DESCRIPTION:
Nancy North is ready to put her life back together. After suffering a psychotic break that ruined friendships, stalled her fledgling restaurant, and forced her to move out of her comfortable flat, she’ll do anything to get back to normal. She and her partner Felix—who has been a saint through her recent troubles—move into a new flat for a fresh start.
Nancy is taking her pills, seeing her therapist, and avoiding unnecessary stress. She’s doing absolutely everything right, but something is still very, very wrong. On the first day in the new flat, she hears them again; the mysterious voices that triggered her first episode. It could just be the unfamiliar sounds of water in the pipes, or the screaming baby across the hall, but deep down she knows something more sinister is going on. Her fears are confirmed when the young woman in the downstairs flat, Kira, is found dead. Felix, her neighbors, and even the police insist it’s a tragic suicide, but the pieces aren’t adding up for Nancy. Can she trust her own instincts, or is it all in her head?
Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor has misgivings about her colleagues’ investigation of Kira’s death. The boys club at the top seems intent on closing the case as quickly as possible, especially since the only person who thinks it could be anything other than suicide is known to be unreliable. But Maud knows what it’s like to be dismissed as an overemotional woman and isn’t so quick to discount Nancy’s claims. As tensions reach an explosive breaking point, the line between fact and delusion becomes dangerously blurred, but Maud will stop at nothing to ensure that the truth comes to light.
The Last Days of Kira Mullan is a tense and emotionally charged installment in the Maud O’Connor Mysteries series that explores truth, justice, and the devastating impact of not being believed.
Nancy is a woman who has battled serious mental health challenges and has previously been hospitalized. After working hard to rebuild her life, she is shaken when her neighbor, Kira Mullan, is found dead in what is quickly ruled a suicide. Nancy is convinced - almost to the point of obsession - that Kira was murdered. What makes her determination so heartbreaking is the way those around her dismiss her outright. Friends, acquaintances, even those on the fringes of her life, weaponize her mental health history against her. The gaslighting she endures is painful to witness and adds a deeply human layer to the mystery.
Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor has decided to review Kira’s death. Though the original investigation closed the case as a suicide, Maud cannot ignore Nancy’s insistence that something is wrong. Where others see an unreliable witness, Maud sees a woman desperate to be heard. I found myself hoping for more scenes between Maud and Nancy, wanting that bridge of trust to grow stronger. Maud’s willingness to listen played into her questioning what others have accepted. This sets her apart. Nancy wants justice for Kira. Maud wants the truth. That shared determination drives the story forward with steady tension.
What stood out most to me was the author’s sensitive handling of mental illness. Rather than portraying Nancy as unstable or delusional, the story challenges assumptions about credibility and reminds readers how easily vulnerable people can be dismissed. Maud’s faith in Nancy becomes a quiet but powerful statement: past struggles do not erase present truth.
I very much enjoyed the first book in the series, Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?, and this follow-up only deepened my appreciation for these characters and the thoughtful, layered mysteries they inhabit. I am more than ready to continue with book three, What Happened That Night?
Many thanks to William Morrow Paperbacks and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
In the early eighties she taught English Literature in Sheffield, London and Los Angeles, but moved into publishing in 1985 with the launch of Women's Review, a magazine for women on art, literature and female issues.
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.
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.
It was while she was at the New Statesman that she met Sean French.
Sean French was born in May 1959 in Bristol, to a British father and Swedish mother. He too studied English Literature at Oxford University at the same time as Nicci, also graduating with a first class degree, but their paths didn't cross until 1990. In 1981 he won Vogue magazine's Writing Talent Contest, and from 1981 to 1986 he was their theatre critic. During that time he also worked at the Sunday Times as deputy literary editor and television critic, and was the film critic for Marie Claire and deputy editor of New Society.
Sean and Nicci were married in Hackney in October 1990. Their daughters, Hadley and Molly, were born in 1991 and 1993.
By the mid-nineties Sean had had two novels published, The Imaginary Monkey and The Dreamer of Dreams, as well as numerous non-fiction books, including biographies of Jane Fonda and Brigitte Bardot.
In 1995 Nicci and Sean began work on their first joint novel and adopted the pseudonym of Nicci French. The Memory Game was published to great acclaim in 1997 followed by The Safe House (1998), Killing Me Softly (1999), Beneath the Skin (2000), The Red Room (2001), Land of the Living (2002), Secret Smile (2003), Catch Me When I Fall (2005), Losing You (2006) and Until It's Over (2008). Their latest novel together is What To Do When Someone Dies (2009).
Nicci and Sean also continue to write separately. Nicci still works as a journalist for the Observer, covering high-profile trials including those of Fred and Rose West, and Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr. Novels include Things We Knew Were True (2003), Solace (2005) and The Moment You Were Gone (2007). Sean's last novel is Start From Here (2004).
