Day of the Dead

From Amazon:

LOUISE PENNY says the Frieda Klein novels are "fabulous."

JOSEPH FINDER says they're "in the rich vein of Kate Atkinson."

And TAMI HOAG calls them "truly unique."

Now the final book in this extraordinary series is here. And it's an ending you'll never forget.

A decade ago, psychologist Frieda Klein was sucked into the orbit of Dean Reeve -- a killer able to impersonate almost anyone, a man who can disappear without a trace, a psychopath obsessed with Frieda herself.

In the years since, Frieda has worked with -- and sometimes against -- the London police in solving their most baffling cases. But now she's in hiding, driven to isolation by Reeve. When a series of murders announces his return, Frieda must emerge from the shadows to show more confront her nemesis. And it's a showdown she might not survive.

Criminology student Lola Hayes has tracked Frieda down with a single-minded pursuit: she wants to delve inside the mind of a woman besieged by darkness. But in following every move Frieda makes, Lola is exposing herself to the same terrors—and the same twisted fixation of a diabolical psychopath.

This gripping cat-and-mouse thriller pits one of the most fascinating characters in contemporary fiction against an enemy like none other. Smart, sophisticated, and spellbinding, it's a novel to leave you breathless.

This is an extremely well done psychological study of Lola Hayes as she descends into almost psychotic fear and paralysis after being pulled into Frieda’s and thus Dean Reeve’s orbit.

It’s also the story of how Frieda successfully stays hidden from Dean, maintaining her sanity and figuring out how to survive. Her hiding places work for a while then stop working. Who’s leaking the information?

There is a new series of killings. The pattern is one that is meaningful to Frieda but requires a bit of juggling to bring off. It is one of the few plot contrivances that seemed obvious to me, but I forgave the authors because of how the entire novel depended on it.

Dean and Frieda are communicating with each other – “I’m here”, “I’m watching you”, “I understand the pattern”. To say too much gives away some basic plot features that only gradually become apparent to the reader.

In the meantime, the people Frieda loves and who love her are desolate at her having gone underground and don't even know if she's alive. Josef takes care of her house, the un-named cat goes to live with Reuben and Josef. Her niece Chloe and Josef take on a labor of love, a physical testament to their belief that she will survive.

In all of this, Frieda is calm, calculating, playing Dean and being played by Dean. It’s an intricate dance, the end of which is predictable yet totally unexpected in the way it plays out.

I’m not sure I’d be willing to spend much time with Frieda, but the time would be productive and thought provoking. It would also be hard work and not for anybody who isn't willing to look into their innermost self for truth.

It is not an easy thing to build suspense consistently across 8 books. It is not easy to believably create a foe as psychotic and divorced from any normal human feelings as Dean Reeve. It’s also not easy to give us such a complicated, distant, yet ultimately lovable character as Frieda Klein. The authors come through magnificently.

If you love psychological thrillers and challenging reads, this is the series for you. show less

I have been a fan of the author team of Nicci French for many years and over the last few have been following the Frieda Klein series as this psychotherapist weaves her life around an obsessed serial killer that sees her as his main target. At the end of the last book, Frieda who was devastated by the death of so many of her friends at the hands of Dean Reeve, decides to end this game of cat and mouse and goes into hiding.

Working both with and sometimes against the London police, she now goes into isolation, but when a series of murders announces his return, Frieda comes out of hiding in order to force a showdown and confront this murderer. Appearing to always be a step or two ahead of the police, Dean Reeve is becoming an impossible show more case and the danger for Frieda increases daily.

Day of the Dead is the last book in the series so the reader knows full well that there will a final confrontation. Full of fascinating characters these books are smart and spellbinding stories of a private woman having to live with a psychopath being fixated on her. His way has always been to get her attention by murder. He sometimes picked her enemies to eliminate and at others those closest to her but always he desired her focus to be on him. I felt the book came to a suitable ending with the authors giving us closure and typing up all the loose ends. I would recommend this series to any crime lover. show less

https://iwriteinbooks.wordpress.com/2018/08/09/tlc-book-tour-day-of-the-dead-nic...

Hey, y’all! I’m back with another spectacular book tour pick from the wonderful team at TLC Book Tours!

I was new to the Frieda Klein series when I originally signed up to host this tour stop but I am now, officially, a giant fan. It is one of the most entertaining, fast paced rides I’ve taken in quite some time.

