This is the 7th book in the Psychotherapist Dr Frieda Klein series by authors Nicci Gerrard and Sean French who publish under the pseudonym Nicci French.
Life is never straight forward for Dr Frieda Klein and this book is no different. A body of an ex policeman, Bruce Stringer, who is an associate of Frieda’s is found under the floorboards of her home and Frieda is convinced it is the work of her old adversary Dean Reeve. The police are still convinced Dean Reeve is dead so they will take some convincing of his guilt, but will they now believe he is still alive. Is Freida right in thinking that Dean Reeve is still haunting her or is someone else now threatening her.
Like most successful series, this one is full of good characters, Frieda herself is a complicated character that interacts well with other regular character such as DCI Karlson, builder Josef and of course the likeable Reuben.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is a difficult book to review, but it certainly wasn't difficult to read - I finished it less than 48 hours after I downloaded it (and those were work days). It's a page-turner, and gripping in more than one way - you want to read on because of the way the plot is constructed, but also because you care about the characters and want to know what's going to become of them.

Why is it hard to review? Firstly because it's the seventh - and last - in Nicci Gerrard & Sean French's series of psychological thrillers centred on solitary London psychotherapist Frieda Klein, and has substantial continuity with what's gone before - it even picks up where the sixth book left off. If you want to know more about the unfolding lives of Frieda, Jozef, Reuben, Olivia, Chloe, Karlsson, Yvette Long, the mysterious Walter Levin, the odious Hal Bradshaw and the rest of the cast that's built up through the series - and about how their lives are disrupted by the violent crime that seems to follow Frieda around, apparently thanks to the elusive Dean Reeve - you'll want to read this book. (I mean, you'll really want to read this book.) If none of those names rings a bell, you'll be better off reading (or re-reading) the earlier books first.

The other reason why it's hard to review is, of course, that it's a thriller, and it's hard to say anything about the plot without it being a spoiler - let alone about the ending. Which is frustrating, because the ending... the thing about the ending... what I thought was... Well. Ask me again when you've read it - you may think the same thing.

I think seven books is probably enough for Frieda, and there are signs that the authors are getting tired of her - not least the unexpected introduction of another serious-minded independent middle-aged woman in this book, which reads for all the world as if the authors wanted another set of character traits to get their teeth into (hair cropped not tied back, running rather than walking, etc). With the Mycroft-like Levin on one side and the unstoppable Dean Reeve on the other, they've also ended up with two characters who can do the impossible when required, which is at least one too many - and, speaking of Mycroft, is that 'Dean' as in Dean Moriarty? (Not that Frieda is Sherlock - her methods are much more intuitive, like Sir Peter.)

But I've really enjoyed this series - I'd rate it a bit below most of the Wimseys but comfortably ahead of most of the Wexfords - and this seventh book is a fitting (if in some ways not entirely satisfying) capstone to it.

Loved this latest Freida Klein installment in the week of violence by crime writing fuo Nicci French. I think this was one of the strongrst books of the series. Perhaps a little slower paced but it gave the reader a chance to drink it in and enjoy resolutions with old favourite characters. Cracking series.

Wow, I was looking forward to reading this after finishing Saturday Requiem and was delighted to see it pop up on Netgalley. Not a disappointment, very well written as usual and I was on the edge of my seat hoping that all her excellent large cast of characters would make it through to the end. Very clever plotting.
Can't wait for this series to continue (if indeed it does).

Ironically, this is (apparently) the last in this series - but was the first I read and I could not put it down! In spite of this being (for me) a "stand alone" read, I warmed to the characters and wanted to learn more about them. The plot was gripping, and the descriptions vivid. I enjoyed the way the action shifted between different, but linked, groups of characters. I am now going to read the rest of the series - and hope that this turns out NOT to be the final instalment of the Frieda Klein books.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in return for my honest review.

I have been an avid reader of this series featuring Frieda Klein, psychoanalyst and her group of friends. Each book is a story in its own right but there is an expectation that you have read the earlier books so that you know the background. I loved catching up on the lives of all the characters as well as trying to guess who the real villain was! The characters are so well described that you feel you almost know them personally!
As you can see from above this novel certainly ticked all the boxes for me.
It was about someone who is targetting Frieda's friends one by one. They are kidnapped, beaten and even murdered leaving Frieda in a race against time to find the perpetrator. Is it Dean Reeve her former nemesis or is it someone entirely different?
This is a fast paced thriller and it had me on the edge of my seat all the way through. There are numerous twists and turns as the book progresses. There are clues as to who Frieda and the police are searching for and his identity is finally revealed three quarters of the way through. However this is not the end of the story as plenty happens after this point to keep you avidly reading.
My only complaint about this book is the cliffhanger of an ending. How can I wait a whole year to find out what happens next?
Five stars from me for this excellent and well written psychological thriller. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have read all the books in the series, some are better than others. This for me was one of the weaker novels. I was also expecting the series to end, but it looks as though it is going to be spun out for a while yet.

The book is very fast paced and more of Frieda's family and friends are put at risk because of a killers fascination with her. However, for me, the book felt repetitive and I just couldn't suspend disbelief in the way that I had previously.

Thanks go to the publishers and net galley for the arc in return for an honest review.

