Thursday’s Children
Author: Nicci French
Series: Frieda Klein
Pages: 480
Publisher/Source: Penguin Group Australia
Amazon
Release date: 26th March 2014
Synopsis. (Goodreads)
When psychotherapist Frieda Klein left the
sleepy Suffolk coastal town she grew up in she never intended to return. Left
behind were friends, family, life and loves but, alongside them, painful
memories; a past she couldn't allow to destroy her.
So when an old classmate appears in London asking Frieda to help her teenage daughter, long buried memories resurface. But when tragedy strikes, Frieda has no choice but to return home and confront her past. And monsters no one else believes are real . . .
Through a fog of alibis, conflicting accounts, hidden agendas and questionable alibis, Frieda can trust no one in trying to piece together the shocking truth, past and present.
When it comes to psychological suspense there's none better than Nicci French. And Thursday's Children is Nicci French at her very best.
So when an old classmate appears in London asking Frieda to help her teenage daughter, long buried memories resurface. But when tragedy strikes, Frieda has no choice but to return home and confront her past. And monsters no one else believes are real . . .
Through a fog of alibis, conflicting accounts, hidden agendas and questionable alibis, Frieda can trust no one in trying to piece together the shocking truth, past and present.
When it comes to psychological suspense there's none better than Nicci French. And Thursday's Children is Nicci French at her very best.
Review: 4 out of 5 stars
Thursday’s Children is the fourth book in the Frieda Klein series,
when Maria from Penguin sent me the whole series I literally devoured them; I tend to read
only YA and NA these days but it was nice to re-visit a genre I always find myself
enjoying.
Thursday’s Children follows Frieda Klein, a psychotherapist as
she tracks down a serial rapist and killer. When an old friend of
frieda’s, Maddie Cappel unexpectedly approaches her for
help with her withdrawn 15 year old daughter it inadvertently draws her back to
the town she left over twenty years ago and to a past and haunting memories she
has tried to forget.
Thursday’s Children is a tightly written psychological
thriller, we learn a lot about Frieda, her childhood and her family life in
this instalment which I feel had been omitted in the previous books, we gained
more insight into her personality which I appreciated but she can still be
quite detached and frustrating which also grated on my nerves.
This book had a nice balance of drama, mystery and
intrigue with a few twists and turns thrown in to keep things exciting – I always
enjoy the whodunnit aspect and rarely get it right; the setting is appealing
and atmospheric, you are drawn into the smallest of details and the complex plot with
intricate storylines made for a riveting read.
As much as I think these books can be read as stand-alone novels I think
to fully understand all of the characters and the continuing happenings they
are best to be read in order.
Nicci French is the pseudonym for the
writing partnership of journalists Nicci Gerrard and Sean French.
Overall, with a well-crafted plot and fascinating characters, Thursday’s Children is a great addition
to the series; if you enjoy psychological thrillers with darker edges this
series is ideal.
Thank-you to Maria and Penguin Group Australia for introducing me to this series and for sending me the books.
About the authors: Note: (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).
