγματικά και τι όχι.
3,5 αστέρια
Καθαρά ψυχολογικό θρίλερ που σε κάνει να αναρωτιέσαι τι συνέβη πραγματικά και τι όχι.
3,5 αστέρια
February 14, 2010
With a gripping start that fully captured my attention, I had a hard time putting LAND OF THE LIVING down. The suspense-filled atmosphere leapt off the pages and I found myself catching my breath and actually feeling the pressure presented within the covers. This doesn't usually happen to me, especially from a book I know is fiction. The author (or authors really) have done a fabulous job bringing the book to life and I imagine the plot does a fairly accurate job conveying a true life account of something like this. I only have a few minor quibbles. Firstly, Abbie does some dumb things, however it's still believable that she might react that way in her situation, and really, she's not a brainless twit of a victim. Although what she does later was very stupid and I wanted to smack her. Still, after the fact, I suppose I understand it now. Secondly, and I guess lastly, I do not believe for a second that the police are so inept that they could not follow-up on simple, routine leads. If Abbie can do it, surely they can too. To sum it up, the terror was evident, the environment creepy, and the overall pace was just right. A thrilling good read, if not a perfect one.
August 26, 2019
“Nicci French - De bewoonde wereld”
☀️☀️☀️☀️
Heel lang geleden dat ik nog iets van dit schrijverskoppel las.😱
Maar wat ben ik blij dat ik het deed! 😀
Verwarring alom. Is het echt? Of heeft het hoofdpersonage psychische problemen? 🤔
Is dit echt gebeurd of dénkt ze dit enkel? 🤨
Wie is de schuldige in heel dit verhaal? 🤷🏼♀️
Vanaf pagina 1 werd ik onmiddellijk in het verhaal gezogen. Het hele boek door werd de spanning opgebouwd. Geen enorm gruwelijk boek, maar wel eentje waar je je hoofd moet bijhouden. 🤯
Het einde was licht teleurstellend, dit kon beter. 😐
Maar al bij al een toppertje! 👌🏻 ❤️
☀️☀️☀️☀️
Heel lang geleden dat ik nog iets van dit schrijverskoppel las.😱
Maar wat ben ik blij dat ik het deed! 😀
Verwarring alom. Is het echt? Of heeft het hoofdpersonage psychische problemen? 🤔
Is dit echt gebeurd of dénkt ze dit enkel? 🤨
Wie is de schuldige in heel dit verhaal? 🤷🏼♀️
Vanaf pagina 1 werd ik onmiddellijk in het verhaal gezogen. Het hele boek door werd de spanning opgebouwd. Geen enorm gruwelijk boek, maar wel eentje waar je je hoofd moet bijhouden. 🤯
Het einde was licht teleurstellend, dit kon beter. 😐
Maar al bij al een toppertje! 👌🏻 ❤️
September 28, 2020
This was a good, easy to read, sometimes claustrophobic, fast paced psychological thriller. Not quite as gripping as I'd hoped for, and I wish the baddy had been more interesting. One I'd definitely recommend to fans of psychological thrillers though. Especially if you prefer books with not many characters.
May 18, 2016
Great start , promising a crime thriller! But it is a psychology thriller after all. Very good indeed , just without the element of surprise , or an interesting villain . Quite a page turner though!
June 28, 2018
Οι Nicci French έχουν γίνει από τους αγαπημένους μου συγγραφείς αλλά η αλήθεια είναι ότι πέρα από τη σειρά με τις μέρες της Φριντα (❤️) δεν είχα διαβάσει κάτι αλλά δικό τους. Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο, αν κι εκδόθηκε το 2016 σε εμάς, είναι προ δεκαετίας -το 2002. Έχοντας διαβάσει λοιπόν μεταγενεστερα βιβλία τους, τείνω να ομολογήσω ότι η γραφη τους έχει εξελιχθεί.
Για να πάω στα του βιβλίου, είναι ένα ευχάριστο αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα για να περάσεις την ώρα σου αλλά σίγουρα όχι κάτι που θα σου μείνει στη μνήμη για περισσότερο από χρόνο. Στην αρχή είναι κάπως αργό, αλλά στην πορεία ανεβάζει ρυθμούς. Σίγουρα στα συν του είναι η γραφή των συγγραφέων, που είναι εθιστική αλλά σαν πλοκή δεν είναι κάτι εξαιρετικό. Το τέλος, αν μη τι άλλο, προβλέψιμο δεν το λες, παρόλο που δεν συναρπάζει. Νομίζω ότι αυτό που μου φάνηκε πιο κουλό είναι ορισμένες αποφάσεις της πρωταγωνιστριας που σε ρεαλιστικές συνθήκες δε θα τις έπαιρνε νοήμων άνθρωπος θαρρώ.
