The last days of Kira Mullan by Nicci French

Nicci French returns with another riveting psychological suspense thriller which kept me glued to the page. Nancy North is trying to pull herself together after a psychotic episode that meant she lost her restaurant and had to spend time trying to get back to normal. She has been supported by her partner Felix and together they move to a new flat hoping for a fresh start. Nancy is doing everything she can to get better;  she takes her pills and talks to her therapist, but she feels that something is very wrong in the building which houses her new flat. When a young woman Kira Mullan is found dead and the police believe it is suicide, she disagrees. What had the young woman said to her on the steps? Why would she commit suicide?  Because of her background with mental illness no one believes her, not even Felix or Kira’s close neighbours. Will she be able to trust her own instincts and convince the police that it was murder or will she be pushed to the edge with her illness? Meanwhile Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor, first seen in Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?  has misgivings about the thoroughness of the investigation and the quick way the case was closed and when the lead detective is away does some investigating.

This a novel that is very difficult to put down after the first few chapters. What kept me engrossed was Nancy’s plight with no one believing her because of her past medical history and the steps that are taken to keep her quiet are disturbing. Maud’s investigation almost takes a backseat to Nancy’s story; however fans of police procedures will not be disappointed, with enough red herrings and suspects strewn throughout the book to keep readers engaged in the plot. It is not until the very end that readers finds out whether it was suicide or murder.

The Last Days of Kira Mullan can be read as a stand-alone but people who enjoyed this will want to read the first in the series, Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? And I look forward to more books in this series from the very talented duo, Nicci Gerrard and Sean French.

Themes: Psychological thriller, Murder, Suicide, Mental illness.

Pat Pledger