Customer Reviews

Red Room

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't know about you, but when I read a book by one of my favorite authors, my expectations are higher than when I read a book by an author who is unknown to me. When the book doesn't live up to my expectations, I guess I feel so let down that I tend to be hyper-critical.

This latest book by Nicci French lacked the edge and the connection to the protagonist that I experienced when reading a French book. When reading "Killing Me Softly" and "Beneath the Skin," I was constantly asking myself..."What would I have done?" I rarely found myself asking that while reading "The Red Room" On the contrary, I felt no connection to the protagonist, Kit Quinn. Although the character is explored in great depth, I just could not get drawn into her life.

Most of the other characters in the book were not well defined and, quite often, I wondered why they were there at all. Story lines were introduced and never fully explored or haphazardly explained leaving me a bit bewildered at times.

This was one of those books where you are waiting for that stunning moment to occur. There was only one scene in the book that was reminiscent of the French style. Unfortunately, a three to four page scene is not enough to carry a book.

On the positive side, the book was a very fast read. Maybe that is because I was frantically turning pages hoping to reach the point when I would feel that sense of urgency I felt when reading the prior two books.

When I finished this book, I had the feeling that this was the first book in a series featuring Kit Quinn, who goes from being a therapist to a forensic psychologist and super sleuth in short order.

If allowed, I would give this book 2-1/2 stars. As homage to the husband and wife team of Nicci French who have given me so many hours of exciting and insightful reading pleasure, I will give the book a three-star rating.

I am left waiting for the next French book with the optimism that it will be up to the level of excellence of the prior two books.

I rather liked "The Red Room" by Nicci French. This novel is not quite like French's previous novels -- it is a little more subdued and restrained. The heroine, Dr. Kit Quinn, a forensic psychiatrist, is also a little different from previous French heroines: while interviewing a mentally unbalanced derelict, whom the police suspect of being a sexual deviant, Kit is rather badly scarred in the face when the derelict, Michael Doll goes spare and tries to attack the policeman in the interview room. Add to this the unpleasantness of being ignominiously dumped by her longtime boy friend, and you realise that Kit has lost a lot of her self-assurance and confidence. This makes her a little diffident at times, and very anxious at others. This is the tone that more or less pervades over much of the book; it can be exasperating for some readers, but if you put aside your preconceptions about how an investigative heroine is supposed to be or act, than "The Red Room" becomes a very interesting and rewarding read. Another interesting point about this mystery novel and it's heroine, is that Kit seems to operate best when she acts on instinct. When she first confronts the murder of the homeless runaway, Lianne, instinct makes Kit look at other unexplained murders/deaths, as she's very sure that that Lianne's death was not a one off. She gets very little support from the police and her own colleagues, who spend much of the novel downplaying her instincts and insinuating that Kit has somehow lost her edge and her astuteness. Here again is another difference between Kit and other heroines in the mystery genre: Kit is frequently unable to explain herself properly in order to garner the support she needs from the police and her colleagues. This, again could be off-putting, but I found that it added a kind of texture to the novel, making it all the more unique and interesting. What Kit shares in common with other mystery novel heroines is her fine sense of justice. Eventhough she's not quite sure if Michael Doll is a murderer or not, she refuses to take part in a kangaroo investigation that seems to be heading in the direction of fitting him up for the killings, solely because he is a rather repulsive and off-putting individual. Kit fights the police investigators all the way so that they will not take the easy way out and concentrate on one suspect only, thus losing sight of the 'big picture' sotospeak. "The Red Room" is a really interesting read. Kit Quinn, with all her anxiousness, compassion for the victims involved and their families, and courage to follow her instincts in spite of all the opposition she faces, is a rather engaging heroine. Some may find that her lack of assurance and her restrained manner makes her a rather uninteresting and unlikely heroine. However I found these traits drew me in more, and made her a lot more accessible than she otherwise may have been. The mystery itself was an interesting, if somewhat common one; however it was a well written and executed one, and engaged my interests from start to finish. A really good read.

“The Red Room” is a fine keep-you-up-all-night psychological thriller. The Frenches don’t let us down in this character-driven novel of suspense. A homeless teen-aged girl, only known as Lianne, is murdered near a canal in a seedy part of London. The police are certain they have their perpetrator, Michael Doll, who freely admits he was at the scene. Michael is a disturbed young man who has been convicted of minor sexual offenses. Have you ever met someone who you found disgusting and repulsive, but yet you found yourself pitying him or her? Meet Michael, a perfect example of the breed. The authors play the reader like a violin to elicit these contradictory emotions. This is one revolting guy, and yet---

Enter Kit Quinn, a psychologist who has an unpleasant background with Michael. The police want her to “sign off” on his ability to stand trial. Dr. Quinn thinks there is much wrong with Michael, but doubts very much if he is a murderer. And so our story begins.

