Review: Tuesday's Gone

Tuesday's Gone
Frieda Klein, Book 2

Author: Nicci French
Pages: 384
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: April 4, 2013
Source: Publisher for review

Description from Goodreads:
Internationally bestselling authors Nicci Gerard and Sean French, writing as Nicci French, have sold more than eight million copies of their books worldwide. But nothing they’ve written written before has grabbed the attention of reviewers and readers like Blue Monday and its iconic heroine, Frieda Klein. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called it a “superb psychological thriller . . . with brooding atmosphere, sustained suspense, a last-minute plot twist, and memorable cast of characters.”

In Tuesday’s Gone, a London social worker makes a routine home visit only to discover her client, Michelle Doyce, serving afternoon tea to a naked, decomposing corpse. With no clues as to the dead man’s identity, Chief Inspector Karlsson again calls upon Frieda for help. She discovers that the body belongs to Robert Poole, con man extraordinaire. But Frieda can’t shake the feeling that the past isn’t done with her yet. Did someone kill Poole to embroil her in the investigation? And if so, is Frieda herself the next victim?

A masterpiece of paranoia, Tuesday’s Gone draws readers inexorably into a fractured and faithless world as it brilliantly confirms Frieda Klein as a quintessential heroine for our times.

Prior Book in Series:
1: Blue Monday

First Sentence: "Maggie Brennan half walked, half ran along Deptford Church Street."

Review:

Ordinarily, I'm not much for mystery novels, and I read them only infrequently, since otherwise I get really bored with the predictable plotting, though it's not like romance stories are any less predictable and I still read those by the dozens. It may not make much logical sense, but this is how I feel. Anyway, I accepted a review request for the first book in this series, Blue Monday, sort of on a whim, and was surprised to find how much I enjoyed it. Tuesday's Gone steps up the tension of the Frieda Klein series and proves a very satisfying followup.

One of the things I really liked about Blue Monday was Frieda Klein herself, and she's still awesome. Frieda's so perceptive and a bit icy on the outside. She's a great listener but loathes talking about herself, or anything getting personal. Personal relationships are hard for her, and she keeps people at a distance. What I find so delightful about Frieda is that she's not a stereotypical woman; she can't be put into a box.

The mystery elements are well done, and several plot twists actually caught me completely off guard. The murder mystery is a seriously tangled web, but French pulls them together admirably. On top of the mystery arc for this installment, the big bad of the series as a whole is revealed, a person from Frieda's past. While there's not a whole lot of development with the larger arc, oh my goodness is it creepy, and I'm excited for the direction the series is headed, using the plot structure from the first two seasons of Veronica Mars, with the full series overarching plot and individual mysteries per volume. This works so well, because it keeps the reader's interest engaged in the larger story and makes reading them as standalones less desirable.

The one thing I found odd was that Frieda, who's consulting with the police in this murder investigation, goes around telling freaking EVERYONE about the work she's doing. I mean, come on, Frieda! She's smart enough to know better than that. Sure, sometimes she's doing so to feel people out, but she also tells some friends, and that's just not done, or at least I don't think it is. Especially since Frieda's generally so resistant to sharing information, I found this out of place.

I'm going to keep this short, since there's only so much to be said about mysteries without spoiling the plot. Basically, if you like mysteries, check out the Frieda Klein series, because it's well done, has a strong heroine, and features intriguing plot twists.

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote:

"'How do you deal with it all?'
     'I'm not sure that I really do.' She twisted her glass round. 'It's like winter. I just trudge through, head down, and hope that spring won't be delayed.'"