Εντελει, καλό βιβλίο, αλλά ως εκεί.
Για να πάω στα του βιβλίου, είναι ένα ευχάριστο αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα για να περάσεις την ώρα σου αλλά σίγουρα όχι κάτι που θα σου μείνει στη μνήμη για περισσότερο από χρόνο. Στην αρχή είναι κάπως αργό, αλλά στην πορεία ανεβάζει ρυθμούς. Σίγουρα στα συν του είναι η γραφή των συγγραφέων, που είναι εθιστική αλλά σαν πλοκή δεν είναι κάτι εξαιρετικό. Το τέλος, αν μη τι άλλο, προβλέψιμο δεν το λες, παρόλο που δεν συναρπάζει. Νομίζω ότι αυτό που μου φάνηκε πιο κουλό είναι ορισμένες αποφάσεις της πρωταγωνιστριας που σε ρεαλιστικές συνθήκες δε θα τις έπαιρνε νοήμων άνθρωπος θαρρώ.
Εντελει, καλό βιβλίο, αλλά ως εκεί.
July 13, 2018
“The cold air hit me in the face, as if someone had slapped me. I gasped and my breath plumed up in the air. My eyes stung with the cold glare of light.”
Land Of The Dead by Nicci French is the story about Abbie Devereaux who has been abducted and is trapped in a basement. She is aware that her captor is there watching her, she knows she has to stay alive and with a miracle manages to escape from one hellish situation to another.
This is definitely a fast paced psychological thriller that can be read in one sitting. The book starts off for the point of view of Abbie. She uses her senses to describe where she is and tries to put together what is happening to her. The author is great at putting Abbie’s torment into view for the reader. You get a sense of everything she’s going through, the intensity of this is all present throughout the book even when she manages to escape and tries to go back to her normal life. It’s here where the story throws a curve ball. As a wee warning it is quite descriptive at times when Abbie is struggling just in case anybody is sensitive to that kind of content it appears now and again not a lot.
From this point the novel has many high and low points for me. The personal struggle of the characters was written very well however at times it became quite far fetched with how the protagonist is dealt with and the absolute bummer for me was the ending, I wasn’t a fan of it. I know this book is a favourite for quite a few fans of Nicci French’s work however this being my first read by her I was a little disappointed with it. I wanted to like it and for the first half I did. The idea of it all was good, there were some clever twists, the personality of the characters was strong but too often the story took directions which didn’t make sense to me.
Land Of The Dead by Nicci French is the story about Abbie Devereaux who has been abducted and is trapped in a basement. She is aware that her captor is there watching her, she knows she has to stay alive and with a miracle manages to escape from one hellish situation to another.
This is definitely a fast paced psychological thriller that can be read in one sitting. The book starts off for the point of view of Abbie. She uses her senses to describe where she is and tries to put together what is happening to her. The author is great at putting Abbie’s torment into view for the reader. You get a sense of everything she’s going through, the intensity of this is all present throughout the book even when she manages to escape and tries to go back to her normal life. It’s here where the story throws a curve ball. As a wee warning it is quite descriptive at times when Abbie is struggling just in case anybody is sensitive to that kind of content it appears now and again not a lot.
From this point the novel has many high and low points for me. The personal struggle of the characters was written very well however at times it became quite far fetched with how the protagonist is dealt with and the absolute bummer for me was the ending, I wasn’t a fan of it. I know this book is a favourite for quite a few fans of Nicci French’s work however this being my first read by her I was a little disappointed with it. I wanted to like it and for the first half I did. The idea of it all was good, there were some clever twists, the personality of the characters was strong but too often the story took directions which didn’t make sense to me.
July 17, 2014
Ok, so the plot was decent. Woman is kidnapped and starved by a lunatic and she escapes. Then is gets mind numbingly hard to believe.She has amnesia, and the police ( and her friends) don't believe her. Even though she has been starved and chained up and when rescued had bruises, was filthy and had lost 28 lbs..after awhile, she decides to figure out what happened to her because the police aren't doing anything. She is slow on the upkeep because I figured out what happened to her roommate long before she did.
