Heart-thumping, head-scratching, nail-biting stuff: The Favour is classic Nicci French. I read it in one breathless sitting' Erin Kelly 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. Can she say no to anyone ever? Nope! She'll help anyone that asks for no compelling reason whatsoever. The only person she doesn't help is herself. If you like a storyline to be tied up neatly at the end, then this may not suit. Me? I loved it and still can't stop thinking about it.

When the police show up at the station instead of Liam, Jude realizes that she knows nothing about the man he’s become. Now she’s tangled up in his life, the last person to have seen him, and maybe the only one who can uncover the truth about what went wrong—even if she destroys her own life in the process. I always seem to have an unpopular opinion, but this time it's because I seemed to enjoy the book more than the other reviewers. I can understand why many people won't like this. The plot was basically non-existent, and the thrills were more like a small side of ketchup to the main dish—which was a character-driven story. You may ask yourself why TF would Jude do such a suspicious favour, but you'll learn that Jude is just a shell of a person. She followed the path lain out for her entire life. She doesn't have a strong identity. Then she enters Liam's adult world, his weird ass house that reminds me of a circus, with unsavoury, sexually aggressive, lost people, and develops her first singular opinion. 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.

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In 1989 she became acting literary editor at the New Statesman, before moving to the Observer, where she was deputy literary editor for five years, and then a feature writer and executive editor. I received a gifted copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review as part of the readalong hosted by Tandem Collective UK.

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). 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! 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.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? Jude’s intention to go home to Nat and say nothing is scuppered when someone leaks her role in this strange crime to the press. Her fiancé is even less convinced than DI Fox, and suddenly, that one decision turns her life upside down. And if Jude thinks that’s the worst that can happen, she’s got another think coming… This was my first Nicci French novel and unfortunately it was not a success. Future readers, if you are okay with preposterous and illogical plots then you'll have a better time than I did. 2 stars!

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 police put forward several theories, none of which satisfy Jude, and make even more accusations. But it is the final theory that is the most chilling and absolutely feasible.

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. I think other types of readers will like this book, but sadly it wasn’t for me. Rather than the twisty thriller that I was expecting, “The Favor” is a character-driven story with a slightly sinister edge but a pretty thin plot. The entire premise hinges on the reader believing that this intelligent young woman (a doctor!) would continually put herself in peril for a high school boyfriend. When Jude’s motivation is revealed, it makes sense that she might have felt compelled to do the initial favor, but it was unbelievable to me that she would keep going down a path where she is likely to end up behind bars or even dead. The ending is quite good and makes up for the fact that both Jude and the Jude agrees. She goes along with his plan without asking too many questions, and without telling her fiancé. She follows Liam’s instructions, and waits. And then the police turn up, telling her that Liam has been found dead, in London. Why does Jude have his car, his bag, his wallet, his mobile phone, in a cottage in Norfolk? Jude’s explanation doesn’t really satisfy DI Leila Fox. In 1987 Nicci had a son, Edgar, followed by a daughter, Anna, in 1988, but a year later her marriage to Colin Hughes broke down. 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. 😵

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Jude is een succesvolle arts en is gelukkig met haar verloofde Nat. Maar dan duikt opeens haar eerste liefde, Liam, op in het ziekenhuis waar ze werkt. Hun relatie was, jaren eerder, op dramatische wijze beëindigd en sindsdien hebben ze elkaar niet meer gezien. Liam vraagt haar om een bijzondere gunst: zou ze hem in het weekend willen ontmoeten in een cottage in Norfolk? I don't expect this to be a very popular read because it's marketed as a thriller, when it isn't. Like Good Husbands by Cate Ray, readers may be disappointed by the "false advertisement" of sorts. I enjoy a character-driven story, so having to 'adapt" to the content wasn't a negative for me. An enjoyable yet melancholy, poignant tale. In the early eighties she taught English Literature in Sheffield, London and Los Angeles, but moved into publishing in 1985 with the launch of Women's Review, a magazine for women on art, literature and female issues. Sean French was born in May 1959 in Bristol, to a British father and Swedish mother. He too studied English Literature at Oxford University at the same time as Nicci, also graduating with a first class degree, but their paths didn't cross until 1990. In 1981 he won Vogue magazine's Writing Talent Contest, and from 1981 to 1986 he was their theatre critic. During that time he also worked at the Sunday Times as deputy literary editor and television critic, and was the film critic for Marie Claire and deputy editor of New Society. 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.