After a weekend at her father’s house, three year old Poppy comes home with a stack of drawings-and the last one was is VERY disturbing-a woman falling out of a tower-all in black crayon.

When Tess asks Poppy to explain the drawing, all she can say is “He did kill her”

That night she has a nightmare and wets her bed. “Don’t hit me!” She cries. And, then she asks her mother, “Are you still dead?”

What in the World happened over the weekend?

As Poppy’s behavior becomes increasingly disturbing, Tess’s reactions become more and more unhinged! She feels UNHEARD by everyone-as nobody else seems concerned by the things that Poppy is saying and doing. She begins to suspect everyone and anyone who has had contact with Poppy.

I could feel her frustration.

What mother wouldn’t feel helpless in this situation? Her daughter did not yet have the words to express what was upsetting her and could only try to do so through drawings and behavior.

This was my first read from husband and wife author duo, Nicci Gerard and Sean French.

I was engaged from page one and enjoyed picking up the book whenever I got the chance-BUT this story has quite a few plot holes. I like my i’s dotted and my t’s crossed, with my endings but quite a few things were left unexplained. That is ok when a book’s ending is meant to be ambiguous but that wasn’t the case with this one.

The well developed characters of Tess, whose love of her daughter is evident, and her adorable, red headed toddler, Poppy stole my heart. And, the story did entertain. So, despite the 🧀 Swiss cheese ending-I am giving this a 3.75 and rounding up!

I enjoyed this buddy read with friends Susan and DeAnn, and we all agreed that we want to tackle some of the author duo’s vast backlist when we get a chance! Check out their amazing reviews as well!

I received a gifted copy from the Publisher, provided through NetGalley! It was my pleasure to offer this candid review!

Tess's life has been going smoothly. Her daughter has adapted to the split of the partnership with her ex Jason and Tess has a new boyfriend. So when her daughter starts behaving strangely after returning from a weekend at her father's, Tess starts to worry. This worrying leads to her investigating a woman's death and placing herself in danger.
The Unheard is a fast paced thriller with many twists and turns. Everyone is a suspect in Tess's eyes so she doesn't know who to trust. Tess is a little extreme and maybe a little unhinged but she is trying to protect her child at all costs.
The Unheard is a good thriller that keeps you guessing. It moves quickly with lots of action. The only downside I see is that the characters were all unlikable which seems to be an ongoing theme in thrillers right now.

Thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow, and HarperCollins Publishers for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

This book was way longer than it needed to be and because of that I lost interest quickly. There was nothing glaringly wrong with the characters or plot line but it just seemed played out to me. The broken up couple, the child as a plot device, the "surprise" twists all just came off as lazy and uncreative. Granted, I couldn't do any better but this wasn't my cup of tea.

How would you react if you thought your preschool child had witnessed something horrible? Maybe something violent?

Tess faces this scenario as she attempts to decipher her daughter’s drastic change in behavior. What follows is her frenetic attempts at discovery - legal or otherwise.

I really enjoyed reading this - to the point of putting another book I’d started aside. Something intangible hooked me right in and I had to finish before I could move on.

This was kind of a sleeper and a bit more complicated than I’d given it credit for. I was wrong in my assumptions and was happily surprised at the conclusion which made for a fun buddy read.

I would describe this as a domestic thriller with a heavy helping of family drama. It’s my first read by the author duo and I’ll definitely try more.

Thank you to publisher William Morrow, author Nicci French, and NetGalley for my advanced electronic copy to read and review.

4 unreliable narrator stars

Poppy is an adorable red-headed three-year-old. Her mom Tess is really worried though when Poppy starts acting out, wetting the bed, and drawing disturbing pictures. What has prompted this behavior?

Tess begins her own investigation and I started to wonder if she was an unreliable narrator! She is suspicious of everyone in her life, ex-partner and Poppy’s father Jason; her new boyfriend Aiden; her upstairs neighbor and even the husband of her best friend who occasionally cares for Poppy.

Soon she’s talking to the police, a therapist, and I wasn’t sure how far she would go. It was obvious that Tess would do anything to protect Poppy, but was there something sinister even happening? How much is just Tess’s anxiety and fear?

This one kept me guessing and the tension was high throughout. I fell for a few red herrings, but I definitely enjoyed this one.

This was my first read by Nicci French, the prolific husband/wife writing team, and I was impressed! I will definitely work on reading some of their backlist titles.

I love Nicci French’s books and consider myself a true fan. I did not find myself as invested with this book as I have with her previous works. The writing is beautifully crafted, but I just didn’t have a love for the characters or storyline here I’m sorry to say.

I found there to be a bit of repetition, and a good deal of the plot required more of a suspension of belief than I am comfortable with.

That said, I think many will love this book, so I definitely recommend trying it for yourself.

What a pleasure to read Nicci French books! I was excited to jump into The Unheard and experience the suspenseful build-up and mystery the Nicci French partners do so well. The story is driven by Tess, mother of three year old Poppy as she begins to observe odd behaviors developing in her daughter's drawings, sleep and communications. Was Poppy exposed to something inappropriate or even criminal? And if so, by whom? Ex or current boyfriend? Neighbor? As Poppy's behaviors increase, Tess increases her efforts to find the answers, sometimes finding herself in increasingly dangerous situations. Tess even begins to doubt her own sanity as she tries to explain her fears and get police to help her based on the drawings and behaviors of a young child. I think what separated this book from other similar stories, was a mothers unconditional determination to protect her daughter and the importance of listening, to children. Good message.
Thanks to Netgalley and to Simon and Schuster for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m sorry to say this was a DNF for me. I found the premise somewhat intriguing, but the pull-off just wasn’t there. I don’t like the neurotic mother trope as I’m sick of female characters being labeled “crazy” as a crutch for poor character development.