The main character does quite a bit of retarded things throughout the book also. One that stands out is bumming money to get her car out of impound and then letting it get towed again saying it was no big deal basically. Most of the book could have been shaved down if she would have just figured out where her car was towed from in the first place. Second stupid thing she does is; even though she was kidnapped, after she starts doing her own sleuthing she NEVER tells anyone where she is going. Yeh, doesn't even write a note. Then, she goes hunting for the killer with NO weapon! WTF. So I start thinking that this bitch deserves to be kidnapped again and I don't know how , out of the five or so other women he has killed, this dumb ass managed to live and escape. She finally finds the killer with a new victim and saves the day..by gouging his fuckin' eyeballs out with her THUMBS! Gimme a break.
Did I mention that in the beginning of the book, you can't really tell that this takes place in London until about the middle of the book when they start talking and acting like it?
Anyway, best to stick to a true crime novel if that's your thing...cause this book is lacking ..in common sense. Also, you never find anything out about the killer besides his name really.
The main character does quite a bit of retarded things throughout the book also. One that stands out is bumming money to get her car out of impound and then letting it get towed again saying it was no big deal basically. Most of the book could have been shaved down if she would have just figured out where her car was towed from in the first place. Second stupid thing she does is; even though she was kidnapped, after she starts doing her own sleuthing she NEVER tells anyone where she is going. Yeh, doesn't even write a note. Then, she goes hunting for the killer with NO weapon! WTF. So I start thinking that this bitch deserves to be kidnapped again and I don't know how , out of the five or so other women he has killed, this dumb ass managed to live and escape. She finally finds the killer with a new victim and saves the day..by gouging his fuckin' eyeballs out with her THUMBS! Gimme a break.
Did I mention that in the beginning of the book, you can't really tell that this takes place in London until about the middle of the book when they start talking and acting like it?
Anyway, best to stick to a true crime novel if that's your thing...cause this book is lacking ..in common sense. Also, you never find anything out about the killer besides his name really.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2014
Could not put this book down, best I've read since Michael Robotham! Really great mystery, Nicci French does it again! loved it!!!
July 5, 2022
I'm 100 pages in and still not into this ☝. Moving on to others. No point in finishing a book that makes me bored, ome that i cant quite like.
August 24, 2008
This is a chilling, very realistic book by the collaborative voice of two journalists under the pseudonym Nicci French.
Abbie Devereaux wakes up somewhere in the dark, wrists tied, ankles tied, gagged and blinded with a sack. She can't remember the past week. Her kidnapper tells her he's going to kill her, that he's killed other woman just like her, and there's nothing she can do about it. She is going to die. In desperation, Abbie tries to hang herself with the ropes she's tied to, and breaks them instead. She escapes. But once in the real world, she's still not safe. For one, nobody believes she was kidnapped, and no one can find her kidnapper. For two, everything about the life she remembers has changed: her boyfriend is now her ex, she's living somewhere else, she quit her job, her personality was changed entirely...This is all worsened by evidence that she's actually loosing her mind.
The great thing about this book is that Abbie is so ordinary and instinctive that everything she feels or does makes complete sense. You become Abbie. And so you feel her doubt: what happened was real, wasn't it? She's not crazy, is she? With a creepy aura of deja vu, Abbie finds herself retracing her exact steps from the week before her amnesia, and she struggles to understand - who was she? why did she change? who is she now? The more she learns, the less anyone believes her. The less she believes herself. The more she knows the trail has to end, somewhere.
This is the kind of book you can't get out of your head even weeks after you'd finished reading it. Abbie is a vulnerable but internally strong character I empathized with right away. The story is edgy without being horrifying, filled with a sense of doom, inevitability, and grim determination - the ending is climatic and shocking, but fully satisfying as well.
Downside: there was none, as far as I can remember. Abbie's steamy but short romance with Ben is the only reason I didn't give this five stars, and that's my personal preference for modesty.
Abbie Devereaux wakes up somewhere in the dark, wrists tied, ankles tied, gagged and blinded with a sack. She can't remember the past week. Her kidnapper tells her he's going to kill her, that he's killed other woman just like her, and there's nothing she can do about it. She is going to die. In desperation, Abbie tries to hang herself with the ropes she's tied to, and breaks them instead. She escapes. But once in the real world, she's still not safe. For one, nobody believes she was kidnapped, and no one can find her kidnapper. For two, everything about the life she remembers has changed: her boyfriend is now her ex, she's living somewhere else, she quit her job, her personality was changed entirely...This is all worsened by evidence that she's actually loosing her mind.