Kit, an efficient appearing lady, who has a soaring imagination, captivated me. She is one of those people who have an aura of beauty and civility in everything they do. She gathers flowers, but does not garden. She is a fine appreciator of the smells, colors, and satisfactions of the freshest, simplest food—yet she claims she never has food in the house. I particularly liked that Kit is nobody’s fool; her awareness is very keen for both the faults and virtues of her friends and lovers.

The novel overflows with wonderful characters. Julie who descends uninvited on Kit and stays for the entirety of the book, is a free spirit and borrows food, clothes, and space shamelessly. Yet we forgive her because of her innate generosity, her charm and her humor. The middle-aged Detective Chief Inspector is convinced that Julie and Kit are romantic partners, and fumbles manfully to be sophisticated about his misapprehension.

The suspense builds and builds, the tension all the greater because we care about these people. We want the best for each of them and know it will not work out that way. The authors do not let us down and keep the intensity high through the last page. I liked this book and believe it ranks with my favorite French novel “Killing Me Softly.” Read it and enjoy.

The Stretton Green Police ask Market Hill Hospital for the Criminally Insane and Welborn Clinic Dr. Katherine "Kit" Quinn to evaluate Michael Doll. Parents have complained about the seemingly disturbed young male hanging around elementary schools and since he has a bit of a record for exposure, the police want a professional psychiatric opinion. However, in front of DI Furth, Michael smashes a mug and uses a sharp piece of glass to carve up Kit's face.

A few months later, Kit is out of the hospital having physically recovered except for a scar, but suffers nightmares from the assault. When DI Furth asks for her help with the murder investigation of a female teenager in which Michael is the prime suspect, a reluctant Kit agrees because she knows she must "humanize" her demon. Perhaps if Kit knew what is in store for her with this case, she would have said no and preferred to lived with her demonizing Doll.

THE RED ROOM is an exciting psychological thriller starring a great lead character psychologically suffering from the aftermath of the brutal attack by Michael. Kit knows she must confront the evil she has painted on the face of her attacker. Once she succeeds in de-demonizing her assailant, Kit still cannot let go of the case as her need to do the right thing propels her to continue to work on the investigation. It is her character that turns Nicci French's tale into an absorbing chiller that never allows the audience to catch their breath.

Harriet Klausner

Nicci French has written another wonderful trilling novel. The begining was a little harder to get into than her other novels. But still worth it. I couldn't put this book down. There is so many twist and turns that you just want to find out who did it and why. I doesn't quite make sense until the very end and she hits you with another twist. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries and pshyco thillers. If you enjoy Nicci French You must read "Benenth the Skin" That is her best novel!

The Red Room is a story of mystery and intrigue, yet it's so much more than your basic mystery novel. It entwines suspense and fear with human fragility and the need for meaning.
The plot revolves around the murders of two women in London. Though seemingly unrelated, there is one feature they share: the police's belief that a convicted pedophile by the name of Michael Doll is responsible for them. Clinical Psychologist Dr. Kit Quinn is asked by the police to give a psychological evaluation of Doll during the police investigation, during which Doll smashes a mug and uses it to scar Kit's face. When she returns from the hospital and the cases have escalated, Kit is more inclined than ever to prove to the police what she believes Michael Doll is - innocent.

While the book focuses mainly on the murders and the suspects, you can't help but realize that the underlying issue is the effect that the accident had of Kit's self-confidence, shattering it and immersing her in self-doubt and loss of self. Her intense interest in the case seems to stem not only from her care for the victims, but also from her need to prove she's still competent and to take her mind off her own problems. In order to solve the crimes though, she'll need to piece herself back together before she can help the police.

While Nicci French works overtime to build up the sordid web that is the plot, the ending isn't as fulfilling as one would hope and occasionally the plot seems to get sidetracked. Also, the main character is not quite as open as one might like her to be, causing frustration at times considering the novel is told in first person tense. The hunt for the killer and the complexity of the character relationships still make it a worthwhile and addictive read.

The title of the book comes from a dream Kit has while she was recovering in the hospital. It is a metaphor for the center of all the fears we carry, a place inside all of us where our nightmares become reality. Basically, the book succeeds in what it sets out for. Showing us that the only way to escape our fears is to enter the "red room" and face them.

Nicci French, The Red Room (Mysterious Press, 2001)

I've heard a number of times that The Red Room is just plain not as good as French's previous blockbuster, the much-loved Beneath the Skin. I don't really agree. While The Red Room is marred by something of a weak ending, the novel does its thing just as well as Beneath the Skin did. And the latter was such a cleverly-executed concept that expecting any mystery novel to hold up in comparison is probably a bit unfair.

The plot centers around a psychologist, Kit Carson, who every once in a while consults for the local police force. During one such consultation, a mentally challenged chap named Michael Doll shatters a coffee mug and uses it to scar Kit's face. Once she's back to work, the police bring her in on a murder where they believe Doll to be the perp, to give her a bit of closure. She ends up thinking he's innocent and starts going after the real killer, while the police keep trying to pin it on Doll.

