This was kind of a middle of the road thriller. While it has some good twists, overall it is pretty slow and does not do a great job of capturing the reader. The characters are hard to get behind and root for, which for me, is kind of a deal breaker for this genre.

I enjoyed this book, but gave it a four star cause it was a little slow to me. I would still recommend this book.

well written book. It draws you in and keeps you guessing the whole way. I really enjoyed the book and looking forward to her next read. You can tell the book is well researched. The characters were easy to connect with I would recommend this book for anyone interested in WW 2 stories and intelligence.

This book was not my favorite of hers. I didn't really care what happened to the characters and the timeline was bit confusing at times. I would read something else by her if she is a new author for you.

I felt very meh after reading. The story as well as the characters felt very flat. Nothing was memorable.

The back and forth chapters were sometimes hard to keep up with and it was difficult for me to like certain characters. However it’s still entertaining enough to be a good weekend read.

This story was one that I couldn't quite wrap my head around. It was a wild ride and you were constantly questioning what was going on. I thought it was well done.

This book was good, very entertaining with a great mystery! I loved the characters and the storyline! I would highly recommend this book to everyone!

The Other Side of the Door
By Nicci French

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for the advanced copy for my honest review.

I have a hard time going back and forth in time in stories which is exactly what this story does.
With that, I had a hard time getting into this story for that reason.
Before…Bonnie Graham is a music teacher and has been asked to get a band together to play at a friends wedding. Bonnie then tries to get a band together for this one performance for the party. How can she say no?

After…Bonnie is standing in the door at a friends place and there is a dead body. She instills the help of her friend Sonia to dispose of the body.
Who killed this person? Why did Bonnie feel the need to dispose of the body?

Nicci French, the author of eleven internationally bestselling novels including Killing Me Softly, Catch Me When I Fall, and Losing You, delivers a sexy, intricate thriller about the temptation of secrets, the weight of lies, and the price of betrayal and suspicion.

A fast paced thriller, but it did not have anything too unexpected about it in my opinion.

This one had some pretty good twists, however, it fell a little flat for me. I enjoyed the back and forth chapters, but I really hated the characters. I didn't relate to any of them and I didn't feel any remorse for the character who was killed off. Bonnie the main character is a musician who is asked to put a band together and perform at a friends wedding. Bonnie soon finds a dead body at a friends flat, and it is unclear who the body belongs to. The chapters then go back and forth from before the murder occurs, to after the body is found which was interesting. This helped to bring the plot together more for me and build up to what happened and who the dead person is. This story was suspenseful, I just really didn't care for the characters.

cw: domestic abuse

This was originally published with the title <I>Complicit</I> in 2009 and republished as <I>The Other Side of the Door</I> in 2021. I didn’t realize this when I originally requested an ARC from NetGalley (otherwise I would’ve just checked it out from my library), so I lost a lot of my excitement about it and couldn’t get motivated to finish reading the printed version. Then a few days ago I got an email from Hoopla about new thriller audiobooks they had on offer, recognized the title, and was super stoked to see that the voice actor is one of my favorites, Imogen Church. A few days later and I’ve finally finished it! I’d say this was a pretty solid murder mystery centered around some very unlikable characters. I didn’t guess correctly whodunnit, but the motive and method of the actual killer ended up being believable for me, so that’s a plus. However, it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger/tense moment that needed closure, so personally I’m not a big fan of that for these types of stories. I think all of the characters were somewhat well fleshed out, although a few felt very stereotypical in their actions and descriptions. The time jumps from Before and After were a bit jarring at times, with several of the Before passages seeming to serve no purpose (unless I missed something), but the writing was engaging. The mystery was interesting but I don’t think it was unforgettable (with my memory, I’ll probably forget everything by the end of this year). I’d probably try another Nicci French book, but I won’t put it at the top of my list or anything. I definitely recommend the audiobook though - it made my commute and work days much more enjoyable.