The great thing about this book is that Abbie is so ordinary and instinctive that everything she feels or does makes complete sense. You become Abbie. And so you feel her doubt: what happened was real, wasn't it? She's not crazy, is she? With a creepy aura of deja vu, Abbie finds herself retracing her exact steps from the week before her amnesia, and she struggles to understand - who was she? why did she change? who is she now? The more she learns, the less anyone believes her. The less she believes herself. The more she knows the trail has to end, somewhere.
This is the kind of book you can't get out of your head even weeks after you'd finished reading it. Abbie is a vulnerable but internally strong character I empathized with right away. The story is edgy without being horrifying, filled with a sense of doom, inevitability, and grim determination - the ending is climatic and shocking, but fully satisfying as well.
Downside: there was none, as far as I can remember. Abbie's steamy but short romance with Ben is the only reason I didn't give this five stars, and that's my personal preference for modesty.
August 21, 2014
So the end was reaally bad... I don't know what's happening but just as soon I get excited about a book plot I discover a really shitty ending. Just the main idea getting lost and then round and round we go with some useless facts.... boring....
And let me freak out about the main character Abbie. I think she is effing illogical. All along the book she says that she's so afraid of the killer, that she thinks that she will came after her. And then she calmly walks in into a stranger's appartment (yes I know she had a key but really????) and fall asleep. Oh, no one will get me here. And she stays in that apartment! She does not know a thing about it's owner just the name, which can be fake, and she stays there...
FACEPALM!!!
An the other. She tries to rrecollect her memories. And goes to several people who were involved in her last project, to ask them about her last remembred days. So. She died her hair, and cut it off just to look different so the killer won't catch her. And we know from the beginnig that she mert with the killer somewhere. So she goes to this people each one of them can be our possible killer, and she freaking tells everybody her name!!! Like, are you stupid, or WHAT THE HELL???
Naaah.... Stupid ending. Don't want to spoiler it for you, but really stupid. The whole book was ruined for me somewhere in the middle of it, but the ending... I'm really dissapointed...
So I don't know. Definitely won't read it again. And I'm not quite sure that I would read something else from Nicci French either. I gave it one star just because the beginning was fascineting. And then nothing happened.
And let me freak out about the main character Abbie. I think she is effing illogical. All along the book she says that she's so afraid of the killer, that she thinks that she will came after her. And then she calmly walks in into a stranger's appartment (yes I know she had a key but really????) and fall asleep. Oh, no one will get me here. And she stays in that apartment! She does not know a thing about it's owner just the name, which can be fake, and she stays there...
FACEPALM!!!
An the other. She tries to rrecollect her memories. And goes to several people who were involved in her last project, to ask them about her last remembred days. So. She died her hair, and cut it off just to look different so the killer won't catch her. And we know from the beginnig that she mert with the killer somewhere. So she goes to this people each one of them can be our possible killer, and she freaking tells everybody her name!!! Like, are you stupid, or WHAT THE HELL???
Naaah.... Stupid ending. Don't want to spoiler it for you, but really stupid. The whole book was ruined for me somewhere in the middle of it, but the ending... I'm really dissapointed...
So I don't know. Definitely won't read it again. And I'm not quite sure that I would read something else from Nicci French either. I gave it one star just because the beginning was fascineting. And then nothing happened.
March 25, 2023
outstanding suspense, and I thought The Collector was creepy.
July 5, 2017
Ενα ψυχολογικο θριλερ με στρωτη γραφη και ενταση χωρις ωστοσο να με συναρπασει .3.5/5
February 11, 2021
Eén van de beste thrillers van dit echtpaar. Origineel, eng, boeiend.