There is much to this, and what's in the novel is good. There could have been more of what's in the novel; the relationship that develops between Kit and Michael is handled in a kind of easy-way-out tone, rather than exploring the places it had the potential to go. The police officers also seem to shift a little too quickly from solicitous to annoyed; the town has the word's first all-manic-depressive police squad (wouldn't be to out of place in an Ian Rankin novel, but here it feels less like quirks and more like shallow characters). But everything moves along, the plot strings are juggled deftly, and everything is tied up in a neat little bow at the end of the game. Worth checking out for French fans, but those who have not yet been introduced should probably go with Beneath the Skin. ***

This book begins with a startling and violent attack, in stark counterpoint to the exquisite control (a Nicci French hallmark) with which the authors tell the rest of the story.

Kit Quinn is a forensic psychiatrist in her early thirties. As the story opens, she is at loose ends, still grieving over the end of a long-term relationship. She is forced to focus, however, when the local police call her into a case involving a highly disturbed young man named Michael Doll. Kit's first encounter with Doll is memorable, as is the description of his terrible, squalid existence. As Kit recoils from Doll's peculiar, unwashed odor, the reader does too...and as she struggles to learn whether he is indeed the psychopathic serial killer the police think he is, we also feel her pity for this pathetic lost soul.

Pity, however, will not solve the string of brutal murders, nor will it render Kit safe from harm. As she goes through her days, shared by a rollicking and impossibly fey friend called Julia who has showed up on her doorstep looking for a place to stay, we become increasingly concerned for her well-being (and Julia's). Only later do we realize that Kit is beautiful, brilliant, and interesting. The very type of woman to attract a psychopath. Or two. Or...as the authors subtly but inexorably imply...perhaps more. Perhaps the very man with whom Kit eventually shares her bed...

The suspense in "The Red Room" is much more subtle than in "Killing Me Softly" and "Beneath the Skin," the authors' most recent offerings. But it is there. And palpable. Is the repulsive but pathetic Michael Doll the murderer? Kit's instincts tell her no. But if he is not bludgeoning women to death, who is? The enigmatic Will Pavic, a former businessman who now runs a halfway house for disturbed teenagers? Or even, as this reader wonderered, a rogue cop? Whoever it is, it is inevitable that he will strike out at Kit. And there lies the suspense.

Suddenly, as this brilliant story builds to its peak, the book ends. The killer is revealed, various plot lines are swiftly and unsatisfactorily pulled together, and there is a truly ridiculous and unnecessary epilogue that provides the final clue. One gets the feeling that the authors suddenly realized it was deadline time, finished the book in record time, and at the last minute, felt they needed to tie up the final loose end. What a terrible disappointment, after such a well-written, taut, and yes, elegant, thriller! The sloppiness of the last few chapters is so unlike the authors that one feels betrayed.

Would I still recommend this book? Absolutely, if only for the pure pleasure of the writing style, which does endure until the very last page. But don't expect the brilliance of "Killing Me Softly" and "Beneath the Skin," because it simply isn't there.

I loved Nicci French's first 2 books and put this one on order as soon as I saw she was coming out with a new one. Wow was I disappointed. I had a hard time finishing it. The book was nothing like her others. There was no suspense and when you find out who the killer is It seems completely unbelievable. I would not recommend this. If you want to read a good book by her get "killing me softly" that was a good read. I sure hope her next one is better.

Interview people in police custody is part of Kit Quinn's job. But when Michael Doll, a disturbed derelict caught hanging around a London schoolyard, breaks a mug and tears up her face during questioning, he also cracks her compisure and self confidence. The incident leaves her with recurring dreams of a red room, where nightmares become real...

Three months later, Kit is again called upon to talk to Michael Doll after the police pick him up for the murder of a teenage runaway. Her colleagues in the department think that involving Kit in the case might help her recovery and put Doll behind bars for good. It doesn't do either. For Kit believes Doll didn't do it, and he walks free.

Touched by the fate of the homeless girl, Kit becomes involved in a dangerous, deadly inquiry. But when she links the teenager's murder to the high-profile case of a pretty blond housewife, abducted in broad daylight and killed, the main figure in the middle of it all is...Michael Doll. As her investigation continues, Kit finds him always in the shadows. Outside her doorway. Inside her apartment. Calling her on the phone. Wanting to love her. Yet, even with her fear escalating, Kit has the gut feeling that Doll isn't a killer. Even more frightening is her suspicion about who is...

In her previous books, Nicci French claimed the territory of violent obsession as her own. Here she explores the geography of the twisted psyche even more deeply, breaking new ground as she opens up the dark places in the human mind...and reveals the red room, a place of nightmares, inside us all.