Product Description

One day you receive an anonymous note informing you that you're going to be killed. It might be a cruel joke or a hoax. But it isn't. What do you do? Three women - Zoe, Jenny and Nadia - of different ages, from different walks of life, rich, poor, married, single, happy, sad, face the same terrible threat. Three lives are turned upside down, secrets are exposed, relationships strained and shattered. And amid all the fear and threats, victims find themselves becoming the accused as the policesearch for what they have done, where they have been, to attract the unrelenting attention of someone who wants to kill them. And finally each of them must face one cruel question: which is stronger, the desire to live or the desire to kill?

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27308 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Zoe, a pretty blonde schoolteacher. Jenny, a former hand model turned model wife and mother. Nadia, an irrepressible free spirit who entertains at children's parties. Three women living in different parts of London, grappling with different problems, sheltering different dreams--their lives and narratives linked only by the singular madness of a sadistic stalker. As they move slowly through the sweltering heat of summer, someone is sending these women letters that let each know she is being watched, studied and loved from afar--even unto death.

Beneath the Skin is a spooky, highly effective psychological thriller. Initially, the women refuse, as do the police, to take the threats seriously--they are happy, they are inviolable; surely these letters are the work of a harmless crank. But the novel watches Zoe, Nadia and Jenny move from blithely insouciant denial, to frustration, to creeping terror, and finally to the stark realisation that neither they nor anyone else will prevent this killer from destroying them. French skilfully evokes the insidiousness with which the letters invade the women's lives, straining and shattering relationships, pushing each toward fearful insanity. Perhaps the novel's greatest appeal lies in its mordant irony: not only do the stalker's threats push and fester "beneath the skin", but they also draw out the flaws and terrors that are already there. French sketches the women's weaknesses and fears with merciless accuracy, stripping them naked long before the killer arrives to finish what his letters have begun.

The author's talent for psychological portraiture is, in fact, so great as to undermine, however slightly, the novel itself. We become so aware of the women, of their responses, of their needs, that the actual murders arrive as an almost superfluous intrusion. We respect the demands of the genre--a thriller needs thrills, after all--but wistfully regret the loss of the victims, even as we guiltily acknowledge our own voyeuristic culpability in their disintegration. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to the paperback edition of this title.

Amazon.co.uk Review

"When she laughs, she makes a pealing sound, like a doorbell . If I told her I loved her, she would laugh at me like that. She would think I was not serious. That is what women do. They turn what is serious and big into a small thing, a joke. Love is not a joke. It is a matter of life and death. One day, soon, she will understand that."

Zoe, a pretty blonde schoolteacher. Jenny, a former hand model turned model wife and mother. Nadia, an irrepressible free spirit who entertains at children's parties. Three women living in different parts of London, grappling with different problems, sheltering different dreams--their lives and narratives linked only by the singular madness of a sadistic stalker. As they move slowly through the sweltering heat of summer, someone is sending these women letters that let each know she is being watched, studied and loved from afar--even unto death.

Beneath the Skin is a spooky, highly effective psychological thriller. Initially, the women refuse, as do the police, to take the threats seriously--they are happy, they are inviolable; surely these letters are the work of a harmless crank. But the novel watches Zoe, Nadia and Jenny move from blithely insouciant denial, to frustration, to creeping terror, and finally to the stark realisation that neither they nor anyone else will prevent this killer from destroying them. French skilfully evokes the insidiousness with which the letters invade the women's lives, straining and shattering relationships, pushing each toward fearful insanity. Perhaps the novel's greatest appeal lies in its mordant irony: not only do the stalker's threats push and fester "beneath the skin", but they also draw out the flaws and terrors that are already there. French sketches the women's weaknesses and fears with merciless accuracy, stripping them naked long before the killer arrives to finish what his letters have begun.

The author's talent for psychological portraiture is, in fact, so great as to undermine, however slightly, the novel itself. We become so aware of the women, of their responses, of their needs, that the actual murders arrive as an almost superfluous intrusion. We respect the demands of the genre--a thriller needs thrills, after all--but wistfully regret the loss of the victims, even as we guiltily acknowledge our own voyeuristic culpability in their disintegration. --Kelly Flynn

About the Author
Nicci French is a journalist and lives in Suffolk. She has written six novels, of which this is the fourth.

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Customer Reviews

Super Thriller
Three women. They are all petite, pretty and targeted by a killer who sends them threatening love letters. Zoë is a schoolteacher, 23 years old, kind-hearted and likeable. Jennifer is an ex-hand model and mother of three, 38 years old, selfish and rude; a woman whose husband treats her like dirt, and who in turn treats her own `staff' (nanny, cleaner, other hired help) and eventually the police, like dirt. Nadia is a children's party entertainer, 28 years old, messy, tough and impulsive. Each of them reacts to the threats differently and each develops their own relationship with the police and psychologist as they battle for survival.

This book is a fantastic read. I haven't read many thrillers for a long time, I guess because I needed a break from the genre. This book was the perfect choice to return to reading thrillers because it is so original, exciting, and suspenseful. It is one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read. Nicci French's narrative was deeply engrossing. Each time a new character was introduced it was as if I was transplanted into their head and felt their emotions, saw into the depths of their lives, learnt exactly who they were and what they stood for. Although all three women were very different from me and I couldn't relate to some of their experiences or decisions, they just seemed like real, breathing people. I raced through the book from cover to cover in two days.

Overall this is a wonderful novel. I wish all thrillers were as slick and heartfelt and scary. I definitely recommend this to all thriller lovers, or just anybody who wants a deep, psychological read with excellent writing.

JoAnne

Chilling
This is a really fantastic book that is made even more chilling by the fact that it is realistic enough that you can really imagine it happening - no vampires or far-fetched plots here, just a stalker and 3 down to earth, normal women. You find yourself empathising with the characters, but at the same time waiting for the excitement of their inescapable demise.

Great stuff!!

Like a chilling shadow this book caught and then engulfed me
At first I found it difficult to get into this book, but French's writing skills embrace you, encouraging you to read the next line, next page, until you're a social outcast in the canteen at work, as you blatantly declare you "don't want to talk, I have my book to read". As a woman, I found the novel crept up on me, like a chilling shadow, that this is something that could happen to any one of us in this day and age. The psychological thrill of the book makes it impossible to put down.

Zoe, Jenny and Nadia are all recognisable as women you may know, each individual and yet the same, targeted for a reason they cannot understand. The way in which the killer makes them question their knowledge of themselves will have you hooked, as they slowly but surely succumb, hooked through every last twist and turn. Buy it and enjoy it - you are never quite as alone as you think - I loved it