January 2, 2017
Είσαι δεμένη και φιμω��ένη, κλεισμένη κάπου όπου ένας άντρας σε κρατάει παρά τη θέλησή σου και σε ταΐζει ίσα που να μην πεθάνεις από την πείνα. Τι θα συμβεί στη μετέπειτα ζωή σου αν είσαι αρκετά τυχερή και το σκάσεις; Και πώς θα αντιδράσεις όταν δεις ότι δεν υπάρχει καμία απτή απόδειξη για ό,τι έζησες και η Αστυνομία εμμέσως πλην σαφώς σου δείχνει ότι απλώς φαντασιώνεσαι;
Το βιβλίο γράφτηκε το 2003, αμέσως πριν το «Μοιραίο χαμόγελο» (που κυκλοφορεί κι αυτό στα ελληνικά) και οκτώ χρόνια πριν τη λατρεμένη σειρά με τη Φρίντα Κλάιν. Είναι ανατρεπτικό και αρκετά κλειστοφοβικό για να το ξεκινήσεις βράδυ. Βήμα βήμα το συγγραφικό δίδυμο αρχίζει να χτίζει τη ζωή της Άμπι όταν καταφέρνει να ελευθερωθεί από τον απαγωγέα της και να βάζει τον αναγνώστη σε σκέψεις: όντως συνέβη η απαγωγή και αν όχι πόσο επικίνδυνη είναι η Άμπι για τους γύρω της;
Η κοπέλα έχει πάθει αμνησία από τα γεγονότα που συνέβησαν αμέσως πριν και κατά τη διάρκεια της απαγωγής της, αν αυτή όντως έλαβε χώρα ποτέ, οπότε προσπαθεί σταδιακά να συγκροτήσει τη ζωή της όπως πριν. Κάνει λίστες, ανακαλύπτει πού έμενε, τι συνέβη στη δουλειά της, όμως τα πράγματα περιπλέκονται όταν βρίσκει ότι έμενε στης Τζο, μιας γυναίκας που έχει καιρό να εμφανιστεί. Τι συνέβη λοιπόν και με αυτήν την κοπέλα; Πόσο θα δυσχεράνει τη θέση της η Άμπι όταν καταγγέλλει και τη δική της εξαφάνιση στην Αστυνομία;
Ένα διαρκές παιχνίδι γάτας-ποντικιού, μια αγωνιώδης κλιμάκωση, μια έξυπνη επίλυση, ένα ικανοποιητικό τέλος, σε ένα αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα που ασχολείται με μια διαφορετική οπτική αφήγησης και διαλέγει να αναπαριστήσει μια απαγωγή μέσα από την οπτική του θύματος, η οποία εξελίσσεται τόσο διαφορεικά που μόνο ένα ντουέτο όπως οι Nicci French θα μπορούσαν να το σκεφτούν!
Το βιβλίο γράφτηκε το 2003, αμέσως πριν το «Μοιραίο χαμόγελο» (που κυκλοφορεί κι αυτό στα ελληνικά) και οκτώ χρόνια πριν τη λατρεμένη σειρά με τη Φρίντα Κλάιν. Είναι ανατρεπτικό και αρκετά κλειστοφοβικό για να το ξεκινήσεις βράδυ. Βήμα βήμα το συγγραφικό δίδυμο αρχίζει να χτίζει τη ζωή της Άμπι όταν καταφέρνει να ελευθερωθεί από τον απαγωγέα της και να βάζει τον αναγνώστη σε σκέψεις: όντως συνέβη η απαγωγή και αν όχι πόσο επικίνδυνη είναι η Άμπι για τους γύρω της;
Η κοπέλα έχει πάθει αμνησία από τα γεγονότα που συνέβησαν αμέσως πριν και κατά τη διάρκεια της απαγωγής της, αν αυτή όντως έλαβε χώρα ποτέ, οπότε προσπαθεί σταδιακά να συγκροτήσει τη ζωή της όπως πριν. Κάνει λίστες, ανακαλύπτει πού έμενε, τι συνέβη στη δουλειά της, όμως τα πράγματα περιπλέκονται όταν βρίσκει ότι έμενε στης Τζο, μιας γυναίκας που έχει καιρό να εμφανιστεί. Τι συνέβη λοιπόν και με αυτήν την κοπέλα; Πόσο θα δυσχεράνει τη θέση της η Άμπι όταν καταγγέλλει και τη δική της εξαφάνιση στην Αστυνομία;
Ένα διαρκές παιχνίδι γάτας-ποντικιού, μια αγωνιώδης κλιμάκωση, μια έξυπνη επίλυση, ένα ικανοποιητικό τέλος, σε ένα αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα που ασχολείται με μια διαφορετική οπτική αφήγησης και διαλέγει να αναπαριστήσει μια απαγωγή μέσα από την οπτική του θύματος, η οποία εξελίσσεται τόσο διαφορεικά που μόνο ένα ντουέτο όπως οι Nicci French θα μπορούσαν να το σκεφτούν!
