The Other Side of the Door

by Nicci French

Bonnie Graham is in her friend's flat. She is alone, except for the dead body lying in a pool of blood. What happened? What will she do? And is any or all of it her fault? Bonnie is a music teacher who has spent a long, hot summer in London rehearsing with a band. It was supposed to be fun, but the tricky knots of the band's friendships unravel with each passing day. What was meant to be a summer of happiness, music and love turns deadly as lovers betray, passions turn homicidal and friendship itself becomes a crime. Someone in the band must be a killer. Is it Bonnie? And if not - who is it?

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Suspense, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

Audiobook

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

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).

Reviews

[megs_bookrack · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Bonnie Graham's friend asks her to perform at her wedding, Bonnie readily accepts. All she has to do is put a band together.

How hard can it be?



Bonnie, a music teacher, has been part of the local music scene for a long time and knows a lot of people.

Thus, she is able to hastily assemble a band, with members including her ex-boyfriend, Amos, her best friend, Sonia.



As the summer wears on and the band spends more time together prepping for the show, tensions begin to rise and relationships become strained.

When Bonnie finds the body of her lover, and fellow band member, Hayden, lying dead in his apartment in a pool of his own blood, she thinks she knows what happened.



She then hatches a plan to try to protect the killer, but does she really know who that is?

Alternating between past and present perspectives, with Bonnie as the main protagonist, the truth behind Hayden's life, death and their relationship is painstakingly revealed.



I feel almost exactly the same upon finishing this, as I did after Lisa Jewell's, The Family Upstairs.

In short, underwhelmed.



I thought that I would really like this, as I frequently enjoy stories focused on music, or musicians. However, this was just too slow of a burn.

With this being said, I also appreciate a slow burn, but the final payoff needs to be worth it and for me, this just wasn't.



The back-and-forth felt extremely chaotic to me. I generally prefer an alternating timeline, but it has to be seamless and here I found myself forgetting which time I was in.

Additionally, I didn't find the relationships and corresponding drama to be particularly believable.



At the end of the day, while there were some glimmers of a solid story under all the chatter, this one just did not work for me.

It may work for you though, so do not let my opinion sway you from picking it up. If the synopsis sounds interesting, give it a go! There's a Reader for every book!



Thank you so much to the publisher, William Morrow Paperbacks, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

Even though this one didn't quite work for me, I would definitely be willing to pick up more work from this author!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Other Side of the Door is an exciting domestic thriller where a woman finds her boyfriend’s dead body in his apartment. Bonnie decides to hide the body to protect the killer. Who is the killer? Everyone is lying and Bonnie thinks she knows the truth but is left wondering what really happened. The story switches between past and present. After a friend requests a live band at their wedding, Bonnie and some friends form a band. The band is supposed to be fun but things start to fall apart. Bonnie’s new boyfriend and ex-boyfriend are both in the band. The past sections start with the band forming and the couple meeting. This leads to the couple falling apart and then the present day when the man is dead and the woman hid his body. I was invested throughout the whole book. The Other Side of the Door is a mix of thriller in present day and drama in the past learning about the characters. I recommend The Other Side of the Door to thriller fans.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Imogen Church. I loved the narration so much. Imogen is one of my favorite narrators and she did not disappoint in The Other Side of the Door.

Thank you William Morrow, Edelweiss and Harper Audio for The Other Side of the Door.

Full Review: https://justreadingjess.wordpress.com...

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told on two timelines, before and after, this thriller will keep you guessing through till the end. 🕵️‍♀️ I thought I had it all figured out but was wrong 🤓

[Zoe Stewart (Zoe's All Booked) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall pretty... meh. I finished it a few days ago and I've already forgotten most of the details. The big thing I do remember was not liking the way things wrapped up. It fell pretty flat for me, and the buildup wasn't good enough for me to rate the book higher in spite of a lacklustre ending.

On the bright side, I did like the writing style, and I'm definitely going to be trying another book by them soon!

[Tracy Frenette · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Other Side of the Door by Nicci French
Also titled Complicit

Bonnie agrees to put a small band together to play in a friend's wedding at the end of the summer. One of her band mates ends up dead. And the story goes back and forth between the present and the past. It ended up being an quick and easy read. And I suspected the wrong person. So that's always good when you can't guess whodunit.

