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stacyroth's review
2.0
I won this book as a FirstRead.
Alice Loudon has a typical life that most would aspire to - a serious boyfriend, a close-knit group of friends, and a good job as a research scientist. However, upon seeing Adam Tallis on the street one morning, she finds herself obsessed with him and unable to say no to anything he asks of her. Soon, she has broken up with her boyfriend, mostly alienated her friends, and is often skipping work because of Adam. The signs of Adam being controlling and abusive start almost immediately, yet in her obsession, she ignores them.
For me, the plot was predictable. The part that most surprised and horrified me was I felt like this could easily be the plot to a Lifetime movie.
Alice Loudon has a typical life that most would aspire to - a serious boyfriend, a close-knit group of friends, and a good job as a research scientist. However, upon seeing Adam Tallis on the street one morning, she finds herself obsessed with him and unable to say no to anything he asks of her. Soon, she has broken up with her boyfriend, mostly alienated her friends, and is often skipping work because of Adam. The signs of Adam being controlling and abusive start almost immediately, yet in her obsession, she ignores them.
For me, the plot was predictable. The part that most surprised and horrified me was
Spoiler
when Adam killed their cat to imitate the woman who had been leaving them threatening notes.papilionna's review against another edition
2.0
This review might contain spoilers and explicit language.
"Killing me softly" is a so-called psychological thriller by a writing team that goes under the name Nicci French. It is not only one of the most predictable crime stories I've ever read, but also a portrayal of a "love story" in the realm of 50sog.
Alice, our 30 yo main character, has to be one of the dumbest women in the history of literary fiction. She leaves her loving boyfriend and regular life for a stranger she falls in love with on a crossroad (not kidding you). So they meet, lay eyes on each other, later he waits for her when she leaves work and they go have sex in his apartment. So, not only does she cheat on her boyfriend, she also just goes home with this man she doesn't even know the name of.
She claims to know that what she's doing is wrong and at some point breaks up with the man, who we get to know as Adam, but then, out of the blue, dumps her boyfriend and leaves everything behind for Adam's dick. Seriously, all they do is have sex, they have literally nothing in common and don't even really talk about personal stuff. But, they get married after a few weeks.
Now, Adam is a mountain climber who, the year before, gained fame as a hero who saved a group of people in the Himalaya (but several people died there too). Yet, his mysterious past and the women in his life leave Alice to think that something is wrong with this. She starts to be afraid of him, but by then, it seems to be too late. It's not even a spoiler that Adam had something to do with these deaths, you know it from reading the blurb. Still, the authors spend three quarters of the book developing the revelation. So, as the reader who pretty much knows Adam is bad, you're kinda bored and annoyed by Alice's stupidity.
What really bothered me was the kind of relationship Adam and Alice have. They may have mind-blowing sex in the beginning, which is why Alice is totally intrigued by him, but gradually, Adam begins to be more violent towards her.
At one point, she has to see a doctor because of an anal fissure. This doctor is shocked by the state of her body and even tells her that this relationship might be dangerous. Alice has terrible pain, can't sit for a week, but of course, it's luuuuuuve.
In the last part of the book, Alice finally goes to see the police, which don't believe her and seem to think she's crazy. Then Adam shows up to have her commit to an asylum, but she saves herself by remembering the location of a corpse that Adam buried somewhere. The police indeed finds a body there, but before anything can be solved, Adam hangs himself with one of his climbing ropes. Alice keeps his murders a secret, so everyone around her, even her family and friends, are led to believe she is the mourning widow of a hero.
The only thing enjoyable about this book was its fast-paced writing style that had me gripped besides this otherwise stupid story.
"Killing me softly" is a so-called psychological thriller by a writing team that goes under the name Nicci French. It is not only one of the most predictable crime stories I've ever read, but also a portrayal of a "love story" in the realm of 50sog.
Alice, our 30 yo main character, has to be one of the dumbest women in the history of literary fiction. She leaves her loving boyfriend and regular life for a stranger she falls in love with on a crossroad (not kidding you). So they meet, lay eyes on each other, later he waits for her when she leaves work and they go have sex in his apartment. So, not only does she cheat on her boyfriend, she also just goes home with this man she doesn't even know the name of.
She claims to know that what she's doing is wrong and at some point breaks up with the man, who we get to know as Adam, but then, out of the blue, dumps her boyfriend and leaves everything behind for Adam's dick. Seriously, all they do is have sex, they have literally nothing in common and don't even really talk about personal stuff. But, they get married after a few weeks.
Now, Adam is a mountain climber who, the year before, gained fame as a hero who saved a group of people in the Himalaya (but several people died there too). Yet, his mysterious past and the women in his life leave Alice to think that something is wrong with this. She starts to be afraid of him, but by then, it seems to be too late. It's not even a spoiler that Adam had something to do with these deaths, you know it from reading the blurb. Still, the authors spend three quarters of the book developing the revelation. So, as the reader who pretty much knows Adam is bad, you're kinda bored and annoyed by Alice's stupidity.
What really bothered me was the kind of relationship Adam and Alice have. They may have mind-blowing sex in the beginning, which is why Alice is totally intrigued by him, but gradually, Adam begins to be more violent towards her.
At one point, she has to see a doctor because of an anal fissure. This doctor is shocked by the state of her body and even tells her that this relationship might be dangerous. Alice has terrible pain, can't sit for a week, but of course, it's luuuuuuve.
In the last part of the book, Alice finally goes to see the police, which don't believe her and seem to think she's crazy. Then Adam shows up to have her commit to an asylum, but she saves herself by remembering the location of a corpse that Adam buried somewhere. The police indeed finds a body there, but before anything can be solved, Adam hangs himself with one of his climbing ropes. Alice keeps his murders a secret, so everyone around her, even her family and friends, are led to believe she is the mourning widow of a hero.
The only thing enjoyable about this book was its fast-paced writing style that had me gripped besides this otherwise stupid story.
cubanbeauty's review
3.0
Good Story- nothing off the wall and standard story of girl falling madly in love to quick and realizing she didn't know the man at all. Would read another book by Nicci French
picky_04's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
rallin's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
gnome's review
2.0
I might have given this book a three star review, as despite my frustrations with it, it was an easy and strangely compelling read, IF by the end Alice came to the realisation that Adam had never loved her or any other woman, he was a narcissist with an ego the size of Everest. If you love someone you don't kill them if they want to leave you, you might be heartbroken but if you love someone you ultimately want them to be happy. I cringed at Alice boasting about her friend Clive thinking of her as the only woman who had known true 'romantic love'. Sorry Alice, but no one should ask you for romantic advice.
lnatal's review
1.0
A compelling thriller about a passionate and dangerous affair. Read by Amanda Root.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rl3w8
Abandoned!! This is not the kind of book I like.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rl3w8
Abandoned!! This is not the kind of book I like.
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