Frieda Klein is a psychotherapist with a curious mind and a detective heart, discovering what the root cause of mental health (or un-health) may be. It’s hard for her to not get involved when police detective Karlsson has noticed her intuitive skill at solving crimes. Josef is a builder from Ukraine, who literally fell into her therapy office through the ceiling one day while fixing something on the floor above. He is innocent and refreshingly honest as he brings some comic relief to the story. Frieda, a fiercely independent person, finds walking the streets of London therapeutic when she is confused or challenged and she has lots to think about with Karlsson’s latest case: a London social worker makes a routine home visit only to discover her client serving afternoon tea to a naked, decomposing corpse.
Series are so great to slip in between other reads. Already knowing some of the characters and the setting means an effortless continuation of the familiar while exploring new situations. It’s also, for me, a palette cleanser between courses especially if I am suffering from a book hangover after an epic read. Much like a TV series, some of the crimes carry on into the next book and some are new. That way the husband and wife team of authors (Nicci Gerrard and Sean French) keep their twisty thrillers seamless as well as interesting!
There was a chilling cliff hanger at the end of Blue Monday that is still lurking in this instalment, and more unfinished business at the end of this one as well. So yes, it is recommended to read this series in order: click here. They also have a number of stand alone novels, my favourite so far is The Lying Room.
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