I'm a bit confused as to why I was approved for reviewing this book when it's been out for years under a different title. I don't understand why a author would change the title to one of their books. Is the story different I don't know. Is it a selling trick I don't know. But anyway Complicit and The Other Side of the Door are the same book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the book to review.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Other Side of The Door really didn't do it for me.

This is another book in my multitude of examples of when perspective/time-shifting doesn't work. It felt a little bit unnecessary and just a way for the author to make sure that we weren't bored throughout the middle and end... which didn't work for me.

Almost could just work better as a friend group drama without any murder, I was severely bored by the plot. I actually did enjoy the writing, it was relatable and easy to read. But, the plot was really lacking in almost all aspects, especially just being a thriller and lacking a good protagonist.

This is a case where I just don't think it's some of the author's best work. I'm sure there are other Nicci French books that I'd enjoy but this one isn't something I'd recommend.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Parts were pretty slow and it seemed like the authors took a long, long time to reveal who killed Hayden. I didn't see clues to the killer so I didn't figure out whodunit.

[Dee]

DNF at 15% - NOT really a thriller & also NOT "new"!

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

[Fictionophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

They say "Everybody lies". We choose to think that our dearest friends would not lie to us, but do we ever really know another person? This novel tests the boundaries of friendship. Would you place yourself in jeopardy to help a friend? Just how much would you sacrifice for friendship? The protagonist in this novel, Bonnie Graham is asked these questions and also asks them herself. With the dead body of her lover on the floor, she calls a friend to help her... and so begins "The other side of the door" by Nicci French.

I have read several novels by the British husband and wife writing team that goes by the nom de plume of Nicci French. (Nicci Gerrard and Sean French). They have mastered the art of seamless writing so that the reader doesn't know where one writer stops and the other begins. They have a keen insight into human behavior and what makes people act the way they do when under stress. They relay this insight to the reader in such a way that the reader empathizes with the plight of the character.

Our protagonist Bonnie Graham is a music teacher and a musician who has recently broken up with her live-in boyfriend. She has just bought a new flat and plans to spend the summer remodeling it. Then an acquaintance hires her to form a band to play at her wedding. When she meets a musician and asks him to play in this band, her life is irrevocably changed.

Hayden Booth is a talented musician who seems to live up to the reputation garnered by his ilk. He does not conform to what people expect, he follows no timetables, he is a free spirit with violent mood swings. Despite all this, or perhaps because of it, Bonnie falls for him and has an affair.

Hayden is lying dead on the floor.... Did Bonnie murder her lover? When she calls her friend Sonia for assistance, we presume her guilt. Why else would someone want to erase all traces of her presence at the scene? Why else would someone want to dispose of the body?

Sonia rises to the request and helps Bonnie. Together they clean the flat and take the body to a reservoir. But guilt eats at Bonnie. She finds her life beginning to unravel. When she and her friends are questioned by the police, she feels that the burden of what she knows is too great to bear. Although she is under duress, she never falters in her loyalty, and never succumbs to betrayal. Can she say the same for her friends?

The novel was written in a before and after flashback format which worked well in this instance. Before Hayden's death and after. I think that for me to truly enjoy a novel, I have to like the protagonist. Throughout this book, Bonnie Graham was not particularly likable. It is not until about two-thirds through the text that we begin to feel that we are finally getting to know her. When we begin to understand what the authors have done, we become immersed in the writing and then and only then does the novel come up to par with the author's other works. With a marvelous little hook at the end, they prove that they are masters of psychological suspense and anyone who enjoys that type of novel will likely enjoy this one.

By the close of the novel you will find yourself wondering how far you would go to protect the ones you care about. A book that stimulates introspection is a very good thing!

