And now she's a person of interest in a murder case. A body has been discovered in the most unlikely and horrifying of places: beneath the floorboards of Frieda's house. The teenager claims she was raped in her own bed one night while her mother was downstairs. Nobody will believe you. Bonnie hides the corpse and then carefully wipes away any evidence she was ever there.
It was supposed to be fun, but the band members find the complicated knots of their friendships - some old, some new - unraveling as the days themselves unwind. A bloated corpse turns up in the Thames, throat slashed, and the only clue is a hospital wristband reading "Dr. Frieda is taken to see the body and realizes with horror that it is Sandy, her ex-boyfriend. She's certain that the killer is Dean Reeve - the man who has never stopped haunting her.
But the police think he has been dead for years, and Frieda is their number one suspect. With few options, Frieda goes on the run to save herself and try to uncover the truth. Ruth Lennox, housewife and mother of three, is found dead in a pool of her own blood.
When it emerges that the mother was hiding a scandalous secret, her family closes ranks. Frieda herself is distracted, still reeling from an attempt on her life, and struggling with her own rare feelings of vulnerability. It should have been just a mid-life fling. A guilty indiscretion that Neve Connolly could have weathered. An escape from 20 years of routine marriage to her overworked husband, and from her increasingly distant children.
But Ellie refuses to leap to the obvious conclusion, despite the whispers and suspicions of those around her. And soon she is chillingly certain their deaths were no accident. Frieda Klein is a solitary, incisive psychotherapist who spends her sleepless nights walking along the ancient rivers that have been forced underground in modern London.
She believes that the world is a messy, uncontrollable place. The abduction of five-year-old Matthew Farraday provokes a national outcry and a desperate police hunt.
And when his face is splashed over the newspapers, Frieda cannot ignore the coincidence: one of her patients has been having dreams in which he has a hunger for just such a child. 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? Miranda's sister Kerri has a new boyfriend. He's a handsome charmer who seems to dote on Kerri.
But Brendan isn't the man he says he is. Miranda should know. She broke off her own affair with him just a few weeks ago when she found him reading her diary.
Marissa lives alone in her tiny one-bed apartment. But when the police knock on her door with the news that her last remaining family member has been murdered, she comes face-to-face with the trauma she has spent a lifetime running from. By: Carla Kovach. Abbie Devereaux lies flat on her back, her arms and legs tied down, her head covered with a hood.
She senses the eyes that watch her. She feels the unknown hands that touch her in the dark. She knows she has been kidnapped but has little memory of her recent past.
And she knows that all she has to do is stay alive, even though everything she is experiencing tells her she won't. The Memory Game is a haunting psychological thriller from the top-ten best-selling author Nicci French. When a skeleton is unearthed in the Martellos' garden, Jane Martello is shocked to learn it's that of her childhood friend Natalie, who went missing 25 years ago. Encouraged by a therapist to recover lost memories, Jane hopes to find out what really took place when she was a child - and what happened to Natalie.
But in learning the truth about her and Natalie's past, is Jane putting her own future at terrible risk? I agree with the last reviewer, in that this story was pretty boring. The main problem I had was the fact that it really didn't get into much of the mystery until the very end of the book. The rest of the book was just too detailed about everything outside of the actual plot. It wasn't until the very end of the book that the story got back on topic and discussed the plot.
Too much detail about off-topic stuff and not enough plot. I find it difficult to review my issues with the plot without spoiling the book for others. So, please proceed with caution. Based on the event that Frieda experiences, the ultimate perpetrator is shown to have had a level of sophistication early on that doesn't ring true. Crime perpetrators evolve over time and typically have priors before being able to commit the big ones. So, although the book is well written and I love the Frieda Klein series.
However, the resolution of this case didn't make sense to me so I was disappointed when the culprit was revealed. I love a good story with a twist at the end, but this one was morally reprehensible. Couldn't the author think of any other relationship for the main characters than what she came up with? Also, I'm always amazed that talented writers can't think of any better way to express themselves than using the "f" word over and over again.
This was a good story but not the best I have read from this author. I would read another Nicci French novel. This was obviously one of the author's earlier works. While the plot was a bit cumbersome, it was rescued buy a magnificent performance given by Harriet Walter.
Boring and very predictable. What is with writers these days. They don't have an original thought of their own. Just when you think it's not possible to shock you more, and you've figured everyone out That's when the characters you've grown to love, leave your head spinning yet again.
