Beneath
the Skin by Nicci French is taut psychological thriller about a sexual
predator. It is a chilling read that gets under your skin and leaves you
wondering how well you really know those around you.

Beneath
the Skin is set in North London during an unbearably hot summer. Three very
different women are targeted by a serial killer: Zoe is young, a schoolteacher
starting out in her career and in life; Jenny is older, a former hand model,
she is now a wife and mother remodeling her dream house; and Nadia is a
bohemian, she earns a living entertains at children’s parties. Three different
women, residing in different neighborhood, living different lifestyle,
struggling with different life issues, yet all three have one thing in common –
they are all being stalked by a predator who knows them better then they know
themselves. First, there are the threatening notes, horrid and disgusting, but
easily chalk up to a crank or pervert. 
Then there is the invasion of their home, something missing, or found,
with minute descriptions by only some one how had been inside. Soon these women
watch as their hopes are undermined and their dreams destroyed. Finally,
emotionally depleted, they are killed. They are all alone. Family and friends,
even the police do not seem able to help them. Who will escape? Who will live?
And who will die?

Beneath
the Skin is a scary read. The book is narrated from both the predator’s and
the women’s points of view. The predator studies their lives then subtly
destroys their jobs, relationships, hopes, and dreams. It is amazing to watch
how the stalker so psychologically abuse them that even their very will to
struggle to live is zapped. Meanwhile, the reader can follow the mounting
terror and finally the increasing despair as the women watch their worlds
collapse.

Personally, I found the book, while
very well written, has a few flaws. The characters are often not very likeable.
Zoe is very weak willed. She is young, but pathetically dependent on others.
Jenny is a bit obnoxious. She is snooty and almost pathologically
self-preoccupied with her looks. After these two, Nadia came as a breath of
fresh air. She was alive and vibrant. The various police officers and other
professionals came across as inept and incompetent. At times, it seems that the
police have a “win one lose one” attitude towards the women. All this being
said, I finished this 400+ page book in little over a day. This is an
unprecedented feat for me. (I savor books. I do not devour them whole.)  I could not put this book down. Once it
began, the intensity of the stalking moved like an unstoppable roller coaster.
I just had to read one more page, one more hour, well, perhaps, maybe just one
hundred more pages.

"Nicci French" is the
pseudonym of the husband and wife writing team of Nicci Gerrard and Sean
French. Their first collaboration was The Memory of the Game published in
1997. Killing Me Softly, their first
novel to be published in the US is about to be released in the theatres. Beneath the Skin is their fourth
collaboration. Their latest US release is Red
Room.

Beneath
the Skin is not a book for the squeamish. The violence is intense and
graphic. It will keep the reader guessing and if it seems too much is learned
too soon, do not be so sure you know who did it! This book is filled with
twists and turns. It is a powerful read that can make readers question
their own world. I loved the book, but it is NOT a book for every one.

© 2002 Su Terry

Su Terry: Education:
B.A. in History from Sacred Heart University, M.L.S. in Library Science from
Southern Connecticut State College, M.R.S. in Religious Studies/Pastoral
Counseling from Fairfield University, a M.Div. in Professional Ministry from
New Brunswick Theological Seminary, a Certificate in Spirituality/Spiritual
Direction from Sacred Heart University. She is a Licensed Minister of the
United Church of Christ and an Assistant Professor in Library Science at
Dowling College, Long Island, NY. Interests in Mental Health: She is interested
in the interplay between psychology, biology, and mysticism. Her current area
of research is in the impact of hormonal fluctuation in female Christian
mystics.

Categories: Fiction