<![CDATA[Beneath the Skin]]>

false <![CDATA[Beneath the Skin]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177659136m/724516.jpg 724516 18 "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 blond 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 realization that neither they nor anyone else will prevent this killer from destroying them. French skillfully 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 2182049 1997 Beneath the Skin total:244|5:50|4:94|3:72|2:26|1:2| 244 896 339 29 3 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jan 01 17:05:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 01 17:07:48 -0800 2008
This story is about 3 very different women who are all targeted by the same sick individual who is sending out threatening notes, describing how he is going to kill them. Which is a great foundation for a thriller. I really enjo...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2002 Wed Jan 23 13:09:12 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 23 13:09:12 -0800 2008
Think of Nicci French as the darker, rougher side of Judith Michael--a collaboration between two folks, one male, one female, on some very nasty mysteries. In this case, the main character (though he gets relatively little screen time) is a seri...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Feb 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 16:55:55 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 06:54:26 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Mon Nov 24 04:03:19 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 04:23:36 -0800 2008 1
Back Cover Blurb:
Zoe, Jenny and Nadia, different ages, different walks of life, all receive anonymous notes saying they are going to be killed. The three lives are turned upside down as the police search for what has attracted the attention of a killer.]]> 3 0 false false Sun Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 02 06:57:18 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 12:27:49 -0700 2008 1 more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Feb 18 04:52:13 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 04:53:38 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Feb 23 16:06:09 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 16:06:42 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Jul 15 13:07:30 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 15 13:10:17 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 15:53:37 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 15:54:46 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 02:16:06 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 02:17:03 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Nov 08 11:04:26 -0800 2007 Thu Nov 08 11:19:08 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 15:46:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 01:24:28 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 15:57:41 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 15:58:50 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 11 07:15:33 -0700 2007 Sat Oct 13 13:13:21 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Nov 07 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 06 15:50:19 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 07 07:55:27 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Oct 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 17:14:03 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 10:17:59 -0700 2009 This was agonizingly slow and not at all suspensful in my opinion. ]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jun 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 04 18:30:40 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 24 11:57:56 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 true false Mon Aug 20 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Feb 06 08:47:28 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 06 08:51:01 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sun Sep 21 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Wed Apr 16 09:22:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 20 07:11:42 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Sat Jan 05 09:48:58 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 05 09:49:40 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=724516