The Favor: A Novel

Out of your a$#, woman! That's what I wanted to say to the main character throughout this entire book. I have read every novel by this duo, but if this doctor is supposed to replace the last doc, um, maybe you could plant a little common sense into her. In all fairness, It's a fast paced story with many characters, and I enjoyed reading it, just wish I'd gotten it from the library...

Jeez a Pete. Where do I begin?I've been a fan of the wife and husband writing duo that is "Nicci French" since their debut novel "The Memory Game" waaaay back in 1997.Normally, I can depend upon them to write a (semi) harrowing thriller: something tightly written with interesting characters that is (usually) plot driven.I would compare their writing to that of Erica Spindler, Joy Ellis, or even (although this is a stretch) to that of Lisa Unger - usually a pretty good, and a gosh darn read.Well, not this time.: the backstory is weak, and ALL of the characters are simply unlikable. Let that sink in: ALL of the characters are unlikable.No spoilers here - except I paid full price for this book without having ANY idea what it was about: that's how much a hard-core fan I am. Well, have been. Up until now.In a nutshell: good girl meets bad boy trope. Good girl has been drinking, or smoking something, she's impaired, and ends up going off the road, smashing the vehicle into a tree, and causing injuries - but no death! - to her boyfriend riding shotgun, or the passed out couple in the back seat.Did I mention he was her "first", in every meaning of the word, and they'd only been "dating" for three months?No? It gets worse.As it's written, we are to assume that the bad boy was driving... but it's pretty readily obvious he wasn't. He ends up falling on his sword and taking heroic responsibilty for this accident, instead of letting the cupalbility rest with his good girl girlfriend who is on track to go to university to become a doctor. *rolls eyes*Eleven years later, we find our protagonist, now a successful doctor who specializes in geriatrics, and ABOUT to get married, receiving mysterious notification that she has a "friend" waiting to see her in the lobby of her current workplace. Yes, it's her o!d boyfriend, with whom she's had no contact for the last eleven years, but he needs a "favor" from her.You know, I've read many a book that has gently encouraged me to suspend my beliefs as I take off on a flight of fancy. Honestly, for this novel, not only would I have to suspend my beliefs, I would also be charged extra for the additional baggage with which I've had to stow away my aforementioned beliefs.Our simpering, and very starry-eyed protagonist, agrees to help her former bad boy boyfriend with this "favor" - gladly jeopardizing her career and her upcoming wedding because... well - what woman wouldn't?The favor is stupid, but then again, remember: so is our protagonist.The (contrived) plot only gets worse from there, whereupon our protagonist falls down a rabbit hole of " I'm-a-good-girl! I'm-going-to-sacrifice-my-life-for-this-idiot, because-I'm-egalitarian, and-everyone-deserves-a-second-chance" stupidity.Save yourself money and burn it home before you buy this book.

Character analyses are as fantastic as they always are in N. French books! Attention to details, depiction of the environment and the flow/tempo are also up to French’s standards! The story on the other hand failed to grip me this time. It is not one of French’s best books mainly because the overcomplexity of the plot has the opposite effect of making the story too unreal, simple or maybe childish.

And the author had a wonderful way of creating characters that you really wanted to follow and understand what was happening. The complexity of the plot was intriguing and interesting. I really enjoyed it

The author did not explore or explain the victim - as an adult, person, artist, partner, child or parent. I was left withput empathy for any character. There was too many similarities to other books read and the author missed the mark for trauma.Perhaps the author was on overdrive during the lockdown. I am looking forward to a post pandemic novel.

All of their work is great and this was no exception. Although the main character had plenty of education she appeared too 'unsuspecting' throughout the plot. Still, as usual a very terrific suspenseful read.

I regret purchasing this book. The protagonist was so unbelievably stupid it was just annoying. I felt frustrated through most of it and kept hoping it would make sense. It didn't.

The Favor by Nicci French is a highly recommended psychological drama.Jude has reached her life goal to be a doctor. She has found love, is planning her wedding and is happy and satisfied with her life. This all makes it a completely unexpected and shocking surprise when her first love, her boyfriend from 11 years ago, suddenly shows up at her work. She hasn't seen him since the car crash they were in as teens. Liam wants a favor from Jude. It's an odd favor. He wants her to drive to a country cottage in his car and then pick him up at the train station later that night. She's not supposed to tell anyone what she's doing and he'll explain it all when he arrives. Jude does as he asks, including lying to her fiance about where she is, but Liam never shows up on the train.Back at the cottage, Jude is uneasy, especially when she hears a noise and realizes that it is Liam's phone, in his bag which she brought to the cottage for him. Someone is trying to call him and after this the police call his number. Jude learns that Liam has been found dead. Her favor makes her part of the murder investigation and could result in the loss of everything she has.It is a huge leap of logic that Jude would do this odd, weird favor for someone she hasn't seen in 11 years. This preposterous plot point will hang over the story until, finally, her reason for doing it is explained later in the narrative. Now, many readers may has guessed something like her secret was the case, but Liam also making her along with his brother an executor of his will is equally odd. The house of unusual people Liam was living with, including his girlfriend and son, are also offbeat. Jude quickly becomes entangled into secrets and lies swirling around Liam's social circle.Jude is a fully realized, engaging character and easy to connect with even when you are questioning her choices. As she becomes involved in Liam's life after his death, a picture of his life and character also emerges. Once she begins looking into Liam's life, she begins to realize that she is perhaps the only one whoThe writing is excellent in this psychological drama and held my attention even while I was doubting almost all of the choices Jude was making over everything. Author Nicci French (Nicci Gerrard and Sean French) are well known for their tension filled psychological thrillers and dramas that are filled with misdirection and twists. The Favor compares favorably to their other collaborative novels and is an enjoyable, engrossing page-turner.Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of William Morrow & Company.

A page-turner as usual, but the plot seems a little more logical and not as unbelievable and farfetched as in the others, when the solutions came to me like some sort of letdown. Granted, the main character seems unstable and undecided beyond belief, letting herself stay surprisingly adrift and tossed around by events, but it still kept me glued to the book.