Is it wrong that I have absolutely loved the fact that Nicci French's last couple of books have been standalones? I don't know if there is an answer to that, but "What to Do When Someone Dies" is another brilliantly tense and thrilling read from the duo. What I enjoyed so much about this book (and all the others) is the way they create characters that are real and throw them into these situations filled with twists, turns, and murder. Nicci French continues to be a go-to reads for me. Keep them coming!

Nikki French has been super hit or miss for me. I didn’t LOVE this one as the main character, Ellie, was super unreliable and not very likable. Her personality and actions made the story really hard to read. Overall a fast paced, okay read.

This suspenseful and twisty novel is a fun read that keeps the surprises coming throughout!
Wife and furniture restorer, Ellie Falkner, is at home making dinner waiting for her husband to arrive home. Instead the police arrive and announce her husband has died in a car crash. We soon find out a mysterious woman that Ellie has never heard of was in the car with her husband and was also killed.
Was he having an affair? Is he the man Ellie believed he was?

Ellie inserts herself into the mysterious woman's life and pretends helps her grieving coworkers Ellie is working to find answers to how her husband and this woman knew each other and what really happened the night of the crash.

Ellie Falkner was standing in the kitchen when the knock came. Standing at the door were two policemen. They inform her that her husband, Greg, died in an auto accident ... and he wasn't alone.

Those closest to her whisper their suspicions .... was he having an affair? Why else would he have some woman in his car when he should have been heading for home? And what kind of woman was Ellie not to have known or suspected?

When police determine the deaths were a part of an accident, Ellie is determined to discover whether her husband had been unfaithful. Before too long, she comes to the conclusion that her husband and the other woman were murdered.

As a psychological thriller, it was rather a slow beginning, that improved somewhat, but never reached the height of intense suspense. The reader is treated to Ellie's every memory, of every thought ... almost to the brink of boredom. There were only slight twists that lead to an ambivalent conclusion. The author's Freida Klein series is much more robust, suspenseful, and I loved the characterizations. I was disappointed in this one as I know Nicci French can write much better than this.

Many thanks to the author / William Morrow and Custom House / Netgalley for the digital copy of the psychological thriller/crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

A fun and frantic thriller where the pages almost turn themselves. When Ellie Falkner's husband dues in a car wreck, her shattered life is further strained after she learns he wasn't alone. Who was the mysterious woman in the burning wreckage? Ellie turns super sleuth as she hurls her life into solving her husband's possible murder. Another winner from two of my favorite authors. Always a treat from Nicci French.

I love the husband and wife duo that makes up Nicci French! You immediately get immersed into the story and it doesn't let go.

What to Do When Someone Dies by Nicci French is a recommended drama.

Ellie Falkner’s husband Greg Manning has died in a car accident. There was a passenger in the car who also died, Milena Livingstone, a woman Ellie doesn't know. The assumption of everyone is that Greg was having an affair with this woman. Ellie refuses to believe this. In her grief, Ellie sets out on a seemingly obsessive mission to to prove that Greg was not having an affair and discover who Milena was and why she would be with Greg. Ellie is certain that there is something more disturbing behind Greg's death. Even though she has a group of supportive friends trying to care for and encourage her through her grief, Ellie secretly sets off on her own search for more information.

Ellie's thought process as she grieves for Greg and tries to prove he was not being unfaithful is the focus of the plot. It is heartbreaking when she learns of his death and initially tries to deal with the aftermath and all that must be done. Some of the subsequent choices she makes and actions she chooses to undertake are not quite as understandable and the reactions and results of her search do require readers to suspend disbelief. Her search does help increase the suspense and tension, and raises doubts about Greg's death.

There were several times I questioned the reactions of characters in this novel. The first and most glaring was the assumption by seemingly everyone that Greg was having an affair because he had a woman in the car with him. How many people would really jump to this conclusion and then openly share this with Ellie when offering condolences? Perhaps I have a different group of friends, but this would never be something they would openly speculate over, jump to that conclusion, and then share their thoughts. After this point there were several other questionable occurrences, which I won't share due to the fact that they would be spoilers.

Setting aside my question over the character's reactions, What to Do When Someone Dies does create enough tension and suspense to hold your attention and keep you reading to the end. I predicted the ending early on while reading, but I did keep reading. 3.5, rounded down. I was reading a 2021 re-release of the 2008 novel.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of William Morrow.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble and submitted to Amazon.

Eleanor (Ellie) Falkner’s husband, Greg Manning, is killed in an auto accident. Another woman, Milena Livingstone, was in the car with him and also perished. Because of a fire, the investigation seems to stop at the simplest explanation, this was a terrible accident. And Greg was having an affair with Milena. Ellie refuses to accept the fact that Greg has strayed and begins her own journey to prove it. A detective she is not. She winds her way through her “investigation” which only puts her square in the eyes of the police. Supported by her friends throughout, Ellie finally realizes that she cannot prove or disprove her theory. An interesting concept for a novel, but it never really grabbed me. Ellie’s trials and tribulations in her search for the truth become irritating (unbelievable?) at times. I usually like Nicci French books, but this one was just ok. My thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book.

Woman's husband dies in an automobile accident. A strange woman is found in the car with him. Everyone seems to agree that he was having an affair except his widow. She pursues the truth in, at times, extreme ways. Suspend disbelief when you read this

This book started with some promise, but unfortunately just was too slow paced for me after that. I think the book had promise, if it could have kept me interested longer.

Ellie Falkner has just learned that her beloved husband Greg has died in a car crash, and that he was accompanied by Milena Livingstone, a femme fatale whom everyone immediately assumes was the other woman.

