Blue Monday by Nicci French - Book Review

Title: Blue Monday

Author: Nicci French

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: 5th March 2012

Pages: 322

Format: Ebook - PDF

Genre: Thriller

Source: ARC from NetGalley

Frieda Klein is a solitary, incisive psychotherapist who spends her sleepless nights walking along the ancient rivers that have been forced underground in modern London. She believes that the world is a messy, uncontrollable place, but what we can control is what is inside our heads. This attitude is reflected in her own life, which is an austere one of refuge, personal integrity, and order.

The abduction of five-year-old Matthew Farraday provokes a national outcry and a desperate police hunt. And when his face is splashed over the newspapers, Frieda cannot ignore the coincidence: one of her patients has been having dreams in which he has a hunger for a child. A red-haired child he can describe in perfect detail, a child the spitting image of Matthew. She finds herself in the center of the investigation, serving as the reluctant sidekick of the chief inspector.  (Goodreads Synopsis)


It has been a while since I last read anything by Nicci French, but this is still a bit of a departure from the books I've read previously from this author. 

Frieda is a likable enough heroine and it works well linking her as a psychologist to a criminal investigation; although, it is hardly an original idea. The other characters also came across well and the book was nice and easy to read. There were a lot of perspectives, but it was always clear whose head you were in so that was never a problem.


I really wasn't thrilled by the ending of this book though. Even from the start, I wasn't completely caught up in the tension of the situation and by the end it fizzled out even more. The main problem was that I guessed the final twist far in advance and so the denouement had no thrill for me. I also thought the ending was left a little too open. I know there is a planned series, but, unless the next book picks up absolutely where this left off (which I doubt), I would have liked a little more of a final conclusion to things.


So, three stars it is. This is a fine read for those that like thrillers and the works of Nicci French, but I just felt there was something missing as I didn't find myself on the edge of my seat.