TUESDAY'S GONE by Nicki French (fic)

This is the second of a series by the husband and wife writing team known as Nicki French.  The first book is "Blue Monday," both books crime thrillers involving Frieda Klein, a psychoanalyst who becomes enmeshed in the solving of a series of gruesome London murders.

It is dicey to write a review of a mystery novel keeping the plot minimal without giving away too much of the story.  This series of books should be read in order, and I would not recommend reading this book without reading the first.  A review of "Blue Monday" can be read elsewhere in the blog.  I rated it highly and have found I enjoyed "Tuesday's Gone" even more.  Both books are stylishly written with well-drawn characters.  The solving of the crimes is cleverly done and well-paced, keeping the reader's interest right up to the last page.  The mystery is always challenging and compelling.  The city of London  plays a large part in Nicki French mysteries, and the sense of place is strongly drawn.

Many of the same characters from the first book reappear in "Tuesday's Gone."  The novel opens with the discovery of a naked corpse of a man in the home of a deranged woman who has staged his decaying body in her living room as if he had dropped in for a spot of tea.  Because of the woman's mental state, the police bring Frieda into the case, having worked with her before.  It turns out the corpse has a name, but it is an assumed name, and by the end of the book his real identity remains unknown, as well as the whereabouts of his hefty bank account balance which had disappeared. It is a foreshadowing perhaps of the next book in the series.  It soon becomes obvious to Frieda that Poole was a con artist who bilked needy and lonely women out of their savings.  A bizarre mystery ensues and Frieda unravels it bit by bit until the intriguing end.

In this particular book, there is a clue that Dean Reeve the elusive killer from the first book, will continue to plague Frieda Klein and remain her chief antagonist.  If you were frightened by Dean Reeve in the first book, you will continue to be spooked  by knowing he is walking the streets of London lying in wait for Frieda. You will also know that Frieda Klein obsesses over her cases and finds relief by walking though various London neighborhoods after dark.

As before, I highly recommend Nicki French mysteries to all who like a well-written crime thriller.  This book is much better than the wildly popular "Gone Girl."