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to net galley for this review copy (which took me 6 months to get to--sorry)

3.5 stars. I’ve read four previous books by the husband and wife team that publish under the name of Nicci French. This mystery, a stand alone, was both intriguing and engaging. I particularly liked the structure and the single narrator point of view. From the 1st page we are aware that a person is dead and has been found by his lover. We know she cares for him and is emotional distraught by the death but who exactly did the killing and why is a mystery. This is a well crafted story with a tight cast of characters. There is the narrator, a high school music teacher and several of her friends who are requested to play at a friend’s wedding. Into their midst come a tall dark stranger, also a musician, who sweeps our narrator off her feet and is the corpse on the first page. The structure is one of duel timelines, A Before which gives background and the After which tells how various characters deal with the crime’s aftermath along with the investigation.
In the Before chapters we learn various character’s backgrounds and why they might be the killer. We learn a little about the man murdered, but mainly that he is a dislikable person whom any involved would like to see dead. All these hints but even though the characters are few (easy to keep track) it certainly kept me intrigued.
I loved that we got to see the crime from two different perspectives but the constant jump in timelines did get a little annoying. The story would really start to get going and then abruptly the story would revert to an earlier time. It was a great structure with short chapters that kept the pace high but I found it something I both appreciated and found it disrupting to the flow.
In all it was a simple, easy to follow mystery, with good characters and a fast pace. I never really cared about the characters and was not convinced of their motivations and the ending felt a little flat. The twist when it came was not quite believable to me. If you are looking for a fast paced mystery that will draw you in quickly and move right along—what I call a popcorn or airplane read—this would certainly fit the bill. Just don’t expect it to stick in your mind.

[Janet MacLeod Trotter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had all the hallmarks of the Nicci French thrillers I have come to love - first person heroine you identify with easily, plunged quickly into a mystery and moral dilemma, quirky secondary characters, script-like dialogue that pushes on the plot - yet it didn't engage me as the others have. It lost pace in the middle and I began not to care what happened to the characters (the blokes were particularly unappealing, especially the anti-hero Hayden - why on earth did she bother with him at all?). I did however persevere to find out 'who dunnit' and the end picked up pace with a bit of a twist. Competent but can do better.

[Lou Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicci French, the English wife-and-husband team of Nicci Gerard and Sean French, have weaved a compelling psychological thriller. Told convincingly in two timelines as seen through the eyes of the main protagonist, Bonnie Graham. A masterful mystery of Whodunit and Why is played out in chapters, “Before” and “After” referring the death of an unknown male. The relevant facts and red herrings are incrementally revealed in a complex and twisted narrative.
Along the way the complex dynamics and ramifications of relationships are explored.
The tale opens with Bonnie opening a door to her friend Liza’s flat and encountering a male corpse on the floor with a darkened halo of blood surrounding his head … he’s obviously been bludgeoned. She inexplicably decides to “clean up the scene” and lays out plans to dispose of the body. She phones are best friend, Sonia, to come over and aid with the removal and disposal of the body. Eventually rolling the body up in a carpet and dumping it in a nearby reservoir. No reference is made to the identity of the corpse or connection to Bonnie.
The initial relationship explored is of the three woman, Bonnie, Liza and Danielle …. all long-time college buddies. Danielle has an impeding wedding and beseeches Bonnie to get a band together to play at her wedding. While Bonnie is a music teacher and plays multiple instrument s her last experience with a band was nearly a decade ago, at a charity fund raiser. She reluctantly agrees, and assembles a rag tag band of old friends and new acquaintances and one real musician. The addition of Hayden, who actually has played in multiple bands, is not without its inherent problems. During the rehearsals the diverse nature of the players often results in conflicts. Even though the charismatic Hayden brings professionalism to the group, he also enjoys causing mischief to the others, which results in conflict and division.
Many complex relationships are in play. Amos is part of the band, and yet he previously lived with Bonnie. They have parted, divided up their possessions and live separately. Neal , another member of the band, has lost his live-in girl friend due to a head-on car crash. He desires to forge a new relationship with Bonnie. Sonia, chemistry teacher and best friends with Bonnie, is developing a close relationship with Amos.
French expertly weaves together the two timelines, and as they explosively collide multiple unexpected reveals lead to an explosive unexpected denouement. Not only the complex relationships are explored but also are the meaningful themes of women abuse and “failure to commit” Magnificent pacing is present as the two timelines approach a collision course, with each chapter getting shorter and more abrupt resulting in the pages flying be at a crescendo pace. Although this is my first foray into the oeuvre of Nicci French, I look forward to exploring their earlier fiction. (published at Mystery And Suspense magazine)