(3.5)
This is a pretty good thriller. It’s not incredibly fast paced but does carry a good pace by flipping back and forth between ‘before’ and ‘after’.
Bonnie Graham shows up at her boyfriend’s apartment in London. When she enters, she is absolutely horrified to see his dead body, a pool of blood on the floor. She doesn’t call the police though, instead she calls a friend and together they wipe away the evidence and get rid of the body. As anyone would do, right?
Bonnie is a music teacher. She has spent a hot summer in London rehearsing with a band to play at a friend’s wedding. However, what was supposed to be fun becomes a complicated mess when friendships are twisted and some begin to unravel as the days go by. Old relations are broken as new are formed. Soon, the summer of fun, love, happiness, and music turns deadly. Passions turn to murder, lovers become betrayers, and friendship becomes it’s own sort of crime
This was good but not absolutely terrific. It’s a decent read where you keep guessing about what’s about to happen, even if you think you know.
This is a fun book and one that is great when you just have a bit of time to kill.

A slow-moving domestic thriller that took me a long time to get through. It gave no hints or clues or how the mystery was unfolding. A hard book to get into.

I love a thriller, and was excited to read THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR!

The story begins with a woman who discovers the body of her dead boyfriend in her apartment, but she decides to hide the body to protect the unknown killer.

Told in alternating timelines, I enjoyed parts of the book, but guessed where things were headed pretty quickly.

*many thanks to William Morrow/Custom House and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I enjoyed the twists this book had to offer. The format of the book kept me interested as well. Many of the characters were unlikable for me so I didn't feel as invested in the book at times. Overall a 3 star review from me.

The other side of the door was a thriller book that begins with a woman finding her dead boyfriend in her apartment. I think if this book was a little shorter without the extra fluff, I would be all about 4 stars, sadly illl go with 3. Kept me entertained but didn’t wow me.

Having read so many of Nicci French's books over the years, it no longer surprises me when they deliver a suspenseful, taught, and thoroughly twisted thriller. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR is just another smartly crafted story with captivating characters, deadly secrets, and an investigation leading us all the lies that have piled up. Soooo good!

How is it possible I didn't see it coming, yet when it came, I was slightly underwhelmed; and still...I really liked this book??!!?? The story is told in a back and forth before and after style which I liked, but since I was listening to the audio was sometimes a bit confused so had to keep pulling up the ebook to verify where I was in the story. That was my fault for not giving it 100% attention, but what can I say, I'm at work so my attention is divided. I truly did enjoy this story, the characters and the mystery at the center of it all and from the beginning I was convinced I'd figured it all out. I was so, so, so wrong! Love when that happens! I do recommend this book, it's a good tale and you'll like several of the characters.

The Other Side of the Door by Nicci French
3.5 stars. I’ve read four previous books by the husband and wife team that publish under the name of Nicci French. This mystery, a stand alone, was both intriguing and engaging. I particularly liked the structure and the single narrator point of view. From the 1st page we are aware that a person is dead and has been found by his lover. We know she cares for him and is emotional distraught by the death but who exactly did the killing and why is a mystery. This is a well crafted story with a tight cast of characters. There is the narrator, a high school music teacher and several of her friends who are requested to play at a friend’s wedding. Into their midst come a tall dark stranger, also a musician, who sweeps our narrator off her feet and is the corpse on the first page. The structure is one of duel timelines, A Before which gives background and the After which tells how various characters deal with the crime’s aftermath along with the investigation.
In the Before chapters we learn various character’s backgrounds and why they might be the killer. We learn a little about the man murdered, but mainly that he is a dislikable person whom any involved would like to see dead. All these hints but even though the characters are few (easy to keep track) it certainly kept me intrigued.
I loved that we got to see the crime from two different perspectives but the constant jump in timelines did get a little annoying. The story would really start to get going and then abruptly the story would revert to an earlier time. It was a great structure with short chapters that kept the pace high but I found it something I both appreciated and found it disrupting to the flow.
In all it was a simple, easy to follow mystery, with good characters and a fast pace. I never really cared about the characters and was not convinced of their motivations and the ending felt a little flat. The twist when it came was not quite believable to me. If you are looking for a fast paced mystery that will draw you in quickly and move right along—what I call a popcorn or airplane read—this would certainly fit the bill. Just don’t expect it to stick in your mind.