Frieda Klein returns in the 7th and final (?) installment of this series. I don't need to finish this book to say finally getting my clammy hands on it is the highlight of my reading year. Freida, psychotherapist and amusingly described as "difficult" by one of her friends deals with the troubled, the confused and yes the seriously murderous. Reading this book (indeed all of them) is like being in psychotherapy itself at times. Curve balls suddenly appear out of nowhere, spikes of emotion, tears, laughter, amusement,, sudden threats.......... and relaxed familiarity all contribute to an engrossing, thrilling what's going to happen next excitement. An eclectic mix of characters makes this hugely enjoyable and thrilling and centre of all is the complex, enigmatic and engrossing Frieda Klein. I'm hoping the authors don't killl her off! Highly recommended.

I adored this book, no...I devoured this book. Frieda Klein is a proper hero with grit, determination and gumption yet with imperfections that many a woman can associate with.

Settling in with your favourite characters that you've grown to love from Monday through to Saturday and still be enchanted and intrigued by them in this Sunday psychological thriller outing is no mean feat by any author.

Crime story, thriller and murder mystery suspense rolled into one in modern day London. Read it and weep (and in my case sit up reading it all night because it's sooooo good ).

Thank you for Frieda.

I have read all of the Nicci French/Frieda Klein books, and whilst I enjoyed them very much at the beginning I am starting to think Frieda needs a new protagonist. The whole Dean Reeves situation has been dragged out far too long in my humble opinion.

In saying that the book was well written, very readable, perhaps could be confusing for those who had not read the whole series, not sure they work as stand alone novels, because of the back story.

Enjoyed the book, liked the characters as always, but feel the series has gone on.

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled a little with this book initially as I have not read any of the previous ones in the stories. It was obvious that the characters had a lot of back story of which I wasn't aware. It was an enjoyable read but quite hard going at first.

I would like to thank Penguin UK-Michael Joseph and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’, the eighth in the Frieda Klein series by Nicci French, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
The body of ex-policeman, Bruce Stringer, is found under the floorboards in psychotherapist Frieda Klein’s house. Did Dean Reeve kill him or is there a copycat killer trying to get to Frieda by targeting her family and friends?
The characters we’ve come to love from previous books are there, DCI Malcolm Karlsson and his assistant DC Yvette Long, Frieda’s niece Chloe and her mother Olivia, but also new to this novel is DI Petra Burge who leads the investigation, and Alexei, the son of Frieda’s friend Josef.
I loved ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ which was every bit as tense as previous books in the series. It had me totally gripped from start to finish with an exciting finale which left me wondering what will happen next. I can thoroughly recommend it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for an advance copy of Sunday Morning Coming Down, the seventh novel in the London based Frieda Klein series.

The novel opens with the discovery of a dead body under the floorboards of Frieda's house. The victim is Bruce Springer a private detective hired by Frieda to look into the whereabouts of Dean Reeve, a serial killer whom everyone but Frieda believes to be dead. This proves Dean Reeve is very much alive and attacks on Frieda's friends appear to confirm it. The problem is how to find a shadow.

I have only read Blue Monday in this series and that was years ago so it felt like starting a new series midway through and while the Dean Reeve plotline is obviously ongoing from previous novels I didn't feel that I'd missed anything as the authors cover enough of the salient points to make the novel stand alone.

The plot is interesting and absorbing with a few unexpected twists and a cliffhanger ending which I hate - I'll have forgotten most of this novel by the time the next one arrives next year so it's not much of a hook, more a disappointment. Told mostly from Frieda's point of view it is well paced with events and discoveries spaced out enough to keep you turning the pages.

As befits a series and having had time to grow the characters are well developed but the authors are not content with that and have developed what I think are new twists in some of their lives, at least that's how it seems to me. Frieda is, I think, Frieda. Still walking for relaxation and thinking, sharp both mentally and verbally and very caring of her friends and family. She is a bit of a Cassandra figure, destined never to be believed by the police, but you would think that they would learn from past disbelief. This strikes a slightly repetitive note in an otherwise good read.

I like the snippets of the geography and history of London which pepper the novel. They are informative about a city I barely know and bring it to life.

Sunday Morning Coming Down is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

So... we're on Sunday of Frieda Klein's darker-than-dark 'week', and it seems like we might not have quite reached the end. I have to confess that this isn't my favourite in this series (Thursday still holds that spot as a book which stretches the 'crime' genre into something more 'literary') but French continues to juggle the local narrative in this book with the wider arc carried through across the series.

This opens immediately after the shock ending to the last book with the body under Frieda's floor and, as usual, the gang rally round despite Frieda's own attempts to keep them at arm's distance partly, at least, for their own good. There are some shocking moments of violence, and some developments that we don't see coming, but the copy-cat plot in the foreground isn't the most gripping and isn't treated with the richness that I expect from French, especially in the case of the wife.

For all that, the intriguing Dean Reeve remains a shadowy figure in Frieda's life as he's not prepared to let her go. A provocative ending leaves this feeling like a slightly 'holder' book as we move towards what must be the finale in a further book. Still one of the most thoughtful, bleak, mature and emotionally vexed crime series currently being written.

Posted on Amazon and Goodreads

In all my reading years and I'm 67 I've only only been frustrated by 2 novels, this being number 2. I enjoyed the characters but the police, I wanted to shake my Kindle and yell at it. I haven't read a book with so much tension in a long time. I'm not very happy with the ending I like tidyish endings, but it makes me want to read the next book if this is part of a series.

This was a free book for an honest review.