3.5 stars
While this was very readable and kept me turning pages, most of it was due to the fact that I could not believe the poor judgment this woman (a doctor nonetheless) displayed and every single character was unlikeable. The situations were bizarre and rather unbelievable, even if you are able to suspend reality in the name of enjoying fiction. It doesn't make sense that our MC would agree to do an unspecified favor for someone from her distant past...until you find out one of the twists. But still, it's a questionable decision on our dear doctor's part, and one she definitely pays for. It turns out in the end that how it all played out was an entertaining way to spend an afternoon.

I received an ARC of this book from William Morrow via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. Unfortunately, I was not a huge fan of this one. It was so very slow moving, or maybe it was just that virtually nothing happens? The only thing that was remotely exciting was Jude's motivation for accepting the favor, only because I didn't expect it and it does sort of help make sense of the situation. But then it was just the same thing over and over - the housemates are weird. What happened to Liam. Jude being convinced to do things she does not want to do. By the end, I really did not care who did it, though there was one portion of the reveal that was shocking (at least to me). This almost seemed not finished or something, like the author rushed to publish without really getting the story locked down.

Let me start off my saying that I didn't know this was a husband/wife team when I started reading their books. I absolutely love that! I think it is amazing that they have written 24 books!! Bravo to them!! That makes me love their books even more. (I knew that little tid bit when I read this book. One of the reasons I requested it from Netgalley)

Okay, now on to the review.

The Favor. Can you imagine someone from your past coming to your work and asking you for a favor? You haven't talked to this person in over a decade. That part to me was hard to wrap my mind around. I'm a no nonsense type of woman so I'd have told him to buzz off. BUT once I took that out of the equation and vunderstood more of the relationship it was easier to understand why Jude agreed to help Liam. Then, Liam turns up dead. Jude is now thrust into his life while attempting to maintain

The house Liam lived in with his gf, son and other people is like the twilight zone. I felt like she was sucked in and couldn't get out. Heck everyone in Liam's life was just like that. It was weird and I loved it 🤷🏻‍♀️

I got this book from #NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.This is my first book by this author duo.I almost did not finish this book but it picked up pace and I am happy I finished it.

Jude has not seen her old boyfriend Liam in years. Suddenly he pops up in her life asking her to do him a favor. He asks her not to tell anyone including her fiance about what he asks her to do. She agrees because of something that happened in their past and she owes him this.
Things go wrong and it all ends up a mess!! How will she get out of this?

I enjoyed this story. Was a quick read that kept my interest. I will be looking for other books from this author.

This was a great book! Lots of twist and keeps you turning the pages. I recommend this book to everyone who likes murder mysteries with satisfying (yet thrilling) ending.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The opening premise of the story had me hooked - Jude and Nat are preparing for their wedding when an old boyfriend shows up, Liam. They have a history that was tucked away long ago following a serious car accident, and this was a surprise visit! She had often thought of meeting him by chance, as she had things that she needed to say to him. After small talk, Liam asks her if she will do him a favor. He wants her to go to Springs Cottage, an Airbnb, to meet with him on Saturday. He assures her he wouldn't ask her to do anything wrong but tells her she can't tell anyone. She would take his car, drive up there alone, and when he arrived later that night, he would explain the whole story. She agrees, and promises not to tell anyone, which means lying to Nat. He gives her his credit card to pay for gasoline, tells her where the key to the cottage is, and tells her he left a bag of stuff in the trunk that she should just put in one of the two bedrooms. He also asks her to buy some food, with his card of course, so they can have a late meal. And so, it begins ~

This book is full of twists. You will never guess what really happened to Liam. You never know who Jude can trust. I think I liked this book, but it just was never ending twists and surprises. There's a lot of characters and they all seem very untrustworthy. Jude, seemingly, gives up her good life, for a guy she dated when she was 18. Overall, it was good and just leaves you wondering why Liam contacted Jude, after all those years.

New authors for me, so I jumped at the chance to read it. I hadn’t realized it was a collaboration until I read about the authors.

Dr. Jude Winters is contacted by her first love, who she hasn’t heard from in years, for a Favor. An odd request with many red flags, but she agrees. Why would a successful doctor with so much to look forward to agree to this? It makes more sense when the reason is revealed. But what a crazy cast of characters and crazier unrealistic situations! This book is definitely character drive, and I can’t say I enjoyed any of the characters, they were just too ‘out there’ for my liking! Usually when I read a book by two authors, it is very cohesive their voices blending and coming together as one. I didn’t find that with this book, I just knew something was off for me. This book wasn’t for me, but I will definitely give the authors another try.

Thanks to Nikki French, William Marrow and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

The newest novel by husband and wife duo Nicci French is a domestic suspense with short chapters and an engrossing plot line that make for a quick, enjoyable read. At 429 pages, it’s a little thicker than many mystery/thrillers but the pages are filled with twists, unusual characters, and a few red herrings that kept me entirely invested throughout. I ended up finishing this one in two days!

