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What to Do When Someone Dies (2008)

by Nicci French

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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5972239,332 (3.44)12
Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:

In this ingenious stand-alone thriller from the internationally bestselling author and "razor sharp" master of suspense (People), a grieving wife is forced to ask: Which is worseâ??infidelity or murder?


Ellie Falkner's world has been destroyed. Her husband, Greg, died in a car crashâ??and he wasn't alone. In the passenger seat was the body of Milena Livingstone, a woman Ellie's never heard of. But Ellie refuses to leap to the obvious conclusion, despite the whispers and suspicions of those around her. Maybe it's the grief, but Ellie has to find out who this woman wasâ??and prove Greg wasn't having an affair. And soon she is chillingly certain their deaths were no accident.

Are Ellie's accusations of murder her way of avoiding the truth about her marriage? Or does an even more sinister discovery await… (more)

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English (11)  Dutch (9)  Spanish (1)  German (1)  All languages (22)
Showing 1-5 of 11 (next | show all)
I'm sadly stretching to give this a solid 3 star.

Here's what I liked: A spouse found dead with the opposite sex truly happens. So good plot. This duo wrote the Frieda Klein series that I will FOREVER LOVE. The group of friends the wife has as her support system reminded me of Frieda Klein.

Not so much: I was maybe 17 Chapters in before things felt tense or drama started to build. Some actions felt really far out there. And here's an odd one for me, the slap. Really? Wasn't that out of left field and was the response slap worthy? Random.

I stayed with the story not so much for the ending as much as for this author duo. I didn't have all the feels for this one. ( )
  BONS | Apr 18, 2023 |
What to Do When Someone Dies by Nicci French is a recommended drama.

Ellie Falkner’s husband Greg Manning has died in a car accident. There was a passenger in the car who also died, Milena Livingstone, a woman Ellie doesn't know. The assumption of everyone is that Greg was having an affair with this woman. Ellie refuses to believe this. In her grief, Ellie sets out on a seemingly obsessive mission to to prove that Greg was not having an affair and discover who Milena was and why she would be with Greg. Ellie is certain that there is something more disturbing behind Greg's death. Even though she has a group of supportive friends trying to care for and encourage her through her grief, Ellie secretly sets off on her own search for more information.

Ellie's thought process as she grieves for Greg and tries to prove he was not being unfaithful is the focus of the plot. It is heartbreaking when she learns of his death and initially tries to deal with the aftermath and all that must be done. Some of the subsequent choices she makes and actions she chooses to undertake are not quite as understandable and the reactions and results of her search do require readers to suspend disbelief. Her search does help increase the suspense and tension, and raises doubts about Greg's death.

There were several times I questioned the reactions of characters in this novel. The first and most glaring was the assumption by seemingly everyone that Greg was having an affair because he had a woman in the car with him. How many people would really jump to this conclusion and then openly share this with Ellie when offering condolences? Perhaps I have a different group of friends, but this would never be something they would openly speculate over, jump to that conclusion, and then share their thoughts. After this point there were several other questionable occurrences, which I won't share due to the fact that they would be spoilers.

Setting aside my question over the character's reactions, What to Do When Someone Dies does create enough tension and suspense to hold your attention and keep you reading to the end. I predicted the ending early on while reading, but I did keep reading. I was reading a 2021 re-release of the 2008 novel.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of William Morrow.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2021/06/what-to-do-when-someone-dies.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4083610636 ( )
1 vote SheTreadsSoftly | Jun 28, 2021 |
This started out with much promise. For the first half it's on solid NF territory, where a relatively normal fear (losing one's spouse) escalates into something much more sinister. The question is, what would you do if your spouse were to be killed in an accident, alongside someone you've never heard of, and it starts to become apparent that you've been living a lie without realising it? So far, so very NF. But the problem is that the things the heroine does do are just too far-fetched. While it might be that someone in the throes of grief might well do these things, it is too much of a stretch to believe that those around her would be complicit.

( )
  Melanielgarrett | Apr 2, 2013 |
This is the first Nicci French book I have read for a long time. It grabbed me straight away and I liked the main character very much. I found the story to be quite believable - in an odd sort of way. All the characters felt real to me, they had strong personalities and were convincing.

The story was very well done too, with all the twists and turns. ( )
  Fluffyblue | Feb 1, 2013 |
This book is sort of back to front. The main character loses her husband in a car crash and the story is what follows. Usually if a book has this type of thing in it, it is about the recovery of the character, but not in this one. Ellie is looking for answers to her husbands death, the way she finds them is an enjoyable read. ( )
  cookiemo | Mar 29, 2012 |
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» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Nicci Frenchprimary authorall editionscalculated
Kim, YeonCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rodrigues, TaniaReadersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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To Rachel, Callum, Jack, Martha, Toby and Cleo
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Moments when your life changes: there will always be a before and an after, separated, perhaps, by a knock at the door.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:

In this ingenious stand-alone thriller from the internationally bestselling author and "razor sharp" master of suspense (People), a grieving wife is forced to ask: Which is worseâ??infidelity or murder?


Ellie Falkner's world has been destroyed. Her husband, Greg, died in a car crashâ??and he wasn't alone. In the passenger seat was the body of Milena Livingstone, a woman Ellie's never heard of. But Ellie refuses to leap to the obvious conclusion, despite the whispers and suspicions of those around her. Maybe it's the grief, but Ellie has to find out who this woman wasâ??and prove Greg wasn't having an affair. And soon she is chillingly certain their deaths were no accident.

Are Ellie's accusations of murder her way of avoiding the truth about her marriage? Or does an even more sinister discovery await

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Penguin Australia

An edition of this book was published by Penguin Australia.

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