The Lying Room
Nicci French
Publishers: Simon and Schuster UK
Publication date: 3/10/19


Tense slow burning thriller. Neve is an ordinary working wife and mum hiding a secret. A murder leads her to make choices which embroil her deeper and deeper into a living nightmare. How far will she go to protect her children and keep her family together. Twists and turns galore, I couldn't wait till find out "whodunnit".

I'd like to thank the author, publishers and netgalley for providing me with a free advanced digital copy in return for my honest and unbiased review.

Having avidly read all of the Freida Klein books, I was initially a bit disappointed to have to immerse myself in a different world. But I soon forgot and become engrossed in Neve's chaotic but terribly ordinary life. I am a big fan of Nicci French and this latest book doesn't disappoint.

A trusted colleague and friend. A mother. A wife. Neve Connolly is all these things.
She has also made mistakes; some small, some unconsciously done, some large, some deliberate. She is only human, after all.

But now one mistake is spiralling out of control and Neve is bringing those around her into immense danger.

She can’t tell the truth. So how far is she prepared to go to protect those she loves?
And who does she really know? And who can she trust? A liar. A cheat. A threat. Neve Connolly is all these things.

Could she be a murderer?

Neve Connelly is married, three children with one child about to go to university, she works part time with three people she knew from college. Her husband, Fletcher, works from home although it appears as if he is earning very little. Their relationship used to be strong.

Neve is having an affair with one of her bosses from work, who is also married. It has not been going on for long. One morning, over breakfast she receives a text message, which she assumes is from him to meet up again. Unexpected but she doesn’t hesitate even though she thought he was away at a conference.

She lets herself into his London flat to find him dead with his head caved in and a hammer lying next to him. This is where Neve begins making decisions, which are going to radically change her life forever. Who killed her lover, who knew about her visit and who can she trust?

Some of my favourite parts involved Neve versus Inspector Hitching, those portions crackled with tension in a kind of cat and mouse chase with no real indication who might come out on top. Hitching pays visits to her more and more often. It’s a game of cat and mouse, her lies closely guarded in a fight to the very resolution of this excellently well plotted book

This is a well written book with a gripping plot that will make it difficult for you to put the book down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for an advance copy in return for a fair and honest review.

This is a standalone novel from the husband and wife duo who have written many other good books. Therefore I was very excited to have the opportunity to read their latest offering. This is another well written gripping book that 'forces' you to keep reading beyond the time of night it is possible to do so! A tangled web of lies that it becomes more and more impossible to get out is the situation that the main character Neve has got herself into. Will she get out of it? What is she trying to get out from and why? Well you'll have to read it to find out!

Neve Connolly is the central character in this new standalone novel from the acclaimed thriller writing duo known as Nicci French. Neve is a working mother of three whose husband Fletcher is a stay at home Dad trying to establish a new career. Their fragile daughter Mabel is their oldest child and is preparing herself for university. Neve is popular, caring and has time to help any of her many friends. She’s a reliable person to help you through tough times, someone you can trust to keep your secrets and not gossip about you. But her complicated life explodes when there is a takeover at her working place. She decides to work part time and comes under the notice of her handsome new (married) boss Saul. A bored housewife, a stale marriage, and the prospect of spicing up her life with desire and a romance with her boss a thrilling alternative to her stale marriage and mundane lifestyle.
But then early one morning Saul unexpectedly requests that Neve visits his flat in town for a love tryst. She cycles to the flat, using her key to gain entry to it only to discover the body of her lover dead on the floor, a hammer nearby and blood pooled around him. She is absolutely torn into pieces. If she phones for the assistance of the local police her marriage will definitely be precarious at the very least. Her two boys and poor, unsettled Mabel could be left without her love and care, especially if the police make a case against her. She makes a decision that shatters her life into tiny disassociated fragments. She cleans up after the murderer, calmly removing all evidence of her relationship with Saul from the house and systematically cleaning every room so that her DNA is obliterated. It’s a far-reaching mistake that alters her life forever. She has turned from a trusted person into a liar. She is soon questioned under the all-seeing eye of DCI Hitching and her troubles multiply exponentially, lies tripping off her tongue by an uncountable amount, all in the effort to keep her secret safe. But Hitching pays visits to her more and more often. It’s a game of cat and mouse, her lies closely guarded in a fight to the very resolution of this excellently plotted novel. Neve turns investigator in a closely run race to discover the identity of the murderer. But will she succeed and help to bring the murderer to account?
I’ve read many novels by this writing duo and this one stands beside them all in my opinion. The writing is incisive and the plot development immaculate. The characters are relatable and diverse, skilfully developed and with a job to do. The tangled web of deceit and revenge is neatly woven and finally untangled in a thrilling and unexpected finale. It was a work of pure artistry and this novel kept me held in suspense and tension until the final few pages.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Simon & Schuster UK through my membership of NetGalley. Thank you for my copy sent in return for an honest and unbiased review. It’s a good read and my review reflects this fact.