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it very hard initially to get into this book, partly because of the skipping back and forth between past and present, which took me a while to get used to. However, I soon found myself in the grip of the mystery, feeling for the characters as they dug themselves deeper and deeper holes whilst trying to protect each other and cover up their own involvement in the death of their friend. This is what the Nicci French team do best - providing insights into the dark and sinister places in the human heart, exploring unhealthy obsessions and love gone wrong, the complications of human relationships and the circumstances that make an ordinary person capable of murder.

Unlike other NF books the plot was not as much of a surprise as it could have been, and I was waiting for a better twist at the end ... or maybe it was just that by the time all was revealed, I was no longer feeling as emotionally involved, as some of the characters had become a bit tedious and annoying. Saying that, the book did keep me interested until the end, even if out of head-shaking frustration over the actions of some of the characters, and the repercussions of those actions.

Not my favourite NF book, but still an ok read if you like their style of thriller.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Für mich war es kein klassisches Nicci French Buch. Die vielen Sprünge in die Vergangenheit waren schon interessant aber nicht so sehr spannend wie erhofft und die Auflösung war leider auch nicht so, dass es mich vom Hocker gerissen hat.
Insgesamt wars in Ordnung mit viel Luft nach oben was den Thriller-Anteil betrifft.

[Derek Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best thriller I’ve read for a long time. The first pages took some getting through, a woman, Bonnie, is in a flat with the body of a man lying in a pool of blood. It seems as if she’s killed him but has she? Sections then follow labelled Before and After. Before being before the murder and After, from immediately after onward. And gradually the Before sections meet up with the first After. It’s a third of the way in before we learn who has been killed – and that’s quite a hook. In the meantime we learn about the main characters, their relationship to each other, as Bonnie gets a scratch band together for a friend’s wedding, the awful rehearsals, the arguments, sexual games and jealousies – and wonder which of them is the dead man. And when we find out we are thoroughly involved with the people and the developing situation.

The author is in fact two people, Nicci Gerrard and Sean French writing together under the name of Nicci French. Each time I read one of their thrillers, I look for the joins, his style, her style, but can never separate them. The book has a unified style, the men and women full characters, the language rich and insightful. I might have put it down in the first ten pages, my squeamishness at someone in a room with a dead body, cleaning up. But I pressed on and the reward was well worth it.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Description: Bonnie Graham is standing in a room belonging to a friend. At her feet is a corpse, straddled in a spreading pool of blood. The questions are numerous: who is responsible for the dead body on the floor? What does she, Bonnie, have to do with it? And what is her next course of action? This opening premise gives some idea of just how quickly (and comprehensively) Nicci French is able to transfix the reader. It is this combination of a shocking situation and the ill-advised, often self-destructive actions of the duo's protagonists which the authors pull off in book after book; we may disapprove of what French’s characters do in their extreme situations, but it's impossible not to identify with them. Bonnie is a music teacher, rehearsing through a sweltering summer in London with a band that is scheduled to play at a wedding. Any pleasure the experience might have afforded is to evaporate as bitter internecine divisions within the band make themselves felt, and sexual involvements move in particularly murderous directions.

Baseline three here, my least favourite so far.

3* Killing Me Softly
4* Beneath the Skin
3* Catch Me When I Fall
CR Complicit
OH Land of the Living (oops - I'd forgotten about this one)

[Sofie De Smyter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I never thought I'd ever give a Nicci French book this bad a rating but here it is. I should add that I'm probably influenced by the Audible performance, which didn't encourage me to feel anything for the characters. At all (they sounded like complete wimps or pricks - there was A LOT of eyerolling). There's nothing of what I loved about the Frieda Klein series: maybe the main character here wasn't supposed to have a backbone, but Bonnie has nothing, and the same goes for the other characters: there's no background or stories or dialogues to make them even slightly interesting or relatable. Bonnie and Sonja are supposed to be BFFS but based on what? Bonnie's supposed to have a traumatised childhood but the reader gets nothing but a couple of cliché lines and the topic (domestic abuse) isn't one to be treated like that. Same for Hayden (Bonnie's the only one he's violent with: why?). The dialogues feel artificial, the comparisons weak ("it feels like a boulder on my chest" "I feel haunted"), and the false threads are never alluring enough to fall for them. On Amazon it says you have to be a genius to see the ending coming but well I'm not and I did. Maybe I've read too much Tana French recently (great language, rounded characters) but this - to me - felt too much like ticking off the most basic 'how to write a mystery' boxes.

[Bobbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicci French is one of my favorite Thriller writers. And this is one wild ride of a thriller. At the beginning of the book, we witness a woman Bonnie Graham has killed a man- a good looking musician Hayden who tells her himself that she doesn't want to get him involved with him, that he destroys the things he loves. Now calls her best friend Sonia to help her get rid of the body. Sonia does come reluctantly to help her. But this is net just the start of this book. What I like most about this book is its told from different POVs including the victim's, and it goes back and forth from before and after on what happens. It seems at first to be a typical murder mystery, but it has so many twists and turns it is much more that. Just when you think you have it all figured out, you may find out you're wrong. I highly recommend this thriller! Thanks to the author and Net Galley and the publisher Harper-Collins for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

[Jay T · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Other Side of the Door by Nicci French was a quick and easy read. Sadly, I did not care to finish it, but alas I did. Lots of bouncing from the past and present which did not work well.

The plot left much to be desired and I found the conclusion to be quite obvious. I would like to thank Net Galley for this advanced copy and I hope to read more from the author as I see she has more books that may be more to my taste.

[Nerdy Book Babe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a slow read but overall not bad.

The story goes between the past and present, mainly diving into the life of Bonnie. Bonnie hesitantly agrees to put a small band together for her friends wedding. Soon you find out there has been a murder and Bonnie seems to be the one who killed this person, a person who is in the band, a person she may of had a fling with but why did she kill him? She drags her friend, Sonia, into helping her get rid of of the body and it all seems to spiral out of control from there.

[Silvie Klokgieter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 ⭐

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. I feel it is a good thriller with a couple of twists I didn't see coming but it does drag a bit in parts. I like the format--switching between before a murder occurs to after a body is found--as it keeps the perspective fresh and engaged me as a reader. What I don't care for are the characters. There isn't much to like about any of them. I didn't relate to the main character and didn't even feel too sad about the character who got killed.

Bonnie, the main protagonist, is a music teacher who once performed in a band. A friend is getting married and asks Bonnie to put together a band to play at her wedding. The musicians she gathers together are a motley group who, with a couple of exceptions, aren't very talented. They all also carry a lot of emotional baggage. When Bonnie discovers a dead body in a friend's flat she is looking after while the friend is out of the country, the story becomes interesting as it isn't clear for a long time who the dead person is. Then the story begins switching back and forth between before the body is discovered to the actions of Bonnie and her friends after it is found. I can see where some readers might not like this format, but I found it a good way to weave the plot lines together.

This is the first Nicci French book I have read. I've seen glowing reviews about other books so I figure this book must be an anomaly as the authors--a husband and wife team--seem very popular. This book had potential and was, for the most part, very suspenseful. I just couldn't engage with any of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the Advance Reader's Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The publication date is April 27, 2021.

[Shelby (readbytwilight) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book follows our main character, Bonnie, who has been asked by a friend to get together a band to play at her [friend's] wedding (Bonnie's a music teacher). The story takes place over the school summer holidays as the 'band' rehearse for the wedding.

However this story tirelessly goes back and forth, back and forth; from when Bonnie describes being with the dead body of one of the band members in a friend's house that she is house-sitting. Bonnie disposes of the body, but it is discovered a few weeks later, and an investigation begins. Throughout this 'thriller' you're meant to work out whether it was Bonnie or perhaps another band member that killed so-and-so (not going to spoil who yet, in case you do decide to read it). A few characters were actually involved in 'discovering' the body, and because they each thought it was each other that killed the person, they try to cover up each other's evidence. It's a bit silly and messy, really.

