The Red Room by Nicci French is popular mystery this Fall (2001)
and spent a number of weeks on the New York Times’ Best Seller List. It
is a psychological thriller that seeps like English fog through into the
dark recesses of London’s seedier neighborhoods and palatial estates. A
chilling read that kept me guessing.

Dr. Kit Quinn is a young psychiatrist who works at a private clinic
in London. On occasion, however, she is called in to consult with the London
Police Department. As the novel opens, she is called in to evaluate Michael
Doll, a scruffy young man with a dubious reputation, who was brought in
for hanging around a schoolyard. During the interview, the agitated Doll
breaks a coffee mug and deeply lacerates her face. Three months later,
on the very day that she is scheduled to return to work, Kit is once more
called in by the Police to consult on Doll. This time he is the prime suspect
in the brutal stabbing death of a young runaway. Brought in as a potential
witness, Doll confesses and then recants his confession. Kit must agree
with her colleagues at the clinic that she may not be objective in her
evaluation of her former attacker nor emotionally ready to face him. The
police, however, are eager to put Doll away once and for all, and want
Kit on the case. Ironically, Kit finds Doll’s story about a sexy police
officer with a rather “non-regulation” interviewing style to be quite believable
and supports his claims of innocence in the young girl’s death as well
as his charge of coercive entrapment by the police. Based on Kit’s evaluation,
Doll is released. Kit is kept on the case, but finds herself unpopular
with the investigating detectives who are intent on proving Doll’s guilt.
Force to the very fringes on the case, Kit interviews ignored witnesses,
finds overlooked clues, and investigated unlikely connections. When Kit
connects the runaway’s death to the sensational kidnapping and murder of
a society matron, Kit is grudgingly also included in on the high profile
case. Now more than ever, Kit finds her suggestions ignored, her judgments
criticized, her access to vital information is denied, and her attempts
to interview witnesses are thwarted. Eerily every way she turns, she encounters
the very real presence of Michael Doll. Is it really just coincidence?
Is he following her? And why are the police to put Doll behind bars?

“Nicci French” is the pseudonym of the husband and wife writing team
of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French.  Their first collaboration was The
Memory Game published in 1997. Killing
Me Softly, their first novel to be published in the US is about
to be released as a movie.
The Red Room is their sixth and latest
collaboration.

As mystery novels go, The Red Room kept me guessing. I was sure
I knew who did it early on, held to that view right up to the very end,
but then was proven wrong. Unfortunately, even when the killer was revealed
and the last piece of the puzzle fit into place, I was left confused and
still without a believable motive. I like my mysteries neat and tidy. I
want all the loose ends tied up and no dangling threads left hanging. This
novel is in tatters. Real life, however, is not neat and tidy. I suspect
real murders are also rather messy, pardon the pun. So this novel is quite
realistic, but still, I found it somewhat frustrating. Then again, Kit
Quinn has the making of an interesting series character. Perhaps, this
story is not over yet. Kit, I would recommend that you keep checking over
your shoulder!

© 2001 Suzanne Garrison-Terry

Suzanne Garrison-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,
and a M.Div. in Professional Ministry from New Brunswick Theological
Seminary. She is currently completing a Certificate in Spirituality/Spiritual
Direction from Sacred Heart University (July 2001). 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: I am interested in the interplay between
psychology and spirituality. My current research focuses on the
role of hormonal fluctuation during puberty, pregnancy, and peri-menopause
as a stimuli for mystical experiences. Through the study of autobiographical
accounts of the mystical experiences of “historically accepted”
female Christian mystics and additional biographical information,
I am analyzing the connection between the onset of mystical experiences
and biological data/symptomology for the potential existence of
hormonal fluctuation or irregularity. If this sounds like an unusual
topic, nota bene how many medieval female mystics began having
“vision” on or about the age of 40!

Categories: Fiction