I’ve been huge fan of Nicci French’s Psychological thrillers so was excited they were writing a new standalone suspense novel. However I’m afraid I found this a disappointing read. The main problem for me was the characters, especially Neve, lacked depth and felt to me very generic. In the end I just couldn’t care about them and by extension I wasn’t emotionally invested enough to care about the plot. But perhaps other readers might be feel differently.

I’ve been a huge fan of Nicci French for many years and although I’ve loved her recent Frieda Klein series, I have missed the writing duos standalone psychological thrillers. So I was really looking forward the The Lying Room. For me there were lots of positive things in this tale of a woman who finds her lover dead in his flat one morning. But I also struggled with the storyline due to wondering what the hell Neve was thinking and the way in which events played out. None of the characters were particularly likeable which doesn’t normally bother me but Neve seemed to be so well liked by everyone and I really couldn’t take to her in the way I was probably expected to.
This is a drawn out investigation into what really happened that morning and who was responsible. It’s a slow burner for sure but it still dished out just enough to maintain my interest. I found the relationship between Neve and the detective to be the most satisfying part of the narrative for me and that’s kept my rating higher than it possibly would have been without that chemistry. And I loved the epilogue!
It’s been a long wait so maybe my hopes and expectations were set too high for this one. Not my favourite Nicci French by a long shot but still a good read that I’m sure will be well received by fans old and new.

As I have come to expect from the Nicci French portfolio, Murder; twisting plots; blind alleys,; who was the perpetrator. I followed slavishly lapping up each carefully crafted word. The daughter was the most intriguing character. How did she work it out?
As usual I thought at the end that I must have missed something along the way. I should have known. Still I'll read it again and try to see what happened that I missed.

A storming read from Nikki French.

Complex relationships that span the years. A thrilling read that will really hold your attention.

Characters that you can easily identify with.

I really enjoyed this and for the first time had no idea who the killer was.

Not the strongest offering by the duo that write as Nicci French but still a story that keeps you reading until the end. Probably more a 2.5 stars but I chose to round up.

It centres around a woman called Neve who finds a man murdered when she enters his flat. Due to her own personal reasons she does not tell anyone and tries to continue her life with the addition of this huge secret.

The large group of friends who simply appear in houses makes it feel like Nicci French's Frieda Klein series yet the characters in The Lying Room just are not as likable. I felt as though some of their personalities altered hugely given certain situations, which didn't fit with how we'd seen them before and how they developed throughout. Some of the 'twists' could be seen coming quite a while out, and alibis were all a bit of a mess. Lots of unnecessary background drama, particularly involving Neve's husband.

Loved the use of location becoming its own character, the couple behind the novel truly excel at exploring the landscapes.

ARC received from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for a review.

It scares me to realise I am in my third decade of loving Nicci French novels. I was therefore delighted to be given the chance to read ‘The Lying Room’, which I enjoyed. The main character, Neve, is a wife and mother with an already chaotic life which then spirals into downright frenzy when someone she has been working closely with is found dead. Needless to say, the police are suddenly taking an unnervingly close look at her and those around her. But then, so is Neve herself. Because suddenly her account of what’s been going on of late is not the only one that doesn’t add up. There are a lot of characters here, every one a potential suspect and/or victim in their own right, with twists aplenty.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me see an advance copy.