Ellie just doesn't believe it and obsesses with finding out what really happened. Even a murder doesn't stop her. She keeps digging, finds out what happened - and nearly dies herself doing it.

Started off strong but unfortunately couldn’t keep the pace throughout the whole book. The story was intriguing but it was too slow for my taste. There were a lot of characters which added to the suspect pool and kept you guessing until the end. The writing is well-done but I didn’t like Ellie or any of the characters for that matter. I was not invested enough to care about the outcome but glad I was able to push through to finish it. Overall, a decent standalone thriller if you don’t mind the slow pace and lack of character development.

What to Do When Someone Dies
A Novel
by Nicci French
William Morrow and Custom House
You Are Auto-Approved
William Morrow Paperbacks
General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 22 Jun 2021 | Archive Date 17 Aug 2021

This book was a slow starter for me. I will not be recommending it. Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC.
3star

I usually love any book by Nicci French but this one did not blow me away or make me go "OMG." like her other books. The premise and cover drew me plus it was also another book by her. I thought Ellie was a great character and well written but I did not understand all of her choices in the novel. Did her husband really cheat or not with the woman who was killed in a car crash with him? I did enjoy most of the twists and the ending was suiting, thank heavens.

The whole story was more of slow burn with elements of suspense. It was not like edge of your seat, OMG, like some of her previous books. I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

Overall, still a recommended book by NIcci French and I hope her next book is better than this one.

Thanks to Netgalley, Nicci French and William Morrow and Custome House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 6/22/21

What do you do when your husband is killed in a car crash with another woman? Assume like everyone else he was cheating on you. Then live your life as a victim of a cheater husband?
That is the choice you can make. Or you can pick up the pieces and not be the victim.
Great read!

As usual, Nicci French has written an absorbing story in which the characters leap to life as the reader is quickly drawn into a narrative in which suspense builds with every chapter. This novel is as much an exploration of grief as it is a mystery. As the story opens, the main character, Ellie, answers the door to two police officers who inform her that her husband Greg has been killed in a car crash that afternoon. Strangely, no other car was involved in the accident which apparently happened in a derelict industrial complex. Even worse, a woman unknown to Ellie has also died in the car next to Greg. Devastated by the sudden loss of the love of her life, she also must come to terms with the fact that everyone, including his closest friend, believes he's been having an affair with the mystery woman. To deal with her grief, the devastated Ellie decides to investigate both mysteries: the accident and her husband's involvement with the unknown woman. Of course, nothing turns out to be what it seems as the narrative advances to its shocking climax. The author portrays the progression of Ellie's grief in such an authentic way that the events draw the reader in and seem completely believable, even though viewed logically they are not. However, the point is that grief and love both often defy logic. The trope that everyone has secrets and that no one can ever completely know another person comes into play here as well as Ellie deals with issues of trust and betrayal. This story is intensely thought-provoking and stayed with me for several days after finishing it.

Ellie’s husband has died in a fiery crash and their was another woman in the car with him. Ellie is determined to prove her husband wasn’t having an affair. She goes about it in a very determined way but her friends and the police wonder if she has gone over the edge. This book didn’t grab me, but it was interesting enough to read. I had trouble understanding some of Ellie choices. The suspense was not edge of your seat, more developed slowly throughout the book. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I love everything I have read by Nicci French. She is an excellent writer and has a way of bring you into her story. There are times in this book that I felt I was Ellie and going through the tragedy with her and the discoveries that she makes. This book is a well written, can't put it down story with a twisted ending. I would highly recommend this for those who enjoy stories that pull you in and will not let you go.

I've been wanting to read a book by this author and though overall I think the writing was pretty decent and one of the characters end up getting better in my opinion as a story progressed. You know corky a little stubborn that was kind of fun and I liked learning about her. I don't think it was quite twisty and believable enough for me to fully enjoy it and love it but I do think I would recommend it and I think I do want to read more books by this author

I’m a fan of psychological thrillers, even those that require a fair amount of willing suspension of disbelief, so I was happy to receive a copy of Nicci French’s lates, What To Do When Someone Dies, from William Morrow/Custom House and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. TBH, the title was a bit off-putting — sort of sounds like a rather depressing (though likely helpful when needed) nonfiction title.

The premise was interesting, if a bit overdone in recent years: someone is notified that their spouse has died in an accident, and it turns out they were not alone. In this case, Eleanor Falkner’s husband Greg Manning has been killed in an automobile accident, along with his passenger, a woman Eleanor has never heard of. As far as she knew, Greg was a solid husband, their life together was good, and he was trustworthy…or was he? Eleanor is distraught and, although she is somewhat of an unreliable narrator, she tries to pull things together and figure out WTH was going on.

There is a cast of characters that are more or less friends of the couple and, although she seems aware that it might be better for her to focus on getting her life in order, she is unable to resist investigating the “other woman” to try to find out who she was, how she knew Greg, and what exactly their relationship was. She just can’t believe it was as it looks: an affair that came to light in a sudden and shocking way.

It’s hard to describe the lengths she goes as she tries to find the truth without giving too much away, and her actions definitely require the reader to just sit back and enjoy the ride, which I was happy to do. I kind of kept wanting to slap Eleanor, but overall It’s a fine bit of pandemic escapist reading, with twists and surprises and a plot that held my interest once I decided to just go with it. I wasn’t aware that Nicci French is really two people: English husband and wife team Ncci Gerard and Sean French. They have written quite a few psychological thrillers, all of which have the same sans serif font title on the cover, and some of which sound like they might be good…since the pandemic isn’t going away quickly, I am happy to find a new author(s) to enjoy. Four stars.