Nicci French: The Unheard (UK 2022)

From the Publisher:
Poppy is a bright, happy three-year-old. Her paintings ore full of colour and joy. Except one, a menacing scribble of heavy black crayon.

Her mother Tess is worried. Has Poppy witnessed something, something bad that she can't put into words? Tess is determined to find out what it might be. But no one will listen to her concerns. Neither Poppy's father, from whom Tess is separated, nor her friends, nor the police...

It's only a child's drawing after all.

Tess is desperate to keep Poppy safe. But when she doesn't know what, or who, she is protecting her from, how can she know who to trust?

And if Poppy really did see something she shouldn't, are she and Tess in danger?

Nicci French: The Unheard. When danger is too close to home, what would you do to make yourself heard? Simon & Schuster, ISBN: 9781471179341 (January, 2022), 452 p., £8.99.

Nicci French: The Unheard (USA 2021)

From the Publisher:
In this new heart-pounding standalone from the internationally bestselling author that People calls "razor sharp," a single mother suspects her young daughter has witnessed a horrible crime when the girl draws a disturbing picture -- but the deadly path to unravel the truth could cost her everything.

Maybe Tess is overprotective, but passing her daughter off to her ex and his new young wife fills her with a sense of dread. It's not that Jason is a bad father -- it just hurts to see him enjoying married life with someone else. Still, she owes it to her daughter Poppy to make this arrangement work.

But Poppy returns from the weekend tired and withdrawn. And when she shows Tess a crayon drawing -- an image so simple and violent that Tess can hardly make sense of it -- Poppy can only explain with the words, "He did kill her."

Something is horribly wrong. Tess is certain Poppy saw something -- or something happened to her -- that she's too young to understand. Jason insists the weekend went off without a hitch. Doctors advise that Poppy may be reacting to her parents' separation. And as the days go on, even Poppy's disturbing memory seems to fade. But a mother knows her daughter, and Tess is determined to discover the truth. Her search will set off an explosive tempest of dark secrets and buried crimes -- and more than one life may be at stake.

Nicci French: The Unheard. A Novel. William Morrow, ISBN: 9780063137769 (October, 2021), 447 p., Hardcover $27.99, Trade Paperback $16.99, eBook $12.49.

Nicci French: The Unheard (UK 2021)

From the Publisher:
'He did kill. Kill and kill and kill.'
Tess's number one priority has always been her three-year-old daughter Poppy. But splitting up with Poppy's father Jason means that she cannot always be there to keep her daughter safe.

When she finds a disturbing drawing, dark and menacing, among her daughter's brightly coloured paintings, Tess is convinced that Poppy has witnessed something terrible. Something that her young mind is struggling to put into words.

But no one will listen. It's only a child's drawing, isn't it?

Nicci French: The Unheard. A child sees everything. But who would believe her? Simon & Schuster, ISBN: 9781471179310 (September, 2021), 452 p., £14.99.