November 6, 2017
Read this as an audiobook. The narrator was interesting and it was interesting listening to the twists and turns that the story takes at a pace that you can’t change if that makes sense. Usually with a thriller, I almost fast forward read them, when the exciting stuff happens. But the reader kept going at the same pace so it almost made the exciting action lines seem boring, as they weren’t any different to the rest of the book.
Abby was almost a believable character except to how off the rails she went and to end up in that situation... she was just unlucky but then she pieces it all together off a few clues and breadcrumbs? The average person wouldn’t have and probably would have gotten the police involved a lot sooner...
It was a good story, not my favorite mystery book by any means but an interesting read and I do enjoy the author.
Abby was almost a believable character except to how off the rails she went and to end up in that situation... she was just unlucky but then she pieces it all together off a few clues and breadcrumbs? The average person wouldn’t have and probably would have gotten the police involved a lot sooner...
It was a good story, not my favorite mystery book by any means but an interesting read and I do enjoy the author.
July 18, 2020
It's been a long time since I rated a book with 5 stars but this was one of those times I just had to. Abbie has just come out of a horrifying experience and seeks to get back to her life. But something is wrong, she cannot remember what happened before her experience. and another problem is no one really believes her. As she tries to re-connect to her prior life the pieces are not fitting into place. As she begins her journey, bit by bit the reader is given the same curve balls and begins to wonder if this is one of those stories that,in the end, was not real. It was this form of storytelling by the author that kept the pages turning until the reader was finally put out of their misery and the truth revealed.
September 10, 2016
This book was a very nice surprise, as I only bought it by chance in a second hand bookshop that is no more... The kind of thriller that you cannot put down, it kept me captivated all the way through and the reason I am giving it three stars is that there are some "silly" and too unbelievable elements in the plot, like the way the police handles the case... Still, a very entertaining read.
April 2, 2010
Truly gripping. I've read a handful of other French novels but all of them felt disappointing in comparison. One of those books that crawls under your skin and lives there. I was acutely aware of where in the house the book was lying, every minute I was away from reading it.
July 12, 2019
3 tot 3.5 sterren. Het is een spannend verhaal en lekker om even tussendoor te lezen.
January 8, 2018
Το άκρο αντίστροφο του Χαμόγελου. Όχι αμιγώς αστυνομικό, όπως όλα τα βιβλία των συγγραφέων. Είναι ψυχολογικό θρίλερ και ξεκινάει με τον φόβο κάθε γυναίκας στον πλανήτη… να ξυπνήσει και να ανακαλύψει ότι βρίσκεται μόνη, δεμένη και φιμωμένη σε ένα πυκνό και πηκτό σκοτάδι. Να ανακαλύψει ότι κάποιος την απήγαγε και να μην ξέρει τι την περιμένει. Να νοιώθει σα να είναι βουτηγμένη σε μια απύθμενη δεξαμενή με κατάμαυρη, ερεβώδη πίσσα κι αυτή να την «ρουφάει» όλο και πιο βαθιά. Να είναι τόσο τρομοκρατημένη που ο θάνατος να φαντάζει σαν την μόνη και την πιο ευπρόσδεκτη εξέλιξη.
Προσωπικά, με «τσάκωσε» αμέσως. Από τις πρώτες κιόλας αράδες. Ήταν συναρπαστικό, γραμμένο με ιδιαίτερα κλειστοφοβική διάθεση. Ακόμα κι όταν ελευθερώνεται η ηρωίδα, ακόμα και τότε βρίσκεται εγκλωβισμένη στην φυλακή του μυαλού της, να παλεύει με την απώλεια της μνήμης της και τον κατ’ εξακολούθηση φόβο ότι «αυτός» βρίσκεται στο κατόπι της. Να αμφιβάλει ακόμη και για τον εαυτό της. Συνέβησαν πράγματι όλα αυτά ή είναι αποκυήματα της νοσηρής της φαντασίας; Ποιος είναι φίλος; Ποιος εχθρός;
Ακόμα ένα πόνημα που αξίζει να γυριστεί κινηματογραφική ταινία, μιας κι έχει όλα αυτά που βάζουν την σφραγίδα του πετυχημένου σε ένα έργο. Φόβο, αγωνία, αίμα, τρόμο, έρευνα (αν και όχι από αστυνομικούς), ανάγκη για εξιλέωση ή/και εκδίκηση (αν και όχι σε βαθμό κακουργήματος), ανατροπές και μια κλιμακούμενη ένταση που προσωπικά την βρήκα πολύ ισορροπημένη.
