As a former psychology student myself, I really appreciated the character of Kit. I appreciated her attitude that "different does not mean dangerous". In this world, people are often too quick to judge, and they fear the strange and unexpected. That's why, when Kit refused to cave in to police pressure and testify against Michael Doll just because he was mentally unbalanced, I respected her. That's why, even when all the evidence pointed towards Doll yet she stood by her statement that he was not a criminal, I respected her.So it made no sense at all to me that, in the end of the book when the true murderer is revealed, the one Kit blames most is... their accomplice. I don't want to spoil too much, but Kit, who has shown to have sympathy for even the strangest people — it's part of her job to be accepting and understanding, after all — has absolutely zero sympathy for the accomplice, who is even shown to deeply regret what they have done. The murderer themselves is hardly mentioned at all after their reveal; we have no idea what happens to them or what kind of comeuppance they receive. It's all about the accomplice and I have no idea why.I initially found the book clever, intriguing, and generally well-written. It still is, I suppose. But the thing I most loved about it to begin with was its principles. I wanted to show this book to my children one day so that it could be an example of how to be tolerant and understanding of those with mental health issues. I wanted it to be an example of how you should follow your gut instinct and always keep digging under the surface until you found the truth of the matter, rather than being pressured into believing what everybody else around you believes. However, the way the book ended seemed to fly in the face of that and I now cannot in good conscience whole-heartedly recommend it.And that is a real shame, because it really was an incredibly well-written book.
Dr. Kit Quinn is a psychiatrist who occasionally interviews people in police custody. When she is asked to interview Michael Doll, it turns into a nightmare. The police think Doll is responsible for the murder of a young girl. Michael Doll is certainly creepy and scary, but Dr. Quinn doesn't feel he has it in to murder anyone. Needless to say, the police are not happy with Dr. Quinn and Mr. Doll is released from jail.Shortly after, another woman is killed and her body is found not too far from where Doll lives. Dr Quinn again does not feel he's the one responsible so she goes looking into the murder cases herelf.There is a lot of quiet action ... Kit is a very stubborn woman who has no problem standing up for herself against the tidal wave of ill feelings from the police. And once she finds a connection between the two women, they have to pay more attention to her ability to look at details no one else has thought of.When a third woman is attacked .. and ironically saved by Michael Doll, it get real interesting. Kit starts a relationship with a man who had ties to the first victim. And then Michael Doll is murdered.Great ending that I didn't see coming. I liked most of the characters ... they actually resemble a couple people I know. :-) I gave it 5 stars. Nicci French does a good job fleshing out the characters.
What do You think about The Red Room (2015)?
It might be a similar formula (as has been suggested) to other books by Nicci French but it works for me. I like the way the suspense builds up with lots of possibilities that keep you guessing until the end and this book was very good at that, I was miles off. Kit was a likeable character, remaining slightly troubled and lost from her own childhood loss which impacts on her involvement in the murder case. There may a bit of over emphasis on detail, ie, 'she dressed in pale brown t shirt with short sleeves and a pair of light blue, worn jeans with a hole in the left knee' (not taken from the book) which does give it a slight feel of ticking the boxes for a GCSE exam but generally the skill of the actual tale telling overrides it. Nicci French is my guilty pleasure and will remain so.
—Lisa (scarlet21)
I cheated a little as I had this on audio tape and listened to it over the past few days when I was too hot and tired to read. I had no knowledge of the author, or of the story really, before going in, and having finished, I feel not so much disappointed as underwhelmed. First off, the writing is littered with cliches and dialogue that made me cringe. I don't know if it was the voice acting that went along with the story but, no character stood out to me as being particularly well written. All t
—Sarah Goodwin
Kit Quinn, our heroine, is a psychologist dealing with the criminally insane. In the opening chapter we see her evaluating a suspect at a police station. She is attacked and injured... Some months later she gets drawn into a murder case that has her attacker, again, as the main suspect. Reluctantly she gets involved. Kit refuses to believe the obvious solution and finds other suspects and links to other murders. The police does not believe her conclusions and everybody begins to think that she can't deal with the stress so shortly after her injury. But she insists and find not only proof, but also danger...Set in London, in the world of street kids, the people that want to help them and others that prey on them... Good story, suspenseful, I never guessed the solution until the end (but then I never do). I just felt that French wrapped up the ending a bit to quick. It was a bit like "Oh, that's the killer!" and, oops, we're done...
—Cathy (cathepsut)
