Land of the Living

by Nicci French

Book Overview

Land of the Living is a riveting psychological thriller from the acclaimed Top Ten bestselling author, Nicci French You wake in the dark, gagged and bound. A man visits you, feeds you. And tells you... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446531510
• ISBN13: 9780446531511
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Warner Books (NY)
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Story

This is a wonderful story that kept me on edge until the very end. I really enjoy the writing team of Nicci French. This is only my second novel of theirs, but I have already bought a new one to start today. We have all read the basic boring mystery story of the amnesia victim, but this story goes beyond that. What if you wake up and you find yourself tied down, head covered in a hood and in the hands of a killer. What if you are actually lucky enough to get away, but have trouble convincing the police, the doctors and even your friends of the truth? This is what happens to Abbie, the heroine in our story. She actually escapes from her killer, but does not remember the events that enabled her to be kidnapped nor does she remember the block of days before she was kidnapped. At first the police believe her, but then as they investigage, they begin to doubt her story, and believe that she may have made it up. Abbie has trouble convincing everyone of the truth, because she doesn't remember what actually happened to her in the days leading up to her kidnapping. This is an excellent story of an amnesia victim trying to piece together her life, before she was captured by a madman. Also, she knows she has to figure this out, because he knows she got away. An excellent story that kept me on edge to the end. I would highly recommend.

What if You Were Kidnapped and Nobody Believed You?

Abbie Devereaux is abducted and tethered like a sacrificial lamb in an abandoned stable. She manages to get away from her kidnapper and is found by the police only to be sent back to a life she'd been trying to escape and no one believes her. She goes from parents to friends and they seem to barley tolerate her, even they don't seem to believe her.Is she losing her mind? She could think that, because due to a blow to her head, she has no memory of the two weeks leading up to her capture. No memory of where she lives, whether she has a job, where she stands with her boyfriend, no memory of her normal, everyday life. As the authorities question her credibility, she can't help but wonder if there is a connection between the facts she has forgotten and the kidnapping itself.Without the police to help her and with almost no money, Abbie is determined to retrace all her steps during the days she has no memory of, hoping to find out who her kidnapper, a horrible psycho killer, had been and to get back her reputation, but that means she may have to go back to the place where all the horror began.LAND OF THE LIVING is a masterful work by Nicci French (actually the writing team of Sean French and his partner Nicci). In my opinion this book is just about as good a thriller as French's BENEATH THE SKIN, which I consider to be the best Woman in Trouble thriller ever written. If you're not on the edge of your seat as your fingers burn through these pages, you're simply not human.Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

Powerful thriller -- another winner from Nicci French!

I couldn't wait to pick up Nicci French's new thriller -- and I wasn't let down. Land of the Living is French's best work since Beneath the Skin. In Land of the Living, French introduces the reader to Abbie Devereaux -- a young woman held captive. Bound from top to bottom in the dark, she is only able to hear her kidnapper's sinister voice. To make matters worse, she has no recollection of the time in which she had been accosted. She is able to escape from her attacker's grasp, but her nightmare has just begun... Will she be able to adjust to life after the aforementioned experience? Will be able to get her memory back? Will she be able to find her attacker? There are various twists in this powerful thriller. The climax is flooring.Nicci French's descriptions of the terror the protagonist goes through are precise. I was able to feel the heroine's fear and hopelessness. I couldn't put this book down and was savoring the pages like an exquisite bottle of wine. Are you in the bargain for a gripping, intelligent thriller? I recommend this fine novel.

Very Suspenseful...Another winner for Nicci French.

Abbie Deveraux is living a nightmare. She is tied down with a hood covering her head, and she has no idea where she is, or why she is there. Abbie can feel the presence of her captor, but never a word is spoken. Abbie knows her days are numbered as the kidnapper tells her the tale of abducting and killing his women. With nothing but fear in her heart, Abbie makes a quick decision and escapes.Telling the police of her ordeal will not be her only problem as the police don't believe her. As Abbie listens to what the detectives have to say she realizes nothing is as it seems, and those that she thought were friends are not. Set out to prove herself sane, and catch the madman who abducted her, Abbie begins a terrifying journey retracing all of her steps leading up to the day she disappeared. As things become stranger, and Abbie begins doubting her own sanity, she makes a shocking discovery, one that will change the way she feels about those she loved, and at the same time stop a killer hell bent on destroying her.`Land Of The Living' is an interesting little thriller with lots of surprises. Major plot twists are found throughout this gripping tale of memory loss and obsession, and the pages will turn fast as you race to see what will happen next. Well written and filled with full-bodied characters, this novel rises above the norm in the psycho thriller category. Each chapter has a shock and a cliffhanger, and each cliffhanger will keep you on the edge of your seat.Nicci French has written previous bestsellers, all of which were page-turners that had readers glued to their chairs. Now with `Land Of Living' she continues her streak of up-all-night reads with a book that is probably her best to date. While remaining character driven thriller, the novel keeps it's suspense at high levels by teasing the reader with bits of plot information, and then throws in surprise after surprise to jangle their nerves.`Land Of The Living' is a twisty thriller that should satisfy thriller readers, and land on the bestseller lists.Nick Gonnella

Don't look behind you...

This is a harrowing tale of a young woman's worst nightmare come true. What a shivery pleasure it is, compulsively turning the pages of this thriller and thinking "just one more chapter"... Fearful of what the last page will reveal, I still keep reading, not nearly as brave as the heroine. We first make the acquaintance of Abbie Devereaux when she is in a most extreme condition: her hands and feet are bound, there is a canvas bag over her head, a wire around her neck and a filthy gag in her mouth. But she perseveres, willing herself to survive this horrendous ordeal. Day by day, Abbie keeps her mind alert, imagining familiar images, anything not to lose hope, although she eventually starts to lose touch with reality, almost willing to die. Periodically tormented by her kidnapper, he sometimes leaves her alone for long periods. At an unexpected opportunity Abbie escapes, fleeing blindly into the night, sure her captor is but a breath behind. Finally, she sees a dim light. Collapsing, she wakes up in a hospital, police waiting to question her. Then comes the ultimate betrayal. No one believes her story. There is no hard evidence for the police to track down Abbie's attacker and only her word for proof that anything happened at all. After a thorough examination, a clever therapist convinces the police that this incident is only a young woman's hysteria, a patient, in fact, prone to depression. Even Abbie's closest friends aren't sure whether or not she is telling the truth. Disheartened, Abbie is driven to prove the truth, haunted by nightmares and the knowledge that her would-be murderer is somewhere out there, waiting to finish the job. Danger stalks her every waking moment. Having cheated death, Abbie plumbs unexpected inner resources, unwilling to fail herself. Thus begins the arduous task of tracking her own footsteps, piecing together remnants of thoughts and scraps of information, ever closer to unfathomable fear and reviving the ordeal.Tired of the same bored authors glibly churning out mysteries with hackneyed plots, it is a pleasure to find this well-crafted thriller. Nicci French meticulously plots each step of the action, not missing a beat. The author reveals a different side of this young woman with such an apparently routine life, where nothing's as it seems in a world of lost memories. Undaunted, Abbie makes her way through a maze of incongruent evidence, sifting and sorting, following her instincts. With courage born of desperation, she trusts no one but herself. Finally, Abbie embarks upon a nerve-wracking pursuit, coming face to face with true evil. Keep the lights on.