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Then, out of the blue, after an absence of eleven years, her first serious boyfriend, Liam Birch turns up to meet her with a strange request. He wants her to drive up to a remote cottage on the Norfolk coast, using his car and paying with his credit card, and then wait for him to arrive by train the following evening. For some reason we are not initially aware of, Jude agrees to this suspicious proposition. In this twisty new stand-alone novel from internationally bestselling author Nicci French, a young woman agrees to do a favor for an estranged former boyfriend—but when things go horribly wrong, one small task turns into a murder investigation that completely upends her life, ensnaring her in a deadly web of secrets and lies. This is my first Nicci French book, and I'm excited to read more. I loved the writing. A perfect example of less is more. The result: spooky af, poignant, rhythmic. The writing was akin to Iain Reid, who evokes emotions with limited, fragmented prose. The storytelling was also giving me major Sharon Bolton vibes, but without the thriller aspect.
The Favor by Nicci French - Publishers Weekly The Favor by Nicci French - Publishers Weekly
BRINGING DANGER CLOSE TO HOME . . . THE GRIPPING NEW THRILLER FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR NICCI FRENCH, shortlisted for the 2023 Ned Kelly Awards for Best International Crime Fiction What a great read! The writing style really stood out to me — I don't know how to describe, it was really simple but that just made the plot seem that much more eerie! Toch ben ik niet super enthousiast over dit verhaal. Het ging een hele andere richting op dan dat ik had gehoopt en ook vond ik sommige keuzes een beetje vergezocht en raar. Desondanks is het geen onaardig verhaal en zeker leuk om eens gelezen te hebben. The premise of The Favour immediately drew me in and intrigued me. Just what was Liam up to? What did he want? Unlike Jude - oblivious, indebted and confident - I was a little less trusting and I soon began to detect a few red flags. But still I didn't know why Liam had asked Jude to do this favour. It was like an itch I couldn't scratch. It consumed me. I had to know. This one was a little ridiculous. The main character is a doctor, but she makes one stupid decision after another, making it very difficult to like or understand her. Also, her actions were so absurd that the book lost any credibility early on. A host of side characters were also very unbelievable.
Table of Contents
The Favour is the sixteenth stand-alone novel by British writing duo, Nicci French. It’s over eleven years since Jude Winter has seen Liam Birch, but what they shared when they were eighteen has never left her. Life moved on for both: Jude qualified as a doctor and is about to marry Nat; Liam tells her he has a young son, Alfie. But Liam has a favour to ask, nothing big, no worries if you can’t, tell you what it is when we meet in Norfolk. There are a lot of characters in this novel, and even Liam, who dies almost immediately after we read about him, plays an important role. For the rest of the housemates I couldn’t care less. I think the idea of living with friends long after you’ve graduated and found a job is quite silly. 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).
