What To Do When Someone Dies Nicci French

What to Do When Someone Dies Nicci French

I picked this up on a recommendation from a friend who reads a lot of crime fiction. The premise revolves around a couple who are trying to start a new life together, but their pasts keep catching up with them. Sarah and Ben are both hiding things, and the whole book is basically built on that foundation of mutual deception and the chaos that follows when people think they can run away from what they've done. Nicci French is a pseudonym used by two sisters writing together. Their books have been going for over twenty years now, which explains the consistency. This isn't their most ambitious work, but it's a solid page-turner if you're in the mood for something that doesn't require too much intellectual effort.

What To Do When Someone Dies Nicci French

The main characters, Sarah and Ben, run away to a coastal town to rebuild their relationship. Sarah has secrets about her family and where she came from. Ben is carrying his own baggage from a violent past. The story follows them as they try to settle into this new life while the people from their previous lives close in around them. There's a murder, obviously. That's pretty much required in a Nicci French novel. The question is always who killed whom and why, though I found the answer predictable if you pay attention to the first half of the book. One thing worth noting is how the authors handle dual timelines. They alternate between the present and flashbacks, which is standard practice for the genre. It works fine here, though the flashbacks do tend to reveal exactly what you'd expect. I wish they'd taken more risks with the structure. Instead of laying all the cards on the table early, they could have held back certain revelations longer. The twist near the end felt designed to shock rather than earned through the narrative. The pacing is decent. I read it in about four sittings over a weekend, which is roughly how long it took. The prose is functional and invisible, which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your tastes. You won't find memorable lines here. You won't find deep character exploration either. Sarah and Ben are archetypes dressed in suburban clothing. The supporting characters are thinner still. The neighbor who seems helpful at first, the old friend from Sarah's past. They exist to move the plot forward, not to complicate it.

I'll mention one specific problem I noticed while reading. There's a scene involving a car and a body that doesn't hold up under any real scrutiny. The logistics of moving a dead weight through a dark coastal road at night, dealing with mud and rocks and limited visibility, are glossed over entirely. In real life, that sequence would take hours and leave a trail of evidence everywhere. The authors skip past it with about two paragraphs of description. I just accepted it and kept reading. It's a minor issue but it's the kind of thing that breaks immersion if you're the type to notice these details. The book does have its moments. The opening chapter sets the tone well enough, pulling you in with a scene that establishes the central mystery without giving too much away. The confrontation sequences between Sarah and Ben are tense at times, even if you know exactly where they're headed. The authors understand their audience. This is comfort food for people who want familiar thrills without surprises. If you enjoy this one, the sisters have written similar books. The Death of Alice is probably their best-known title and it deals with related themes of identity and hidden pasts. The Lie Tree is different in tone, more of a family mystery set in a period piece. But if you're specifically looking for this brand of modern thriller with domestic secrets and coastal settings, this falls squarely into that lane.

There's not much to recommend beyond the basic premise. The characters are thin, the twists are telegraphed, and the resolution ties things up too neatly. But if you need something undemanding to read before bed, it'll do the job. Don't expect literature. Expect a steady stream of plot beats that keep you turning pages until you finish. That's what I got from it, and that's probably what you'll get too. I'm not going to spoil the ending because that's not useful for anyone reading this. The short version is that everything resolves in a way that satisfies the genre conventions without really earning that satisfaction. The reader is supposed to feel relieved and surprised at the same time. You might feel one of those things, maybe both, or maybe neither. The book doesn't demand much from you, so what you bring to it is what you'll walk away with. The available editions include paperback, hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats. The audiobook narration is competent but unremarkable, which matches the prose. If you can't find the title at your local store, it's widely available through standard retailers. No rare first editions or collector's items here. This is a book you read once and set aside until someone asks you about it.