This book is bonkers in the best way. I wasn't at all sure who I could believe (everyone seems to be at least mildly dangerous or lying for their own reasons) and Tess's grasp on what's really going on feels incredibly tenuous. I felt immediately drawn into the story and I shared Tess's panic for Poppy's safety. I didn't necessarily feel like she had witnessed a crime but it was obvious that something had happened.

I've never read Nicci French before and I definitely plan to seek out the backlist.

Recommended.

As always, Nicci French, does not disappoint. The Unheard is a psychological suspense thriller and exactly the type of book I can divulge in one sitting.

The Unheard, is ADDICTING to say the least.

This is a story about the unbreakable bond between a mother and daughter and a mothers instinct to know when something isnt right with her child. What did Poppy see? Tess is determined to find out.

This ending will definitely have your jaw on the floor. This book is definitely not predictable and will easily captivate your attention. I would highly recommend any book but Nicci French, however, The Unheard has easily become one of my favorites!

I enjoyed this book. Tess and Jason have separated and try to keep everything civil for the sake of their child, Poppy. Jason is now married to a woman named Emily. Tess is dating Aiden. Jason has Poppy for scheduled stays at his house. After one such visit, Poppy returns and draws a disturbing picture she drew and her behavior deteriorate, she uses some swear words, wets her bed, some bullying. Tess is very over protective of Poppy and the picture she drew of some one falling and Poppy saying "he did kill her", leads Tess to take her concerns to the police that someone was killed. I thought the book was well written and moved along quickly. I have not read anything by this duo before. I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley.

Poppy is 3 years old when her father leaves her mother, Tess, to marry someone else. Tess’s number one priority is her daughter. Suddenly, Poppy is acting out by clinging to her mother, swearing, talking about death, hurting her friends and erratic behavior. A dramatic picture she colors fore-telling a death is alarming. Tess seeks help from friends and the police when the death occurs suggesting it was a murder. Everyone believes she is over stressed and jumping to conclusions. She isn’t being heard so she conducts her own investigation. This is a well done psychological thriller.

Who can I trust? That is the question at the heart of the mystery that swirls around Tess and her three year old daughter Poppy. Poppy suddenly becomes both fearful and defiant, exhibiting disturbing behavior. The book is narrated by Tess, as she tries to determine who may be a threat to them both, and realizes that her daughter may have witnessed something that puts them both in grave danger. The plot and characters are expertly developed, and deviate in ways I could not imagine, but were completely plausible. This is a suspenseful, twisting book that kept me on the edge throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thanks to Netgalley and Scene of the Crime for my advanced copy!

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.

I looked forward to this book so much, having loved what the author has written in the past. But Tess was a mess. Tess took a scary parenting situation, a child showing signs that they have seen something so horrible, that it will scar them forever. A parent's natural instinct in this situation is to protect and save their child from possible harm. But Tess goes overboard. I don't know if this is some weird, delayed post postpartum situation she is dealing with or if she just needs to cut back on the wine. In my opinion, Tess adds to her daughters stress and possible psychological harm and also to the reader's.

I enjoyed the book, but not as much as I anticipated I would. Thank you William Morrow, Sam Glatt and Scene of the Crime for the preview e-copy of this book for my review.

The Unheard by Nicci French is the first book I have ever read by this author.

French does an excellent job of characterization. It was so good in fact, that when she revealed  who was responsible for killing Skye, I was completely flabbergasted.  The book was full of people who behaved at times in shady manners, so it was difficult to figure out exactly who was responsible. This was a very well done psychological thriller!

I appreciated how French pulled everything together by the end of the book wrapping it up neatly. this is definitely worth reading if you are a fan of twisty-turny thrillers.

Tess is an elementary teacher whose daily life is consumed with raising her 3 year old daughter Poppy. Permanently separated from her ex, Jason, Tess shares custody and he is the first she goes to when Poppy draws a strange and dark picture.

Jason seems defensive and Poppy begins to act out at school. Tess is convinced that Poppy has seen something to cause this behavioral change. A series of coincidences (or are they) bring a recent suicide to her attention. Who was it, and does she have something to do with Poppy?

There has never been a doubt that the husband/wife duo known as Nicci French are talented writers, but this particular novel greatly impressed me. I personally am not a fan of stories of women that seem obsessed with the behaviors of their children. In this case, however, I was sucked in immediately and truly couldn't wait to keep reading this book. Some of Tess's behavior was questionable at best (is she ever going to go to work?) but I didn't care, and it didn't distract me from the core of the novel.

If you like thrillers, this is a well written, fast moving, twister that you will love.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #TheUnheard

4.5 a woman who doesn't trust herself, gets alarmed by the dreams, pictures and words of her very young daughter. Are they both unreliable narrators. We watch as her world falls apart and her fear and paranoia increases. She starts finding out lots of secrets about her life and what she believed to be true. No one believes her and the police, who spend a lot of time with her are not on her side. This is both a tense thriller and a story of a woman learning to trust herself

The ending was predictable but the frenetic pace of twists, turns and suspense more than make up for this. Usually I rate waayyy down when a book is predictable but it was not the whole book AND the rest of the book I enjoyed. One of the best NIcci French books I have read in along time.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, Nicci French and William Marrow & Custom House Paperbooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 10/26/21

Nucci French has been my go-to author for a while now, but this book exceeded my expectations. A mother’s frantic search for the truth upon stumbling onto her daughter’s disturbing drawing is the driving force behind this terrifying domestic thriller. Amazing!!!

This book was such a great Rollercoaster! I loved the well thought out plot and the suspense that built through the story. This is NY first book by Tana French, but I'm certain now that it won't be my last! It was so fun guessing who it was and then having more information arise and I'm suddenly questioning my choice. This book was great at keeping me guessing till the very end