The Favour | Book by Nicci French | Official Publisher Page
Jude makes her living as a geriatric nurse working the night shift. One day, as she's getting ready to leave, she's informed that she has a guest waiting for her in the lobby. Imagine her surprise when she see's that it's Liam, her boyfriend for a summer when she was 18 years old, the one she has thought of often throughout the years wondering what happened to him.Turns out shortly before his murder he chose Jude as the executor of his will which has everyone baffled including Jude herself. He also left her his favorite bowl. Yup, a bowl, and his girlfriend is not too pleased about this because she loves that bowl. 🥣 = 😡 This is my first book from best selling British authors Nicci French (Nicci Gerard and Sean French). I enjoyed the writing and The Favor started out with a bang - literally a car crash involving four teens and with the driver Liam under the influence suffering much of the blame and affecting the course of his life. Jude in the other hand became a successful doctor, and soon to be married. Eleven years later, Liam appears at the hospital asking Jude for a favor. Given their history Jude really feels she owes Liam at least this favor that is simple enough and involves no illegal activity. Except things didn’t work out as planned and Liam is dead, and now Jude is in the middle of a murder investigation. PROS: beautifully written with unique, fragmented prose, loved the strange caste of characters, strong exploration of memories vs reality Family drama and office politics take center stage in this tense standalone from the pseudonymous French, the husband-and-wife writing team of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French (the Frieda Klein series). Continue reading »
The Favour by Nicci French - Debbish Book review: The Favour by Nicci French - Debbish
Leila later tells Jude that she’s already performed the favour, in the form of providing Liam with an alibi, using his car, his credit card, taking his phone to Norfolk. But for what had Liam needed an alibi? That is a mystery. Liam’s murder would have looked like a mugging, except for Jude’s involvement. Then we're introduced to Liam's housemates, an eccentric cast of characters, and Jude is mesmerized by these lunatics. Like, what? She finds them all so mysterious and intri Jude's life has gone to plan. She's a geriatric doctor, about to be married. Liam's life has not gone to plan, but then Liam never had a plan. Until now . . . Complete and utter balderdash! A highly intelligent Doctor taking such a stupid risk just weeks before her wedding - forget it.That said, THE FAVOUR unfortunately turned out to be one of my least favourite books by the author team, partly because believing the main character’s actions and motivations stretched my ability to suspend disbelief way past its limits. Maybe it would have worked better for me had Jude not been a doctor. How did this indecisive, insecure and naïve person ever get through medical school? Medicine is a science, it’s about trouble shooting and problem solving, and it involves logical thought processes. But here is Jude, bumbling her way from one disaster into the next and making one terrible decision after another. I think the only way I could have believed Jude’s actions would have been either a) if there was an implicit threat to Jude if she didn’t agree to the “favour”; or b) if Jude was a totally different personality type (i.e. an arty / spiritual person believing in karma or a person undergoing a deep personal crisis such as substance addiction / bereavement etc). The life lesson Jude learned is sad. We've all been there. We wear rose-tinted nostalgia glasses and then realize the prince is actually an ogre.
The Favour | Nicci French | 9781398509580 | NetGalley The Favour | Nicci French | 9781398509580 | NetGalley
The detective in charge was a hot mess too. She spoke and acted like no other detective ever and I'm a little surprised she carries a badge at all. MY THOUGHTS: Our first love - that person always occupies a special place in our hearts. If my first love turned up and asked me to do him a favour, would I? I don't honestly know, but then it's over 50 years since I last saw him. If he had turned up after eleven years I may well have done it. Life is going pretty well for Dr. Jude Winter. She has a rewarding job in the geriatric division of a London hospital and is looking forward to her wedding to fiancé Matt in two weeks time. Jude twijfelt, maar stemt dan toch toe. Ze verzwijgt dit echter wel voor haar verloofde. Maar als het zover is, komt Liam niet opdagen... Jude besluit te wachten en niet veel later krijgt ze een telefoontje van de politie. Dit zet haar leven totaal op zijn kop. The main character acts out an existential crisis: Jude's engagement collapses, she's left her home, she's been put on stress leave from her job, and a dark secret from her past re-emerges. Who is she, the book asks, subliminally, when all these factors that tether her to her social self are untied and can she re-forge an identity for herself?
Those are not direct quotes per se but these same questions are asked of Jude by EVERYONE in the book. The same questions and the same answers over and over again. 😵 Nicci French is the pseudonym for the writing partnership of journalists Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. The couple are married and live in London and Suffolk. Doordat het begin zo goed was had ik misschien ook te hoge verwachtingen voor het verdere verloop. Helaas kwam dit dus niet helemaal uit. Wel is de schrijfstijl weer super prettig! Heart-thumping, head-scratching, nail-biting stuff: The Favour is classic Nicci French. I read it in one breathless sitting’ Erin Kelly This excellent standalone from the pseudonymous French (House of Correction) opens as London furniture restorer Ellie Falkner learns that her husband, Greg Manning, has died in a car crash Continue reading »
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