The Unheard
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4.0 • 43 Ratings
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
‘He did kill. Kill and kill and kill.’
Tess’s number one priority has always been her three-year-old daughter Poppy. But splitting up with Poppy’s father Jason means that she cannot always be there to keep her daughter safe.
When she finds a disturbing drawing, dark and menacing, among her daughter’s brightly coloured paintings, Tess is convinced that Poppy has witnessed something terrible. Something that her young mind is struggling to put into words.
But no one will listen. It’s only a child’s drawing, isn’t it?
Tess will protect Poppy, whatever the price. But when she doesn’t know what, or who, she is protecting her from, how can she possibly know who to trust . . . ?
'Confirms Nicci French as the giant of the genre' Erin Kelly
‘An intense, brilliantly crafted thriller that hums with menace from start to finish' TM Logan
Praise for Nicci French:
‘Expertly paced, psychologically sharp, thoroughly enjoyable' Louise Candlish
‘Meticulously plotted, psychologically astute’ Sarah Vaughan
'A heart-wrenchingly plausible spiral into paranoia, fear and unbearable tension. Literally pulse-pounding' Christopher Brookmyre
'Totally absorbing. Such great plotting and characters, but also so human and full of insights about ordinary life and relationships. That's what always sets Nicci French’s work apart - it makes the narrative feel so real' Sabine Durrant
'I love Nicci French’s books, and with The Unheard they are right at the top of their game. Few crime writers can match their psychological acuity, of their ability to lead a reader through dizzying plot twists without ever losing pace. It’s an absolute masterclass of crime writing' Kate Rhodes
‘Great writing, razor-sharp plotting, and powerful characterisation. I was 100 pages in before I even drew breath, and I defy anyone to see the ending coming’ Cara Hunter
‘It’s Nicci French perfection – which, as we all know, is the best kind of perfection. So, so gripping and brilliantly clued' Sophie Hannah
‘What an intriguing, compelling page-turner. I ate it up in two days’ Liz Nugent
'The Unheard is elegant and beguiling, masterfully crafted, with an almost hallucinatory sense of jangling unease' C. M. Ewan
’Taut, well-paced and frighteningly familiar, I found it difficult to put down and hard to forget' Polly Phillips
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The anxieties of Londoner Tess Moreau, the narrator of this middling standalone from the pseudonymous French (the Frieda Klein series), about raising her inquisitive three-year-old daughter, Poppy, by herself ramp up after the girl spends a weekend with her father. Normally energetic, Poppy returns sullen, spouting profanities and repeating the word kill while showing her mother a crayon drawing that suggests violence. Tess goes into overdrive trying to figure out if Poppy witnessed a murder and wondering whether Poppy's father, Jason Hallam, involved their daughter in an act of violence. Tess's panic is augmented by her inability to forgive Jason, who, a few months after breaking up with her, married another woman, though he had claimed not to believe in marriage. As Poppy continues to act out, Tess goes to the police, convinced a crime was committed despite no evidence aside from a child's drawing. The plot's premise is solid, but the execution falls short, never rising above a good idea, hampered by weak, undeveloped characters. French (the husband-and-wife writing team of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French) has done better.
Customer Reviews
Intense, chilling and utterly compelling!
Ever since the day, I read my first Nicci French book (19 years ago!) I’ve loved everything that this amazing husband & wife duo has written. Masters of their genre, I really can’t rate their books highly enough. Now that I’m a book blogger it is an honour to review their work.
We all love it when our children start to draw actual things rather than just paint random splotches on a sheet of paper. What would you do though if your child suddenly drew something dark and disturbing? Tess is admiring some beautiful artwork created by her three-year-old Poppy when she comes across a picture that chills her to the core. Followed up with some strange behaviour and horrendous language from Poppy, Tess is soon convinced her daughter must have witnessed something horrific, but when and how?
With no real evidence, Tess finds it hard to get others to listen to her, especially the police and she is soon coming across as a bit of a fruit loop! Tess is strong-willed and determined though and makes it her mission to find out what happened, even if it means what she does is a bit unorthodox! A lot of the time I was screaming at her not to do certain things as I could see she was likely to make matters worse, but I was also rooting for her, knowing everything she did was with good reason.
Like Tess, I was suspicious of everyone. The outcome was shocking and surprising and the ending, brilliant!
Perfectly paced and expertly written, this book will take you on a dark, twisty journey full of suspense. If it wasn’t for work and the kids, I could have easily read this book in one sitting.
Not up to usual standard
Repetitive and tedious. Should have been half as long.