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Blue Monday. Nicci French Paperback – Jan. 1 1887

by Nicci French (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 5,347 ratings
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The first book in the Frieda Klein Mystery series

“Complex psychological suspense at its best.” —Booklist (starred review)

Immensely intelligent and poignantly human, Frieda Klein has captivated book critics and crime readers everywhere with her debut outing as Blue Monday's iconoclastic heroine. A psychotherapist and insomniac who spends her nights walking along the ancient rivers that lie beneath modern London, Frieda stars in a dazzling new crime series in which the terrors of the mind spill over into real life.

When five-year-old Matthew Farraday is abducted, Frieda cannot ignore the fact that his photograph perfectly matches the boy one of her patients describes from his fantasies. Before long, Frieda finds herself serving as the reluctant sidekick of Detective Chief Inspector Karlsson at the center of a desperate race to find the kidnapper. Blue Monday is an atmospheric, stunning first novel in a crime series for fans of In Treatment and The Killing.


Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 8
    Freida Klein
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Books Ltd
  4. Publication date
    Jan. 1 1887
  5. Dimensions
    12.9 x 2.6 x 19.8 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    9780141040752
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0141040752
  8. See all details
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Product description

Review

Praise for BLUE MONDAY:

“Fast-paced and spooky…it leaves readers with the promise of intriguing tales to come.”
—People (****)

“A neat puzzle with a satisfying resolution and a terrific twist at the end.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“[A] superb psychological thriller . . . With its brooding atmosphere, sustained suspense, last-minute plot twist, and memorable cast of characters, this series debut will leave readers eager to discover what color Tuesday will be.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“With its smart plot, crisp prose, and a stunning final twist, this is psychological suspense at its best. Absolutely riveting.”
—Booklist, starred review

“This is psychological suspense done right. The authors pace themselves and build the tension slowly while carefully developing each of the players. For fans of Tana French’s and Lisa Gardner’s moody, dark, twisty thrillers.”
—Library Journal

“Complex and flawed, Frieda Klein is a refreshingly human protagonist, an intriguing debut for a truly unique character.”
—Tami Hoag, bestselling author of Down the Darkest Road

“A searing psychological thriller in the rich vein of Kate Atkinson and Laura Lippman, Blue Monday is powerful and gripping—a page-turner with heart and soul.  Psychotherapist Frieda Klein is an enormously appealing new series hero.”
—Joseph Finder, bestselling author of Buried Secrets

“Unrelenting . . . unnerving . . .  unforgettable. Psychological dynamite.”
—Alan Bradley, bestselling author of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

“Nicci French creates a haunting and complex psychological puzzle about memory and heredity, with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very end.  This gripping thriller certainly bodes well for the future of the series and I look forward to reading more about unlikely heroine Frieda Klein.”
—Camilla Läckberg, bestselling author of The Ice Princess

“A fabulous, unsettling, and riveting look at motives and memory and relationships. And what drives people to do the unthinkable.”
—Louise Penny, bestselling author of A Trick of the Light

“Nicci French is undeniably at the top of British psychological suspense writing.”
—The Observer (UK)

Praise for TUESDAY'S GONE:

"Seamlessly mixes a foreboding tone and deliberate pacing with deft plot twists that should leave readers pleasantly chilled to the bone."
—Publishers Weekly

"Starts as a grim psychological thriller in the vein of Dennis Lehane’s darker novels and turns into a fascinating puzzle in which character analysis holds sway. Highly recommended for fans of psychological suspense who enjoy a complex protagonist."
—Library Journal (starred review)

"The plotting is fast-paced with surprises galore, and characters literally come to life on the pages. . . . When readers are through, they will find themselves waiting impatiently for Wednesday to arrive!"
—Suspense Magazine --This text refers to the audioCD edition.

About the Author

Nicci French is the pseudonym for the internationally bestselling writing partnership of suspense writers Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. They are married and live in Suffolk and London, England. --This text refers to the audioCD edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0141040750
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books Ltd (Jan. 1 1887)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780141040752
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141040752
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 298 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 2.6 x 19.8 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 5,347 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Nicci French

    Nicci French

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    Nicci French is the pseudonym of English husband-and-wife team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, who write psychological thrillers together.

    Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Apdency (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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  2. French

    French

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
5,347 global ratings

Top reviews from Canada

Kerri Gibson
5.0 out of 5 stars What a great book
Reviewed in Canada on August 3, 2020
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This book caught me right at the start and kept me interested the whole time. Great characters. I have read a few of the later books and it was so interesting to read how they all met.
One person found this helpful
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Fictionophile
4.0 out of 5 stars A thought-provoking, fast-paced, well written thriller
Reviewed in Canada on October 2, 2015
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As a long-time fan of Nicci French novels I was delighted when my ‘in-person’ bookclub, Whodunit, selected “Blue Monday” as our group read for the month of September.

The first novel to feature Frieda Klein, a solitary, sometimes stern, unmarried, childless woman in early middle-age who works as a psychoanalyst in London.

Frieda’s character fascinated me. She is a study in contrasts. She is a risk taker with seemingly little regard for her own personal safety. She goes for solitary walks through London in the dead of night to tire herself when suffering from insomnia. She doesn’t have a cell phone, preferring to be adrift and out of contact when not at work. Yet… Frieda loves her house, a dark and comfortable oasis which she deems a place of cleanliness and sanctuary. She has a penchant for structure, rules, and orderliness.

