Reviews - What to Do When Someone Dies

92 reviews for:

What to Do When Someone Dies

Nicci French

3.34 AVERAGE

kayewa's review against another edition

2.5

Not a single character in this behaves like a recognizable human being

justmomo_'s review against another edition

2.0

It is a slow story and it was because I was determined to finish it I was actually able to read the last page. Nothing much happens for the most part and it gets exciting in the last 100 pages. This was my first Nicci French book and I heard great things about the author(s), maybe the other books are better.

limonik's review against another edition

4.0

I just finished it in one sitting and it was not my intention to read that long but the book got me hooked. This is a very VERY thrilling story about Ellie whose husband dies in a car crash with a mysterious woman Melina next to him. Ellie is torn between not being able to believe that he cheated and being so frustrated and heartbroken that he might have cheated. I kind of guessed the ending, but it still got me hooked on the story and I could not put it down. I will definitely read the other books by the authors.

bites_of_books's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I picked up this mystery thriller on a whim when I visited my local bookstore. I am not very familiar with the mystery/thriller genre so this was a bit out of my comfort zone.

In this book we follow Ellie Faulkner's journey after her husband, Greg, dies in a car crash with a strange woman. As Ellie is trying to wrap her head around what just happened, she is also faced with the possibility that Greg might have been unfaithful to her. Between dealing with grief and all of the things that have to happen after someone dies (telling family and friends, funeral arrangements, grieving), she also starts to try to confirm if Greg was unfaithful or not. What follows is a case of her playing detective, lying to various people, and getting into a bit of a mess as the mystery starts to unravel.

While I thought that the plot was quite well crafted, at times I did find it tiring and a bit repetitive to be inside Ellie's mind throughout the book. This is certainly understandable since she's going through a lot, remembering her husband, and also trying to connect the dots surrounding his death but for me it made it a bit slower than I would have liked. The time jumps also seemed strange, but again, this might be to mirror Ellie's state of mind where some days just melt into others and all of a sudden it is weeks or months later, I just tend to like to have a better sense of the timeline for a mystery I'm trying to solve LOL.

Overall, if you're interested in a mystery thriller that really dives into someone processing grief, interesting twists, and a supporting cast of wonderful friends, then do check this one out! It's a nice read for rainy evenings with a hot cup of tea.

sophb84's review against another edition

4.0

This book was recommended to me and I have to say, Thanks! It's a fast paced, worrying book that wraps you in the madness(?) of the main character.

Ellie Falkner has to find out the circumstances of her husband's death instead of allowing herself to grieve. The lengths to which she goes to discover the truth are frightening and I will admit to reading the last 150 pages in one go.

Ads for being written by two people, I couldn't tell. Seamless voice and very well written. I shall be trying more Nicci French novels in the future.