My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
The Red Room
by
Nicci French
Penzler Pick, August 2001: Already a sensation in England, Nicci French (the pseudonym of a London couple who've turned their marriage into a writing partnership as well) is quickly gaining recognition and fans on this side of the Atlantic, too. French's two previous novels published here, Killing Me Softly and Beneath the Skin, are romantic thrillers with hard edges-...more
Mass Market Paperback, 480 pages
Published
July 1st 2002
by Warner Vision
(first published January 1st 2001)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,048)
I've been disappointed with Nicci French's last couple of books but I'm glad to report that I enjoyed this one. This is probably because it's more of a straightforward whodunnit and less of the mess-with-your-head psychological suspense thriller type thing that her last few books have tried to be. (I know it's a-he-and-a-she team but I'll keep calling her "her" as that seems to be the sensible thing to do and the books themselves don't give away the fact that they are team efforts, no
...more
Oorspronkelijk heet het The red room, en het is de vijfde thriller van het schrijverspaar Sean French en Nicci Gerard, uit 2001. Ik las de vertaling van Molly van Gelder.
Waar dit paar altijd goed in is, is in het opbouwen van spanning. Ook in dit boek begint het met een horrorachtige scene: de jonge psychologe Kit moet een vermoedelijke moordenaar ondervragen. De man raakt over zijn toeren en verwondt Kit ernstig, waardoor de kamer rood ziet van haar bloed. Als zij, na een periode van ...more
Waar dit paar altijd goed in is, is in het opbouwen van spanning. Ook in dit boek begint het met een horrorachtige scene: de jonge psychologe Kit moet een vermoedelijke moordenaar ondervragen. De man raakt over zijn toeren en verwondt Kit ernstig, waardoor de kamer rood ziet van haar bloed. Als zij, na een periode van ...more
Successful career women with faintly unsatisfactory private lives seem to be the speciality of this double-headed author. In this book we meet Kit Quinn, a doctor who is persuaded by the police to help on a murder investigation; her main qualification in this respect apparently being the fact that the chief suspect glassed her only a few months back.
I really wanted to like this novel, but despite a good writing style and some interesting nuggets of insight and wit, I found I couldn’t ...more
I really wanted to like this novel, but despite a good writing style and some interesting nuggets of insight and wit, I found I couldn’t ...more
"Nicci French" is, of course, a collaboration between husband-and-wife team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, and this looks very much like writing by committee. It's well-enough put together but the whole thing seems to have crafted according to a publisher's template. There's lots of food and shopping - every item described in loving detail. There's the requisite bonk at about halfway; in the antepenultimate chapter the protagonist is in imminent danger of a messy demise but is saved...more
I seem to be having a bit of a Nicci French marathon at the moment, I inadvertantly bought three of her books at a charity book sale a while ago, and after reading "Land of the Living" I am truly hooked.
This is another great book by her. Again her characters are realistic, messy, selfish, stubborn - like the rest of us really. The story has some twists and turns and is unrelenting right until the surprising end. I enjoyed the characters of Dr Quinn (I would like to read mor...more
This is another great book by her. Again her characters are realistic, messy, selfish, stubborn - like the rest of us really. The story has some twists and turns and is unrelenting right until the surprising end. I enjoyed the characters of Dr Quinn (I would like to read mor...more
I found this book impossible to put down. Although that is somewhat unusual, what is more odd is that I know I've read this book before, probably when it first came out. I knew what was happening, page by page --almost like being in a dream -- but kept going. Terrified, I got to the end and remembered the pair of killers. I wasn't sure I could say that Michael's life should not have been taken. I do know that my heart finally opened to him once again. As for Will, I've known one or two shuttered...more
Psychologist Kit Quinn is asked by London police to evaluate a disturbed young man, Michael Doll. While interviewing him Doll lashes out and slashes her face with a broken mug. Recovering from the attack Kit has a recurring nightmare of a room full of blood -- the "red room." When Doll is arrested after a series of murders Kit, partly to face her fear, visits him and becomes convinced that he isn't guilty. But the police won't listen and Kit decides to investigate on her own. Thi...more
I really enjoyed The Red Room-this is a psychological thriller by Nicci French (really a husband and wife writing together.) The language French chooses makes for an interesting read, and Kit Quinn is a well nuanced character I enjoyed reading about. The only reason this book does not have five stars is the unbelievable stupidity of some of the other characters. Specifically I am referring to the police force as portrayed in this book-I understand Kit is tenacious and smart but did that mean tha...more
I found this book at the Rockefeller Conference facility in Bellagio, Italy. I'd run out of novels on a long trip - so I was close to desperate. Some previous conference participant had left it behind with a kind note, saying "help yourself", and now I think I know why. It was good enough to get through, and kill some time, but I wouldn't recommend it - in fact, if I were still in Bellagio, I'd probably leave it behind with a kind note also. Too many implausible twists and turns - a...more
Nicci French, The Red Room (Mysterious Press, 2001)
I've heard a number of times that The Red Room is just plain not as good as French's previous blockbuster, the much-loved Beneath the Skin. I don't really agree. While The Red Room is marred by something of a weak ending, the novel does its thing just as well as Beneath the Skin did. And the latter was such a cleverly-executed concept that expecting any mystery novel to hold up in comparison is probably a bit unfair.