I enjoyed this stand alone novel from duo Nicci French, who also write the successful 'Frieda Klein' series.
The lead character Neve Connolly is a popular person, wife, caring mother and a friend to go to. She feels trapped in her marriage to Fletcher and is experiencing problems with her teenage daughter Mabel. When Neve starts an affair with a married colleague, she feels revitalised and happiness is back in her life. Her life is shattered and thrown into turmoil when on visiting her lover she discovers his dead body. He has been murdered. She now faces choices that will have great consequences on her family. Does she report the murder to the police and come clean about her double life or does she try to hide the truth to protect her family. There are life changing decisions to be made and who killed her lover?
DCI Hitching leads the hunt for the murderer and every lie Neve tells just leads to more complications. The suspects mount and the finger of suspicion is getting closer to home.

Well written with a gripping plot that will make it difficult for you to put the book down.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Simon and Schuster UK for supplying a copy of this novel by co-authors Nicci Gerrard and Sean French in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Simon and Shuster UK for the ARC.
I really am in two minds about this book. On the one hand I did just have to keep reading just to find out where the story was going; on the other, well, there is just so much background musings from the main character that I found myself thinking "please, just get on with it".
Neve is her household's provider; her husband works from home but there doesn't seem to be any money coming in from him. Between her work, her children (especially Mabel who is so thoroughly sullen and due to go off to university in a few days), her depressing husband, lack of money for household repairs, and her penchant for cycling everywhere, she is a juggler of some considerable note. Busy, Busy, Busy. However, she also has time for an affair with her boss, and receives a text asking her to meet him at his town apartment - he's supposed to be at a conference but says he has some free time that morning.
Letting herself in, she discovers him dead on the floor, a bloody hammer alongside him.
In her panic to protect her family from her affair she embarks on a mammoth clean-up to remove all trace of her.
In the middle of the night she remembers she's left something in the flat - and cycles back there. BUT, that item and the bloody hammer have disappeared!
From the beginning the story is a full-on farce of lies and cover-ups and unbelievable actions, but Inspector Hitchings is determined to get to the truth - all people keep telling him is "ask Neve-she'll know".
There are a few twists and turns but at times it felt like I was reading a comedy sketch.

Took me a while to get going on this one, mainly because the protagonist behaved in such an extraordinary way on discovering the body of her lover. I couldn’t reconcile the behaviour with how I’d already ‘boxed’ her up in my mind. Once the detective emerged, I was more hooked. I wasn’t completely convinced by the denouement, but it was certainly unexpected with some twists along the way.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review.

Nicci French has fast-paced, character-driven thrillers down to an art, and this one doesn't disappoint. A solid purchase for collections where thrillers and/or French's other books are popular.

This book is brilliant! It should also put anyone who reads it off ever having an affair. It tells the story of Neve, who finds her lover murdered, then gradually realises she is being set up to be arrested for the murder. Neve does seems to have quite an annoying bunch of selfish friends from her university days, but her teenage daughter is a character who will resonate with any parent. The first third of the book is particularly tense, I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended.

This was an okay read, I didn’t consider giving up on it before the end, but it lacked something.....
There was scope for this to be much more exciting than it was, which is a shame as it got off to a promising start.

Brilliant read, couldn't put it down, if you are into crime or thrillers set in uk then you can't go wrong with Nicci French, never fails to deliver, if you don't believe me " Ask Neve".

Loved this book, kept me gripped from beginning to end, with a surprising finish. Some of the characters were unbelievable. Her daughter had been addicted to drugs, self harming, and had been on a downward spiral, staying out all night, having to have stomach pumped etc. But then you were expected to believe that although she was still fragile and at risk and vulnerable, she had managed to complete her A levels and get into uni. I'm not quite sure that would really have happened in such a short recovery time. But other than that, I loved the story and really enjoyed it.

Nicci French never disappoints. This book is a twisting who done it after Neve stumbles into a murder scene and attempts to keep her secrets hidden as she makes mistake after mistake trying to work our who the murderer is and why they seem to be framing her.