Review: The Day of the Dead by Nicci French

Nicci French’s 8th and FINAL book in the Frieda Klein series is out and Kerry Hammond is here to give us her review.

The Day of the Dead by Nicci French is the 8^th and final book in the exciting Frieda Klein series written by British husband and wife team, Nicci Gerard and Sean French. It was published on July 24, in Trade Paperback by William Morrow. Followers of this series, myself included, have been anticipating the finale since book one, Blue Monday. Frieda is a wonderful character and I have looked forward to each new book in the series.

Frieda Klein is a Psychotherapist living in London who has spent years being stalked by psychopath Dean Reeve. Reeve is a master at hiding from the police and killing innocent people, and he is obsessed with Frieda. From the beginning, she has tried to stay a step ahead of him, tried to help the police catch him—even when they didn’t even believe her that he was still alive. She is the only one who can get inside his mind and who stands a chance at guessing what he’ll do next. But up until now she has been unable to stop him.

In The Day of the Dead Frieda has gone into hiding. She has left her family and friends, telling no one where she’s gone. She knows Reeves will kill to get to her and in order to protect those she loves, she needs to distance herself and attempt to catch him, or die trying. One snag in her plans is Lola Hayes, a criminology student who is studying Frieda for her thesis. When she finds Frieda, she puts herself in danger and the only way Frieda can keep her safe is to take her along with her. It is soon clear that Lola’s life is still in danger and Frieda may not be able to save everyone, least of all herself.

Reading the last book in a series is always bittersweet. I struggled between savoring every word and devouring them to get to the end. I loved that although Frieda is the main character, she doesn’t even appear until nearly page 100. As onlookers, we first see the lives of her friends who are worrying about her, going about their business as if in a fog. We see people who don’t know her discussing her whereabouts and her history in dealing with Reeve. We watch police detectives investigating new crimes as bodies are turning up around town with no clear connection. When Frieda does appear the real manhunt begins and the cat and mouse game is ramped up.

Although there is no mystery as to who the killer is, there are twists and turns along the way as Frieda attempts to trap Reeve. Even though I anticipated a certain ending to the story, I was still surprised at the events that transpired and found myself drawn in until I had turned the last page.  

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review is fair and independent.