Frieda loves London and the affection of place is obvious in the atmospheric “Blue Monday”. However, she holds little affection for her family whom she feels do not value her, nor she them. She prefers the well denoted boundaries of her work relationships to those of a personal nature, though recently she has fallen for a man whose presence could upset the structure of her well-ordered life. Will her longing and affection for him allow her to forfeit the life she has built for herself?

When one of Freida’s clients leads her to believe that he may be implicated in a child abduction, Frieda surrenders her professional ethics and goes to the police. The policeman in charge of the case is at first skeptical, but she ultimately wins his trust and professional respect. Together they chase down leads and encounter shocking revelations whilst searching for a young, abducted boy. They discover that this case may be linked to another similar case which took place over twenty years ago…

Many themes are touched upon in “Blue Monday“. Professional ethics, guilt, nature vs. nurture, the merits of psychoanalysis, the damage caused by child abduction, human foibles, secrets, and more.

A thought-provoking, fast-paced, well written thriller containing several twists and a surprise ending, this novel will appeal to fans of psychological suspense. I always enjoy novels which accurately portray the contradictions and uncertainties inherent in human behavior and this one does that very successfully. Highly recommended.
2 people found this helpful
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Margaret
5.0 out of 5 stars Nicci French mystery series
Reviewed in Canada on January 6, 2021
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The first three books in the series was a gift. They are excellent mystery stories.
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Angela Cuzner
3.0 out of 5 stars good enough
Reviewed in Canada on January 29, 2014
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Maybe it's because I've read so many sub-standard books lately, but I found this one to be agreeable, not a complete farce. Interesting enough.
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Tara Figueiredo
4.0 out of 5 stars Can’t wait to read the next in this series!
Reviewed in Canada on March 10, 2020
Blue Monday Review

This is the first in the Frieda Klein series. I really enjoyed it but wish things were explained a little better. I’m hoping that, that gets better as the series continues. I can’t wait to check out the next one! Have you read any of the books in this series or anything else by Nicci French?

SYNOPSIS:
Frieda Klein is a solitary, incisive psychotherapist who spends her sleepless nights walking along the ancient rivers that have been forced underground in modern London. She believes that the world is a messy, uncontrollable place, but what we can control is what is inside our heads. This attitude is reflected in her own life, which is an austere one of refuge, personal integrity, and order.
The abduction of five-year-old Matthew Farraday provokes a national outcry and a desperate police hunt. And when his face is splashed over the newspapers, Frieda cannot ignore the coincidence: one of her patients has been having dreams in which he has a hunger for a child. A red-haired child he can describe in perfect detail, a child the spitting image of Matthew. She finds herself in the center of the investigation, serving as the reluctant sidekick of the chief inspector.
One person found this helpful
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Lorraine
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on June 16, 2018
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Arrived safely...enjoying getting to know some of the characters in the book
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Kept me interested
Reviewed in Canada on July 13, 2020
Enjoyed the story. Kept me interested to the end. The narrator of this audio book was hard to listen to, but I enjoyed the suspenseful nature of the storyline.
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B. Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars Well done
Reviewed in Canada on September 8, 2018
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Good read-will read others in series
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Top reviews from other countries

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Elke Meixner
5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating and a mind blower!
Reviewed in Germany on March 20, 2024
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This is Nicci French at their best. I've read quite a few books by this couple, but none were so captivating like this first Frieda Klein story. How much research had gone into writing this, and such creativity. A lot of twists and turns and the end is an absolute shocker. I can't wait to read Tuesday.
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Amaranta
5.0 out of 5 stars ¡Buenísimo!
Reviewed in Mexico on June 9, 2021
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Estupendo thriller psicológico, con una psicoterapeuta como personaje brillantemente delineada. Gran historia que te mantiene atrapada. Personajes aterradoramente humanos. Es el primero de una serie que no querrás perderte.
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PK
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent premier livre de cette série de Frieda Klein
Reviewed in France on September 6, 2018
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Un très bon polar. Je recommande juste de bien commencer avec ce premier livre de la série. Les autres livres (Tuesday -> Sunday) sont des histoires distinctes, et pourraient éventuellement être lues séparément, mais dans chaque livre, les auteurs dévoilent/répètent certains choses qui se sont passés dans les livres précédents, donc ça enlève un peu du plaisir et surtout des surprises si on les lis dans le désordre.
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Linda
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2018
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When I bought this book I was a little dubious as to whether I would enjoy it or not, having read the reviews it didn’t sound too promising. However, I found that I really enjoyed it pretty much from start to finish. The main character, Frieda Klein, is a strange woman and somewhat irritating to say the least, but not to the extent of spoiling the story. In fact, her characteristics lend a charm to it and are how I would expect a psychotherapist to behave – no offense to actual psychotherapists as I don’t know any but it is a general perception that I have.

The story itself was engrossing and at a certain point gave me chills down the spine when I reached on OMG moment which just made me want to rush on and read more. It dealt with fascinating issues and was totally immersing. One of things that I really enjoyed was that it made me think about things that had never entered my head before which I found interesting and thought provoking.

I loved many of the other characters, especially Josef who I thought was lovely and I do hope he is a constant character in the rest of this series. I also wonder whether we will see or hear any more of Sandy. I am extremely pleased that I took the plunge and committed myself to buying more of this series already as I am looking forward to reading more. I have been a fan of Nicci French for a long time but this series certainly strikes me of some of their best work.
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Ed Baines
5.0 out of 5 stars I love this series
Reviewed in Spain on February 15, 2018
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I love this series, although Frieda Klein can be pretty annoying. I particularly like Joseph - the illegal immigrant builder. Well worth a read to see if you'll become a fan.
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