The plot ...more
I've heard a number of times that The Red Room is just plain not as good as French's previous blockbuster, the much-loved Beneath the Skin. I don't really agree. While The Red Room is marred by something of a weak ending, the novel does its thing just as well as Beneath the Skin did. And the latter was such a cleverly-executed concept that expecting any mystery novel to hold up in comparison is probably a bit unfair.
The plot ...more
I remember reading this book after I found it on a bargain table at a book shop in Brainerd, MN. It was over the summer I did my internship there just a couple shops down, in the local pharmacy. Talk about good placement! I must admit that the plot has grown hazy in my mind, but the feelings and ultimate rush of the book are still with me. I actually woke up this morning thinking about another one of her books, Land of the Living!
I'm not a thriller fan. Never was and never will be. If it wouldn't have been a school assignment, I probably would have never read it.
In my opinion, this is a pretty "soft" thriller: not too much blood, not too much horror described. It could get a little bit boring at some point, as in the story wasn't always moving forward when it had to. But still a pretty good book.
In my opinion, this is a pretty "soft" thriller: not too much blood, not too much horror described. It could get a little bit boring at some point, as in the story wasn't always moving forward when it had to. But still a pretty good book.
It might be a similar formula (as has been suggested) to other books by Nicci French but it works for me. I like the way the suspense builds up with lots of possibilities that keep you guessing until the end and this book was very good at that, I was miles off. Kit was a likeable character, remaining slightly troubled and lost from her own childhood loss which impacts on her involvement in the murder case. There may a bit of over emphasis on detail, ie, 'she dressed in pale brown t shirt with...more
view 1 comment
I was absolutely enthralled by the book and remember reading it in an attic apartment in Zagreb, hearing the bells chime through the night with an old radio playing classical music in the background... feverishly promising myself I should go to sleep and not finish it that night. I failed.
excellant story i learned that sometimes all is not what it seems to be
kit is a psychiatrist working with the police to catch a killer. but they are after the wrong man . when kit tries to tell the police this they don,t believe her at first than when that person ends up dead. they have to look else where.
kit is a psychiatrist working with the police to catch a killer. but they are after the wrong man . when kit tries to tell the police this they don,t believe her at first than when that person ends up dead. they have to look else where.
I loved this story. It's another keeper that I will re-read one day.
Although I wasn't gripped quite as much as when I read Land of the Living (my first Nicci French), this story has what is known as page-turning-quality (PTQ). I read it from cover to cover in two sittings.
The Red Room is expertly written with many twists and turns - and every one of them comes as a surprise.
Another great Nicci French read.
Although I wasn't gripped quite as much as when I read Land of the Living (my first Nicci French), this story has what is known as page-turning-quality (PTQ). I read it from cover to cover in two sittings.
The Red Room is expertly written with many twists and turns - and every one of them comes as a surprise.
Another great Nicci French read.
Intriguing, an amalgamation of personal, social, past, psychological, a lot of factors. I liked that its about re-starts, that the end really doesn't come before the end, no matter how it may feel like. And before that, you can start over, though that takes effort.
An English mystery. I really liked the police psychiatrist, Kit Quinn as she struggles with job and life after being slashed by a man she was interviewing who is later considered a suspect in another case.
Really quite boring in places and didn't like most of the characters (boring, self-centred). The narrative wasn't good either. Bits of the plot were alright, even enjoyable in places, but it couldn't make up for the rest of the book.
enjoyed this one much better than catch me when I fall. Although French seems to think poorly of police investigators and again leaves the solution up to others. Very interesting characters.
A dark mystery about a psychologist involved in trying to find the murderer of two young women. She is fighting for her own reputation while doing so.
I managed to crawl my way to page 20 and then gave up. Just couldn't engage with the main character, Kit, or with the narrative or style of writing.
Not a bad read. I thought the plot was clever, the only thing I didn't like was the totally superfluous flat-mate. It kept me guessing right up to the end
I read this a while ago, will be reading more from Nicci French. I remember it as being a very good read.
I loved this book! I ended up reading it in the same day because I couldn't stop. It is very well-written.
Another book that started off quite well but seemed not to actually get anywhere.
A surprising twist to this murder myster, well written and hard to put down
Found I couldn't read thia at night - but well written if you like the genre
Good writer, adirmable main character, decent story, nice ending.
Just started this book, but I like it so far
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers Also Enjoyed
Nicci Gerrard was born in June 1958 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...more
More about Nicci French...
In the early eighties she taught English Literature in Sheffield, London and Los Angeles, but moved...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
