Sunday Silence by Nicci French

Good morning, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the TLC blog tour for Nicci French's latest, Sunday Silence. (See, see, Sunday is out!)

Sadly this is apparently the penultimate entry in the series :(

When a body is found beneath the boards of her very own floor, Frieda Klein finds herself the center of a criminal investigation. 

No, it's not the first time she's been involved in a criminal investigation. And no, it's not even the first time she's been the focus of the investigation as a potential suspect. In fact, it's just the latest in a game of cat and mouse that's been going on much too long. The killer, Frieda is certain, is the same man she's warned authorities about for years now. A man who's been stalking her, leaving behind clues that lead straight to Frieda. A man everyone else believes is dead. But Frieda knows the truth. The question is, can she finally convince the police before she herself becomes a victim?

A running theme in this series has been the growing contention between certain members of the police force and Frieda herself. As a consultant, she was a trusted ally and solved many cases for the authorities. And she still has friends on her side who know this to be true. And yet, there are certain people who have done their best to undermine her efforts and chip away at her credibility. We've seen this before in the series. We've also seen, time and again, Frieda plead her case that Dean Reeve is not indeed dead.

Both of these are at the center of Sunday Silence, the seventh book in this smart and seriously fabulous series! And of course it ratchets up the tension of the book. As a reader who's been by Frieda's side for so many years, we have the insider track. We know what Frieda knows, that Dean Reeve is alive and has been taunting authorities for years.

Balancing that tension is the fact that Frieda's circle of friends is steadfast. And the fact that the authors have spent fair time building that supporting cast is one of the things that makes this such a great series. Each character is carefully drawn and wonderfully fleshed out. And that includes Dean Reeve.

While Reeve has been at the periphery of a number of installments at this point, it's clear the series is building up to a big showdown between him and Frieda. And unfortunately, with just one more installment to go, it's certain that's coming soon. The final book in the series, Day of the Dead, releases in July and I have to admit that I don't want it to end! 

Mystery fans in search of a rich series should definitely add this series to their "Must Read" list. The plots are so intricately planned and clearly put together with each following story in mind - the attention to detail is phenomenal. Honestly, you just can't go wrong with this series!

I do recommend starting from the beginning, if only so you can experience the full emphasis of the character relationships and the way the overall arc builds (though each one can be read as a starting point without too much trouble), so here's the series list in order:

Blue Monday

Tuesday's Gone

Waiting For Wednesday

Thursday's Child

Friday on My Mind

Dark Saturday

Sunday Silence

Day of the Dead (forthcoming)  
To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official tour page here.

For more on Nicci French and their work you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble