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A review by papilionna
Höhenangst by Nicci French
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.