Title: The Unheard by Nicci French
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 464 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
In this new heart-pounding standalone from the internationally bestselling author that People calls “razor sharp,” a single mother suspects her young daughter has witnessed a horrible crime when the girl draws a disturbing picture—but the deadly path to unravel the truth could cost her everything.
Maybe Tess is overprotective, but passing her daughter off to her ex and his new young wife fills her with a sense of dread. It’s not that Jason is a bad father—it just hurts to see him enjoying married life with someone else. Still, she owes it to her daughter Poppy to make this arrangement work.
But Poppy returns from the weekend tired and withdrawn. And when she shows Tess a crayon drawing—an image so simple and violent that Tess can hardly make sense of it——Poppy can only explain with the words, “He did kill her.”
Something is horribly wrong. Tess is certain Poppy saw something—or something happened to her—that she’s too young to understand. Jason insists the weekend went off without a hitch. Doctors advise that Poppy may be reacting to her parents’ separation. And as the days go on, even Poppy’s disturbing memory seems to fade. But a mother knows her daughter, and Tess is determined to discover the truth. Her search will set off an explosive tempest of dark secrets and buried crimes—and more than one life may be at stake.
Review:
The Unheard by Nicci French is a tension-filled mystery.
Tess Moreau is a single mum with a three-year-old daughter. She is working part-time as a teacher and struggling to adjust to living alone a year after her long-term relationship with Jason Hallam ends. She shares custody of their daughter Poppy with her ex partner Jason who has recently married. She has been dating Aidan Otley for the last few months, but she is taking her time with this relationship. When Poppy returns from her weekend at Jason’s, Tess becomes worried when her daughter’s behavior changes. Then she sees Poppy’s latest artwork which depicts a woman plunging to her death. Tess is convinced Poppy witnessed a death but will the police believe her when she takes her concern to them?
Tess knows the break up with Jason was the right choice and they are committed to a civilized custody arrangement for their daughter’s sake. She is immediately worried about Poppy because of the drawing and the behavior changes. She is a little irritated that Jason does not share her concern. But Tess is determined to get to the bottom of whatever is troubling Poppy and she decides the police might be the answer. Detective Inspector Kelly Jordan patiently listens to her story, but Tess is frustrated when there is nothing the DI can do to help.
Tess makes some changes to her life in order to focus exclusively on Poppy. With the police not taking her fears seriously, Tess starts investigating on her own. When she finds a death that seemingly matches Poppy’s drawing, she once again goes to DI Kelly who brings in her partner Chief Inspector Ross Durrant. But is there any way to prove this death is in any way linked to Poppy or her drawing?
The Unheard is a suspenseful mystery that moves at a fast pace. Tess becomes increasingly unreliable as she becomes suspicious of Jason after learning unexpected information about him. Her anxiety reaches new heights as she attempts to find out what happened to the woman who recently died. The storyline is intriguing with interesting twists and turns. With a jaw-dropping revelation, Nicci French brings this riveting mystery to an edge of the seat conclusion.