Day of the Dead is the final installment of the set and starts off with fireworks, as our team comes upon a week-old corpse in a runaway vehicle, smack dab in the middle of London. Deaths begin to pile up as a bonfire reveals another victim, another mile marker on a gruesome serial killer path.

Mind games and sick tricks are overflowing as show more this is far from an ordinary string of murders. They are all intricately planned and aimed at our fearless hero, Frieda Klein.

The entire series is well done but so few writers understand exactly the commitment it takes to wrap up an epic tale with the creativity and wit. I admit I was holding my breath going into this book as I really needed for it to wrap up with a bang. And my goodness it did.

I highly recommend the entire series but I have nothing but the highest praise for the final chapter.

Thank you so much to TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins for the opportunity to be included on this tour. show less

The Day of the Dead - Nicci French   Read for the Darkest London square. 
 
Nicci French books are a counter to all those serial killer/women in peril books: there are women in peril, but the women are the protagonists, not some guy coming in to save them. More recent authors in the same vein would be Gillian Flynn and Carol Goodman. I love these sorts of books.
 
The Frieda Klein series is set primarily in London and one of the notable quirks  of Frieda is that she walks when she can't sleep, which is often all night. There's an interesting parallel with Aaronovitch's Peter Grant series, in that both have the rivers of London running through them as a motif. Anyway Frieda spends a lot of time traveling around London, so the category show more brought it to mind immediately. That, and the books have a very dark side. But I love them because they also have a great warmth to them. Frieda is a therapist who ends up helping the police with their inquiries when one of her patients is murdered and over the next decade she is involved in other cases in various ways. Anyway, Frieda is a naturally solitary and intensely private one, but she is also very kind, consequently she has a large circle of friends and relations who care deeply for her, and get all up in her business. So despite having dark and brutal crimes, there is this woman on her own in a charming and snug little house, and the varied people who exasperate her with their drama but whom she remains helpful and available for. There is a balance between the two poles of alone and attached that pleases me and soothes me.
 
This book was a truly satisfying conclusion to the series. There's no attempt to tie up all tje loose ends, but there's quite a bit of resolution. 
 
Highly recommended, and good for Suspence, Terrifying Women, maybe Modern Noir, Murder Most Foul, Amateur Sleuth, and arguably Slasher Stories. The first Frieda Klein novel , Blue Monday, is also the 13th Nicci French novel. show less

At last, with The Day of the Dead the story of psychotherapist Frieda Klein and murderer Dean Reeve comes to a close. Frieda has hidden herself to protect her family and friends from Reeve as she feels the end time approaching. Unfortunately, she is found by a criminology student, who wants to use Frieda as the subject of her dissertation. Frieda must now hide herself and Lola Hayes as Reeve's obsession works itself out.
I could see the machinery under the surface working more clearly in this book than in some of the others of the series. Nevertheless, I missed a significant clue that allowed me a shock of surprise before the end. I can't say that I was ever given enough to understand Reeve. While I know more about Frieda, she remains an show more enigma too, but I'm as devoted to her as are her good friends. This was a worthy finish to a compelling series.
Many thanks to Early Reviewers for my copy of this book that I've longed for since reading the last word of Sunday Silence! show less

A well-plotted and emotional conclusion to a gripping series. Actually, thinking back on the series, this was probably not the best plotted but it's hard enough for authors to stick the landing in a standalone novel and so much harder to do so at the end of a long series. Nicci French strikes the right tone as the horrific relationship between the unique Frieda Klein and the clever but evil Dean Reeve finally comes to a close.

I’ve read and enjoyed the seven Days of the Week series over the years and was thrilled to discover that unbeknownst to me there was in fact a Frieda Klein #8.
Three meticulously plotted murders to lay the bait, three spontaneous murders to show who’s boss. Dean Reeve is ready to make his final move.
Day of the Dead is a well plotted and cleverly constructed game of cat and mouse, hunter and hunted. Lola is a great new character and the ending is … the end!
All the familiar faces are still rooting for Frieda – Josef, Reuben, Karlsson, Chloe et al but if you haven’t read the previous 7 books you probably won’t fully appreciate who they are, their relationship to Frieda or the references to past traumas, traits and show more tragedies.
London’s hidden rivers, solitary midnight meanderings, being two steps ahead. Stern, intense, complex. I won’t forget Frieda Klein in a hurry and who knows, maybe she’ll grace our pages again in a different guise.
Late to the party but well worth the wait. show less