What made the experience of listening to The Memory Game the most enjoyable? I would just think I had things figured out and then suddenly I would get a surprise. Great plotting! What other book might you compare The Memory Game to and why?
The look into the past and the surprises make this one a bit like reading a Kate Morton book. How does this one compare? This is the only one I have listened to but I enjoyed it very much. I would like to hear more from her. I've seen plows that didn't drag as much as this story. I still don't know what the point is. I did not guess the ending but I was very aware all through the book that the road she was going down was going to turn out to be the wrong one.
Maybe I have just read too many psychological thrillers. The ending made no sense to me whatsoever and seemed to come out of nowhere. I thought this one started out solidly enough with the discovery of the body in the house of the Martellos, followed by view spoiler [ the involvement of Alex the therapist who spec 3 stars. I thought this one started out solidly enough with the discovery of the body in the house of the Martellos, followed by view spoiler [ the involvement of Alex the therapist who specialises with recovering repressed memories, and I was genuinely intrigued both by what took place all those years ago as well as what Jane could remember as the product of these sessions hide spoiler ].
Following that, things started to get a bit absurd on all accounts, I get that the authors are trying to show that even a seemingly perfect family or, well, two family setup has its flaws — but view spoiler [ it reached a stage where everyone was sleeping or had slept with or had a crush on everyone hide spoiler ] and you stop and ask — honestly?
I was also intrigued by the whole concept of the memory thing, it was meant to be the entire premise of the book but after being stuck in view spoiler [ sessions that seemed to be going nowhere, plus all of the press getting involved with Alex trying to become some sort of celebrity using his work hide spoiler ] I was willing the book to just get back to the premise, tell me the twist and move on.
Then, maaaaaany cigarettes later good grief , we finally reach view spoiler [ a reveal — oh no wait — a twist — then a proper reveal. I think this rescued the book just a little for me, bumping up possibly from 2. Oct 26, Luana rated it it was ok. I did not like this book at all. To be honest I suspected it to be disappointing which is why i tried to read it in one sitting. I finished it and let me tell you that ending was not worth the wait. Nov 22, Louise Mullins rated it liked it Shelves: crime-fiction.
There was too much telling and unnecessary filler, no tension whatsoever, and a rushed ending that because there was no lead-up to it made the final reveal feel implausible and forced. Even the procedure was a little behind the time it was published , and the casual sexism was about a decade so. Aug 15, Emma Verbree rated it really liked it.
Well, I actually really liked this book. Aug 15, Jennifer rated it it was amazing. Excellent story, with some really good twists and turns. The "recovered memory" aspect was very interesting. I wouldn't call this a thriller or a murder mystery. It's a bit too good and too sophisticated for either of those genres. That said, it's probably a bit duller too.
There are long tangents when the murder appears to be forgotten and we focus mostly on the main character's personal life. For the most part, I was okay with this, but I did find my attention wandering by the end.
Jul 22, Vincent Paul rated it liked it. In , a girl disappeared. As it was the teenage fad then, everyone thinks she ran away from home. After 25 years, her grave is discovered in the backyard of her home. The murderer had the guts to kill and bury her right where everyone won't be looking, even imagining.
Nicci French has spun this psychological drama to unravel the mystery: who killed Natalie Martello, a bubbling year-old? Natalie's childhood friend, Jane, witnessed the murder, but she blocked the memory, or she was not belie In , a girl disappeared. Natalie's childhood friend, Jane, witnessed the murder, but she blocked the memory, or she was not believed then and she just pretended it was a nightmare she woke up from and nothing of the sort had ever happened.
Through hypnosis, Jane recovers fragments of her memory which, when pieced together, leads to the murderer - her father-in-law, the renowned novelist Allan Martello. However, could her therapist have been wrong all along? Because hypnosis creates the picture one wants. When Jane asks the hard questions, and interrogates her Memory Game, she solves the mystery: the killer was her husband, whom she was divorcing because it had reached a point they just didn't click, connect.
In his defence, Jane's ex-husband, now in prison and writing a crime novel, says that Natalie, his younger sister, had it coming: she threatened to expose their sexual relationship and destroy the 'Picture-Perfect Martello Family'.
In her teenage, Natalie was sexually inebriated yet introverted, adventurous, strong-willed, and manipulative. She got what she wanted, and when her brother dared her to do it, she did it and got pregnant for it. Claud, her brother, couldn't stand to ruin their family, and Natalie started blackmailing him. Solution: kill the little ranting bitch and bury her beneath the family barbecue hearth just outside the house, where no one would ever think of looking. And so it was, for 25 years everyone thought Natalie's missing was deliberate her running away from home , or poor soul she was murdered and her body would never the found.
