Customer Reviews

Killing Me Softly: A Novel of Obsession

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Killing Me Softly was an engrossing novel of psychological obsession expressed as sexual obsession. Sort of a 9 1/2 Weeks light. I read it in a day and 1/2 and I'm trying to forget it so I can read it again! Alice, the heroine, is smart, brave and adventurous. She did the things women would love to do but don't really have the guts (or the heart) to do. Would you leave you nice boyfriend, comfortable life, college mates and parents for dream man? Many women have been tempted to go for it, but take the safe, expected route instead (bummer). I enjoyed reading about a WOMAN taking a huge risk, going over the edge, ENJOYING IT and living to tell about it! Adam the mountain man was also a mysterious, sexy treat. I found his character to be intriguing, sympathetic, needy and very, very,very sexy (if you don't mind the ropes!!!).

Women will love this book!!!!!!

After having read 'The safe house' and 'The memory game', I knew that Nicci Frech' third book 'Killing me softly' just had to be good. And so it was. It kept hold of me from the minute I started reading until the last word. In fact, I would have liked it to go on for a couple of hundred extra pages. The main character Alice is a very smart girl who lives in a London apartment with her boyfriend Jake. Until the day she meets this mysterious stranger she is very happy with her life. After having met with this gorgeous looking man, things change drastically for the worst. French knows exactly how to get a grip on your attention and how to keep it. You can feel the tension rising and you know nothing is the way it seems. Things are bound to go very wrong indeed if no one is going to interfere! Therefore I found it extremely difficult to put the book down. If I did, because I had to, the story kept my mind occupied, I could hardly think of anything else. The book is thrilling until the lastbit, highly recomanded!

Killing Me Softly kept me turning the pages. The suspense put me in a trance. Nicci French's writing is very haunting; she reigns as one of the best and most original psychological thriller writers today. She -- like British counterpart Helen Zahavi -- has the effortless ability to capture you with her dark world and interesting characters.

Alice Loundon's life couldn't be any more fulfilling. She is a successful career woman and is engaged to a wonderful man named Jake. Even though her personal life is in order, she feels that there is something, that there is a void that needs to be filled. Her ordered life lacks excitement. But things change as soon as she meets a handsome and mysterious stranger named Adam. After a night of passionate lovemaking with Adam, she dumps her fiance and marries Adam. Little does Alice know that she has embarked on a roller coaster ride of obsession and malice. There are some very intense moments in this novel.

Killing Me Softly has a Fatal Attraction quality to it that will keep you turning the pages. There are many thrillers out there -- especially thrillers about obsession -- but Nicci French's language is original. I am pleased that this incredible novel surprised me into consciousness. I urge to read this magnificent novel.

My mother recommended this book to me and my first thought was that this would be a "woman's book," since the author is female and the story is told in the first person by the female lead character. I picked it up anyway, and within a couple of pages I was thoroughly reeled in by French's writing. This is as good a psychological thriller as I have ever read, right up there with Thomas Harris's "Red Dragon," which is my all-time favorite. The plotting makes you want to read it in a breeze, yet every sentence has purpose, so you want to savor it at the same time. I finished this one in three sittings over three days, where the last sitting I was laying down on the couch reading for the first two hours, and I was so excited for the last half hour that I had to sit straight up. I was sympathizing with the thoughts of Alice, despite others here saying her actions were far-fetched, and could absolutely understand why she did what she did. The rough sex was disturbing, but essential to the story. This book gets my highest mark based on the enjoyment I got from it.

I got this book for Christmas, and let me tell you, it was different from any other book I've ever read. I read a section of it in a past issue of Cosmopolitan magazine; that's how I heard about it. The article in the magazine left me wondering and wanting to read more. So, I bought it. It is very well written, but quite disturbing. The main female character (sorry, I don't remember the characters' names!) has an affair with a man she has a chance meeting with. They pass on the street one day, and without hardly any words, they go to his apartment for an afternoon of mind-altering, life-changing sex. The man gets so deep into her mind and thoughts; just the thought of him is with her every waking moment of the day. Things take a bad turn, however...--I'm not going to give it away, though! You have to read it to find out! It became difficult to tell who was obsessed with whom toward the end: Adam (the mysterious man she met on the street-I remembered his name!) must have her by his side every waking moment. But, she is also constantly thinking of him. (The third side of the obsession question is the reader. Is it called a novel of obsession because the reader gets so into the story that he or she can not force themselves to put the book down? Hmmmm...) There are some very disturbing parts in this book--for example, some descriptions of domestic violence--that I did not find enjoyable, to be honest. Other than those few choice parts, this was a very good book. I could hardly put it down, once I picked it up! Is this a tale of true love, lust, or just a passionate affair with a total stranger? You'll have to be the judge of that. Enjoy!

If you have ever loved someone with your entire being and then discovered they were not who you thought they were you will relate to this book. I couldn't put it down and read it in one day. Her characters were extremely believable, likable and real enough to grieve for. A wonderful read that isn't easily classified as mystery or fiction. Drama is the best category for this book. A great read on a winter night by the fire with a cup of herbal tea...

An romantic, mysterious book which was intriguing and everyone who read it did so in one day! Great book. Different, yet really a great read. I hope the couple who wrote it writes many more books.

Anyone who knows Alice Loudon envies the young woman's near perfect life. Her boyfriend is handsome, nice, and treats Alice with respect. Her job as a research manager at a London-based pharmaceutical company pays well and is challenging.

However, her idyllic, seemingly established life abruptly changes due to a chance encounter while crossing a street. The eyes of Alice and mountaineer Adam Tallis connect. That evening Adam waits for Alice to leave work. He invites her to accompany him, which she does. They share the best sex of Alice's life. Over the next two months their relationship intensifies until they marry. Alice begins to neglect her work and friends. However, she begins to realize that the paragon she married has dangerous flaws. She learns former girl friends have died and now she is the target of his newest obsession.

KILLING ME SOFTLY is one of the best psychological thrillers of the year. The story line centers on an intelligent female enslaving herself to a dominant male even as she begins to question why. Adam is an intriguing but frightening character. However, this novel belongs to Alice, whose brilliant metamorphosis demonstrates the talent of Nicci French. After reading Ms. French's first time ever in America novel, sub-genre fans will obsessively clamor for the publisher to deliver her other two tales (only released in England).

Harriet Klausner

This book was excellent. I usually can not stand to read those sappy romance novels but this was anything but one. The first page had me hooked! From that point on I could not put the book down. This book makes you examine yourself as to where you are in life. I was constantly questioning if I could ever end up in a situation like the character. It was shocking, intruiging, page turning! Nicci French is a marvelous writer!

Exciting, erotic thriller about a London businesswoman and a sexy mountain climber with a mysterious past. This is a can't-stop-reading thriller that builds to a heart-pounding climax. French is a master of suspense; her prose allows the reader to see the story unfolding in their mind's eye. This book would make an excellent screenplay! Equally good is French's thriller, "Beneath the Skin".