Author: Nicci French
Publisher: Penguin
RRP: $29.95
ISBN: 9780718154967
Release Date: Sept 2011
Pages: 406
Description:
MONDAY, THE LOWEST POINT OF THE WEEK.
A DAY OF DARK IMPULSES.
A DAY TO SNATCH A CHILD FROM THE STREETS . . .
The abduction of five-year-old Matthew Farraday provokes national outcry and a desperate police hunt. And when a picture of his face is splashed over the newspapers, psychotherapist Frieda Klein is left troubled: one of her patients has been relating dreams in which he has a hunger for a child. A child he can describe in perfect detail, a child the spitting image of Matthew.
Detective Chief Inspector Karlsson doesn't take Frieda's concerns seriously until a link emerges with unsolved child abduction twenty years ago and he summons Frieda to interview the victim's sister, hoping she can stir hidden memories. Before long, Frieda is at the centre of the race to track the kidnapper.
But her race isn't physical. She must chase down the darkest paths of a psychopath's mind to find the answers to Matthew Farraday's whereabouts.
And sometimes the mind is the deadliest place to lose yourself.
Review:
Frieda Klein, psychotherapist, becomes concerned when one of her patients reveals fantasies that seem to tie in with the abduction of 5-year-old Matthew Faraday. As she gradually gets sucked into the investigation of the abduction, she has to deal with the dilemma of whether her priority should be the safety of the child or her professional duty to her patient.
But this book is an absolute triumph – a change of direction maybe, but surely the start of a series that can run and run. They’ve always been good at strong female characters – Frieda Klein is wonderful, weird, lovely and endearing with enough quirks and bits of hidden background slowly revealed to sustain many books to come. DCI Karlsson’s a fascinating character too, with depths you just itch to explore further.
There is an abundance of characters from the eccentric, to the downright creepy, all are seamlessly woven into the plot, and soon become an integral part of the story. Klein’s character is quirkily different, and at times she seems to be more of a hindrance to the police than a help, but her eccentricity is part of her charm , and this is certainly worth exploring in future novels, which I’m sure will follow this excellent start. The conclusion is well thought out and not quite what I was expecting.
A great read overall.
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