Beneath the Skin - Hardcover

French, Nicci

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0892967269 ISBN 13: 9780892967261

Publisher: Mysterious Press, 2000

Synopsis

Zoe. Jenny. Nadia. Three women of varying ages and backgrounds with little else in common but for one thing: Someone has sent them each a note informing them that they will be killed. A cruel joke? A hoax? The police don't seem to think so. Now, with no clear suspect and amid the growing threat of violence, the victims become the accused as authorities dig into their backgrounds for clues as to why they might have attracted the unrelenting attention of a killer. As Zoe, Jenny, and Nadia find themselves being victimized twiceover, once by the faceless stalker and again by the police, each must ultimately face the question of which is stronger: the instinct to survive, or the desire to destroy?

About this title

About the Author

Nicci French is the author of Catch Me When I Fall, Secret Smile, Land of the Living, Killing Me Softly, The Red Room, and Beneath the Skin. She lives near Ipswich, England.

Reviews

French delivers a powerfully intricate follow-up to her first novel (Killing Me Softly) in this psychological thriller. Zoe Haratounian (a pre-school teacher), Jennifer Hintlesham (a former model and mother of three) and Nadia Blake (a children's entertainer) are all petite, uniquely pretty women. They also are all involved in, or getting out of, bad relationships with men, and they are all the targets of a murderous stalker who haunts his victims through disturbingly personal letters. The pattern established in the opening pages of the novel seems simple: a woman begins receiving love letters laced with threatening remarks; she notifies the local (British) police, who investigate and provide protection; and soon she is killed right under their noses. Told in rotating first- and third-person narrative stretches, the novel moves quickly forward as the women describe their growing unease and the stalker explains how thrilling it is to see his victims crumble under the barrage of brutal, eeerie letters ("She gets weaker and smaller. I look at her and I think to myself, I did this."). Meanwhile Nadia, disillusioned with the cops, attempts to solve the crime herself. By getting to know the families and friends of the other dead women, she discovers clues that lead her right into the killer's hands. The book concludes with a stunning plot twist and demonstrates, as did her first novel, that French knows how to carry a chilling situation to frightening extremes. BOMC main selection. (May) FYI: Nicci French is the pseudonym for a pair of British journalists, Nicci Gerrard, who works for the Observer, and Sean French, who writes for the New Statesman.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Three women fear the same deadly stalker in this accomplished follow-up to French's elegant debut, Killing Me Softly (1999). Zoe, Jenny, and Nadia are all small and blond, attractive without being in the least bit beautiful, and live in north London. On the surface, that's where the similarities end. Their stalker, however, tells them he sees ``beneath the skin.'' He knows their thoughts, he knows their lives, and he both loves and hates them for what he knows. The sequence begins with Zoe, who sets it in motion when she interrupts a purse-snatching by whacking the thief with the oversized watermelon she happens to be carrying. The escapade piques public attention, and among the flood of mail Zoe receives is a letter that reads in part, ``when does someone like you . . . come frightened of dying?'' As the letters keep on, Zoe begins to recognize the handwriting and to shudder at their intensifying menace. She takes her worries to the police, who shrug them off. By the time that decision is reversed, it's Jenny's turn to shudder. And then Nadia's, which means it's much too late. The shaky plotting isnt up to Killing Me Softly, but in terms of writing and characterization this is as strong as all but the very best. (Book-of-the-Month Club main selection) -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

After an outstanding American debut with Killing Me Softly , French returns with a very different but equally compelling novel. This time she offers a new take on an old theme. While most novels about serial killers focus on finding the killer after the victims are dead, French writes from the victim's perspective, dividing up the story into thirds to present the viewpoints of the three female victims. The killer also is heard from, mostly through his disturbing letters to the three women, but occasionally--and chillingly--he speaks in the first person. Since only a third of the book is devoted to each woman, French must hook the reader early on, which she does as brilliantly here as she did in her previous novel. Female readers probably will be able to identify strongly with at least one of the victims: Zoe, a teacher in her early 20s, Jennifer, a wealthy stay-at-home mother who is reluctantly approaching 40, and Nadia, a free-spirited children's-party performer in her late 20s. The bond readers feel with the victims makes their fate that much more tragic. An absolutely first-rate thriller from a writer who deserves more recognition. Jenny McLarin

Edition details

• Publisher: Mysterious Press
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0892967269
• ISBN 13: 9780892967261
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384