Με άριστα το 10 ένα παχουλό 9 από μένα!
Καλές αναγνώσεις! ;-)
Προσωπικά, με «τσάκωσε» αμέσως. Από τις πρώτες κιόλας αράδες. Ήταν συναρπαστικό, γραμμένο με ιδιαίτερα κλειστοφοβική διάθεση. Ακόμα κι όταν ελευθερώνεται η ηρωίδα, ακόμα και τότε βρίσκεται εγκλωβισμένη στην φυλακή του μυαλού της, να παλεύει με την απώλεια της μνήμης της και τον κατ’ εξακολούθηση φόβο ότι «αυτός» βρίσκεται στο κατόπι της. Να αμφιβάλει ακόμη και για τον εαυτό της. Συνέβησαν πράγματι όλα αυτά ή είναι αποκυήματα της νοσηρής της φαντασίας; Ποιος είναι φίλος; Ποιος εχθρός;
Ακόμα ένα πόνημα που αξίζει να γυριστεί κινηματογραφική ταινία, μιας κι έχει όλα αυτά που βάζουν την σφραγίδα του πετυχημένου σε ένα έργο. Φόβο, αγωνία, αίμα, τρόμο, έρευνα (αν και όχι από αστυνομικούς), ανάγκη για εξιλέωση ή/και εκδίκηση (αν και όχι σε βαθμό κακουργήματος), ανατροπές και μια κλιμακούμενη ένταση που προσωπικά την βρήκα πολύ ισορροπημένη.
Με άριστα το 10 ένα παχουλό 9 από μένα!
Καλές αναγνώσεις! ;-)
April 2, 2018
I won't say I didn't like this book because I do like Nicci French's writing style so it was a good read in the broad sense. But it was so flat and nothing ever really happened. I know the main character Abbie had insomnia and was trying to figure out what happened during the days leading up to her abduction. But it was chapter after chapter after chapter of her running from one place to another, one person to another, and nothing developing from all that exertion. Not to mention that she's as dumb as a brick, hiding in plain sight, going around talking to total strangers, entering homes when she doesn't know the owners, all the while supposedly terrified her abductor is going to find her. She became tiresome quickly. Another character's perspective--the boyfriend(s), the girlfriends, the cops', maybe even the killer's--would have added some dimension and interest. There were many enormous plot holes and pointless incidents that added little to the story. I've enjoyed many of this author's books so I'll shrug this one off and hope the next will be better.
October 9, 2017
This novel, written by the husband-wife team known as 'Nicci French' is a bit different from many of the others they have written. This particular novel has more to do with the fear that a person's imagination can stir up into a frenzy. Add to that temporary, or even permanent amnesia, and what you have is a frightening recipe for disaster. The book starts out with Abbie Devereaux , a 25 year old woman being kept captive by an unknown man in a dank basement. She is kept bound and with a gag and hooded mask over her head. Her captor taunts her with stories of what he has done to other female victims. However, unlike the other victims, Abbie, when she has the opportunity, rushes towards the man and actually manages to get away from him. She ends up in the hospital, and the police and psychiatrist think she has made up the whole story. Far from it. Although she remembers nothing of meeting several of the people in the story,. including her kidnapper, she decides that in order to live her life, she must do her best to track down the events of the six days she had been missing before she got away from the kidnapper. The book is an interesting character study about just how different each of us is when it comes to our deepest fears, and what we do to either confront them, or give in to them.
October 11, 2007
In the tradition of The Silence of the Lambs, Nicci French, bestselling author of Beneath the Skin and The Red Room, delivers what promises to be the psychological blockbuster of the season. Kidnapped, gagged, and held in an airless shed by some unknown assailant, Abbie Devereaux has somehow managed to survive her ordeal and escape. Now no one seems to believe her, including the police who found her bruised and beaten in a run-down neighborhood outside London, and the psychologists who interview her in the hospital. Even worse, Abbie can't remember anything immediately prior to her abduction, so there's no one to corroborate her story. Determined to prove that she's not "making this all up," as one inspector suggests, Abbie sets out to retrace her steps--and comes face-to-face with a very real psycho-killer. Only this time, she refuses to be his victim.
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