When the police show up at the station instead of Liam, Jude realizes that she knows nothing about the man he’s become. Now she’s tangled up in his life, the last person to have seen him, and maybe the only one who can uncover the truth about what went wrong—even if she destroys her own life in the process.

Jude twijfelt, maar stemt dan toch toe. Ze verzwijgt dit echter wel voor haar verloofde. Maar als het zover is, komt Liam niet opdagen... Jude besluit te wachten en niet veel later krijgt ze een telefoontje van de politie. Dit zet haar leven totaal op zijn kop. In 1987 Nicci had a son, Edgar, followed by a daughter, Anna, in 1988, but a year later her marriage to Colin Hughes broke down. I found the writing propulsive and exciting in the beginning, but I was not invested enough in the characters and in Liam’s world in the middle. I felt that Jude keeps making wrong decisions and cannot seem to help herself but instead get caught deeper into Liam’s world risking her life, her fiancé, and her career. Can she say no to anyone ever? Nope! She'll help anyone that asks for no compelling reason whatsoever. The only person she doesn't help is herself.

Jude makes her living as a geriatric nurse working the night shift. One day, as she's getting ready to leave, she's informed that she has a guest waiting for her in the lobby. Imagine her surprise when she see's that it's Liam, her boyfriend for a summer when she was 18 years old, the one she has thought of often throughout the years wondering what happened to him. I can understand why many people won't like this. The plot was basically non-existent, and the thrills were more like a small side of ketchup to the main dish—which was a character-driven story. You may ask yourself why TF would Jude do such a suspicious favour, but you'll learn that Jude is just a shell of a person. She followed the path lain out for her entire life. She doesn't have a strong identity. Then she enters Liam's adult world, his weird ass house that reminds me of a circus, with unsavoury, sexually aggressive, lost people, and develops her first singular opinion. Life is going pretty well for Dr. Jude Winter. She has a rewarding job in the geriatric division of a London hospital and is looking forward to her wedding to fiancé Matt in two weeks time. The police put forward several theories, none of which satisfy Jude, and make even more accusations. But it is the final theory that is the most chilling and absolutely feasible.

In 1989 she became acting literary editor at the New Statesman, before moving to the Observer, where she was deputy literary editor for five years, and then a feature writer and executive editor. I think other types of readers will like this book, but sadly it wasn’t for me. Rather than the twisty thriller that I was expecting, “The Favor” is a character-driven story with a slightly sinister edge but a pretty thin plot. The entire premise hinges on the reader believing that this intelligent young woman (a doctor!) would continually put herself in peril for a high school boyfriend. When Jude’s motivation is revealed, it makes sense that she might have felt compelled to do the initial favor, but it was unbelievable to me that she would keep going down a path where she is likely to end up behind bars or even dead. The ending is quite good and makes up for the fact that both Jude and the plot meander around for far too long. Doordat het begin zo goed was had ik misschien ook te hoge verwachtingen voor het verdere verloop. Helaas kwam dit dus niet helemaal uit. Wel is de schrijfstijl weer super prettig! Jude agrees. She goes along with his plan without asking too many questions, and without telling her fiancé. She follows Liam’s instructions, and waits. And then the police turn up, telling her that Liam has been found dead, in London. Why does Jude have his car, his bag, his wallet, his mobile phone, in a cottage in Norfolk? Jude’s explanation doesn’t really satisfy DI Leila Fox.Heart-thumping, head-scratching, nail-biting stuff: The Favour is classic Nicci French. I read it in one breathless sitting’ Erin Kelly BRINGING DANGER CLOSE TO HOME . . . THE GRIPPING NEW THRILLER FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR NICCI FRENCH, shortlisted for the 2023 Ned Kelly Awards for Best International Crime Fiction​ It's been eleven years since they last saw each other but Liam has come to ask a favor and Jude agrees, how could she not? Part of this favor has her lying to her fiancé so she can travel for hours to a cottage to await Liam's arrival and this is when and where he'll explain more.