Abbie Devereaux has been kidnapped and held in a dark room. She doesn't remember being abducted and doesn't know how she got here. She can't see her captor, who has plans to kill her very soon. Just as she finds life slipping away, she makes a daring escape into the London streets.
Doctors, psychiatrists and law enforcement personnel interview Abbie as she recovers in the hospital. She can't remember much of her recent life aside from her job, her boyfriend and their flat. She doesn't know where she was held, so the police can't investigate the crime. She soon finds all the people that are supposed to help her recover don't believe her story.
Upon release from the hospital, Abbie returns to the flat she shares with her boyfriend Terry. She's surprised to find that most of her belongings are gone and she doesn't know where they could be. Terry arrives to offer some surprising information that has Abbie even more confused about her behavior before the kidnapping.
Abbie tries to piece her life together while living in fear of running into her kidnapper. Nobody believes her and now she's starting to question her own actions. Abbie's terrifying journey is played out in Land of the Living.
Nicci French's fast-paced novel is gripping from page one. Abbie's kidnapping ordeal (which lasts about 50 pages) is memorably horrifying. Readers experience the drama from Abbie's perspective, uncovering bits of the story as she discovers them. When Abbie discovers her unusual pre-kidnapping behavior, readers will wonder if she's imagining the whole story as well.
The carefully calculated suspense of Land of the Living is a cut above most thrillers. French successfully plots a tale that keeps readers spellbound in the adventures of an otherwise average Londoner. Abbie's ordeal is believable (and frightening). Her friends' reactions of disbelief are also believable easily qualifying this novel for the you-won't-want-to-put-this-one-down cliché.
Land of the Living originated across the pond, so brush up on your British slang. If works by Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson are your usual speed, then fasten your seatbelt. Nicci French drives Land of the Living in the fast lane of suspense.