To be honest, the whole plot wasn't very good, and the 'who did it' and 'why' was also very weak. Not shocking or a big twist as some people have described. I saw another review where someone said the author's writing really explores human behaviour and motives for murder - no, it really doesn't. The characters were very unlikable, including Bonnie, and lacked any sort of depth or emotion. The characters were not relatable at all. It made it so dull to read as a result.

The non-linear writing did also get a bit frustrating, as it would literally jump between small paragraphs of before and after. On the whole it also wasn't a very believable story, and not at all thrilling.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Nicci French's The Other Side of the Door, this chilling novel of suspense will you leave you breathless in every turned page. It all started for Bonnie Graham, a high school music teacher, who discovered a dead body at the other side of her friend's flat's door. Like Rena Olsen's The Girl Before, it's platformed with scenes of what events happened before the discovery and what happened afterwards. At first, Bonnie and her friend, Sonia, were the ones that discovered the dead body of Hayden Booth, a star musician who happened to join their band for an one-time-only event for her friend Danielle's wedding. When he first appeared on the scene to rehearse with them, tensions were so high, it could be cut with a knife. While Bonnie was seeing Neal, she grew attracted to him. But when Hayden got violent with her, things had come to a head. After Bonnie and Sonia disposed of the body and the evidence with it, they did the best to cover up their tracks. But when he was reported missing to the police, it complicated things and made things ten times worse. Everyone had a reason to hate him for one reason or another as secret and lies unraveled like a ball of yarn. And while the police questioned her, it made her nervous as she suspected one person or another who had killed him with a cold-blooded killer. Later on, she figured it out and came head to head to someone she was close to in an ear-splitting explosive climax at how things ended and how things started when she opened the door.

[CL · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy Nicci French's writing because it always leaves you guessing but if you really pay attention she drops the clues that will allow you to figure it out. My problem is I am so enthralled with the reading that I totally miss the clues and am surprised with the "who dun it" when it is revealed. In this book once I got used to the before and afters and could recognize the characters it was a great read and fast paced which kept me reading to the end. Friends all come together and try to protect each other because they all think the other one committed the murder of the outsider who has become part of the group only nobody is talking about it except to pretend surprise that he has been murdered. Each of them has a different relationship with him and some more reasons than others to see him harmed or at the very least no longer a part of the group. As always another great read from Nicci French.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a twisty mystery that uses an unusual format. Chapters alternate between "After" and "Before" the murder. The first chapter is an After, and begins with music teacher, Bonnie, locking an apartment door to make sure nobody walks in and sees the bloody body on the floor. The next chapter is a Before and goes back several months to a Bonnie's seemingly unrelated conversation over drinks with fellow teachers Sonia and Danielle. This device was effective in keeping the reader guessing as information about the Before is doled out little by little, day by day, as the before and after get closer together. The story held my attention, even though none of the characters were very likable. If you read my reviews, you know I like a good ending. This one ends with a Before chapter: Bonnie is on the other side of the door she locks on the first page.

[Nicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book hard to get into and it took me a couple of tries before i managed to finish it,other reviewers have said that they did not like the before and after chapters but i liked that idea.The problem i had was that i did not care about any of the characters and to be honest i found them all very annoying especially the main character Bonnie who everyone seemed to go out of their way to keep happy even though she came across as dumb and dull as dish water.The mystery of who killed Hayden was good though and does keep you guessing and there is a good twist at the end but i would not say that its a gripping book and is no where near as good as beneath the skin or catch me when i fall.

[Lolly K Dandeneau · Rating 2 out of 5]

This did not seem like a Nicci French novel. I was disappointed and I did not like the style, going from before to after every few pages. I thought the murderer was somewhat 'silly' and the emotions lacked a sense of reality. There was too much 'calmness' when you expect chaos. It just didn't work for me, and I consider myself a die hard Nicci French fan.

[Margie · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first stab at Nicci French. I'll keep trying.
The characters were generally flat and unlikeable, and the whodunit aspect was obvious from about page 20. There were some interesting twists at the end, but I didn't really enjoy the slog through the bulk of the book.