It is a great read, yes, but for the last 80 pages. The rest of the plot is a hodgepodge of information dump and unnecessary details, sometimes withholding information that would have ended the damn book at page Oct 25, Nigel rated it it was ok Shelves: mystery. This is my first exposure to Nicci French, and I am not sure what to make of it. On the one hand the story hooked me enough to want to finish the story to see how it ends, which is always a good thing.
The story starts with the discovery of body that is soon identified as the year-old Natalie Martello in the grounds of the family home. The discovery takes place on the weekend of the annual family mushroom hunt. Now I know grief affects people differently but only the mother seems in anyway upset, indeed the big mushroom feast complete with champagne and speeches continues with barely a missed step in the process.
Recently divorced, drinking and smoking too much she ends up visiting a psychologist, who it turns out is an expert in the recovery of repressed memories. It becomes apparent the Jane as a repressed memory and that in all likelihood it is linked to the disappearance of Natalie. Jane as a character does not have any redeeming traits. She has recently left apparently for no logical reason her husband of over 20 years and yet still sees him regularly and despite believing the murderer of Natalie must be one of the extended Martello family seems distressed whenever it looks like she will become ostracised from it.
At this stage, I am not sure if I will be reading additional Nicci French novels as whilst it was an OK story there are, for me at any rate, authors whose output I enjoy far more.
Dec 02, Rachel rated it did not like it. I enjoyed this novel, but felt there was not enough substantial meat and bones to it. Some aspects of the plot were droopy and in my opinion were just there to bulk out the length. Nice twist at the end, but not enough of a sense of mystery or tension throughout. So why give it as high as a 4star you ask? Because it doesn't sit well with me to award this book just 3 stars. The novel ticked enough of the following basics and as such I could not peg it down to 3stars.
I still finished the book in I enjoyed this novel, but felt there was not enough substantial meat and bones to it. I still finished the book in two days, so clearly it wasn't boring.
I liked the characters and they were well developed. The writing flowed I still felt there were elements missing, once again I reiterate; not enough suspense and mystery. Oh for God sake read "The Memory Game" if you so choose, I just don't think it will make your top I could only read 20 pages at a time because I would start to feel sleepy. After page it was starting to get enjoyable though, at first I thought the plot was very predictable but then I read on and the plot twist was really what you would expect from this kind of book.
I could never remember who was a brother and who was an in-law. Sep 18, Libby Andrews rated it did not like it. An early Nicci French and it shows! The last 87 pages were good but those before were an endurance!
The story centers on Jane Martello and the Martello family. When Jane was 16 her best friend Natalie Martello disappeared. Jane is disturbed and encouraged to get therapy. Her therapist helps to piece her memory together and raises the question as to whether therapy can bring back accurat An early Nicci French and it shows!
Her therapist helps to piece her memory together and raises the question as to whether therapy can bring back accurate surpressed memories. The plot was good but was dragged out by endless pages of v dull therapy and soul searching sessions. Sep 09, Srinivasan rated it really liked it. This invariably leads to discussions about Natalie. As Jane remembers things about her past, she realises she holds the secret to what happened to Natalie. Her revelations are startingly. Spoilers ahead.
Fiction: The main character is this girl whose friend's murder happened when they were very young, her killer is a mystery. She uses hypnosis to remember lost memories. Readers also enjoyed. About Nicci French. Nicci French. Note: Nicci Gerrard and Sean French also write separately.
Nicci Gerrard was born in June in Worcestershire. After graduating with a first class honours degree in English Literature from Oxford University, she began her first job, working with emotionally disturbed children in Sheffield. In that same year she married journalist Colin Hughes. In the early eighties she taught English Literature in Sheffield, London and Los Angeles, but moved into publishing in with the launch of Women's Review, a magazine for women on art, literature and female issues.
In Nicci had a son, Edgar, followed by a daughter, Anna, in , but a year later her marriage to Colin Hughes broke down. In 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. It was while she was at the New Statesman that she met Sean French. 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 In he won Vogue magazine's Writing Talent Contest, and from to 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.
As Jane remembers things about her past, she realises she holds the secret to what happened to Natalie. Her revelations are startingly. The review of this Book prepared by Donna Maroz. Click on a plot link to find similar books!
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