SYNOPSIS:
At 18 years old, Jude and Liam were in love. The all-encompassing, life-altering kind of love that leaves a mark on your heart forever. Until the car crash. After the wreck, Jude didn’t hear from Liam again. 11 years passed and Jude is now a physician with a fiance and a wedding date. One night, Liam shows up at her hospital asking for a favor. Jude can tell life hasn’t been as kind to him and, surprisingly, she agrees. All she has to do is drive to a train station to pick Liam up in a different town. Simple, right? When Liam doesn’t show up and the police come knocking, Jude realizes she is in way over her head. She is quickly pulled into his chaotic life and expected to provide answers to questions she simply can’t. The only way back to normal is to find the truth of what happened…even if it completely ruins her own life in the process.

THOUGHTS:
This is the first Nicci French novel I’ve read and I’m definitely adding their backlist to my TBR. The short chapters and single narrator made it that much easier to fly through this book.

There are quite a few characters and their various personalities give more suspense and volitility to the story. The main character, Jude, is easy to like but she makes some awful decisions! This obviously aided in the plot development but I definitely wanted to ask her what she was thinking a few times!

Overall, I recommend this book to everyone who likes murder mysteries, one narrator, and a satisfying (yet thrilling) ending.

Thank you to William Morrow for the advanced copy! All thoughts are my own.

The Favor by Nicci French is about Jude, a young doctor, whose bad decision to do a favor for her long lost teenage years boyfriend, proves to be catastrophic for her life. I really enjoyed the concept of the story. The book started out very fast paced, but the middle lagged a little bit. It came back together at the end, and I really liked the way it wrapped up. Some of the decisions the main character makes are frustrating, but that just added to the feeling of dread and anticipation that the story had. I am a Nicci French fan and I always look forward to books by them! Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions on my own.

This high profile story will have you on the edge of your seat!!!!!!!! I loved this book as I'm sure everyone will too.

This book was really suspenseful and it definitely moved fast. Jude was incredibly foolish. I was yelling at her for most of the book.

As always, Nicci French delivers another suspenseful thriller. Dr. Jude Winter is asked a favor from an old boyfriend, but not just any boyfriend. Liam Birch was the love of her life and it ended almost as soon as it began. Jude feels she owes Liam so even though it's a really odd request, (as they haven't seen each other in 11 years) she agrees to help him out. However, Liam ends up murdered and Jude's life seemingly blows up. She is put on leave from work, the police are investigating her "favor", her life is all over social media and her fiance ends the engagement. Just as confusing, Jude finds out that she is one of the executor's of Liam's will. As she feels like he still owes him, Jude goes about trying to sort his life. It gets very messy and complicated very quickly. Being "befriended" by the odd group of people Liam lives and works with doesn't help. On top of that, who killed Liam? And are they now after Jude?

*Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow and Co. for this e-arc.*

Jude is a doctor and is engaged to be married. When her high school boyfriend shows up after 11 years asking for an unknown favor, she is very surprised. Liam won't tell her what the favor is just yet and she can't tell anyone. She reluctantly agrees to meet him at a remote location where he will explain. Liam never shows at the appointed time. Later she learns that he has been murdered and as the last person to see him she is questioned by the police.

An, shall we say interesting, cast of characters. Not really sure I liked any of them. With one bad decision after another, Jude is drawn further and further into the life Liam led.

I liked the premise of the story a lot, but was a little disappointed in it as well. Not a bad book but not as exciting as I was hoping.

Thanks to netgalley and William Morrow for the arc.

In this stand alone suspense novel, Nicci French successfully unleashes tension as the story unfolds. After agreeing to do a favor for an old flame who shows up out of the blue, Jude suddenly doesn’t seem to have any control over how involved she becomes as the situation fallout of her past and present colliding steamrolls through her life. An engaging read from start to finish.

My thanks to William Morrow, William Morrow Paperbacks, Netgalley and the author for early access to this novel.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Jude who is a doctor is told she has a visitor. She sees her friend Liam who she hasn't seen in over a decade. He asks her to meet at a hotel so they can talk. When he goes missing, she us the last person to see him alive. Thus book kept me guessing.

You have to suspend logic to enjoy this one. After all, would you agree to drive hours away as a favor to an ex you haven't seen in 11 years? Well, Jude does and then finds herself under the microscope and in the cross hairs when Liam is found murdered- and she has his cell phone. Moreover, she's been made the co-executor of his will. Odd, just odd circumstances but she stays in the house where he's been living with a cast of characters who might make you want to say get out. It's not that suspenseful or plot heavy (I know, given the set up this surprised me as well) but more of a character study. I liked this for the writing as French has a way with both storytelling and phrasing. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. What if she'd said no?

The Favor by Nikki French started off as an interesting thriller…but it quickly got super boring. I seriously considered just not finishing. It was just way to long, especially for how it turned out. I kept telling myself, “ok there’s so much build up, there has to be a big twist.” There was no big twist.

I’m giving it 2.5/5 because it started off with an interesting storyline.