The Unheard

In the new thriller by French (pseudonym of the husband-and-wife team Nicci Gerard and Sean French, authors of What To Do When Someone Dies), Tess Moreau is barely surviving the depressing turn her life has taken. A year since she and Jason separated, their three-year-old, Poppy, shuffles between Tess’s apartment and her former home where Jason and his new wife live. But when Poppy returns from Jason’s, she behaves strangely. She’d drawn a picture of a stick-figure woman falling from a tower. When Tess questions Poppy, her reply is a chilling, “He did kill her.” Then Poppy exhibits more bizarre behavior: wetting the bed, clinging to Tess, and being aggressive toward other kids. Jason assures Tess it’s just kid stuff. But Tess knows her daughter. Did Poppy witness a violent act? Tess can’t find any Google record of a woman falling to her death. But several days later, it happens, and even more disturbing, Tess knew the woman. She’s terrified that Poppy saw a murder and is in danger. With no evidence, the police won’t help her, so Tess begins conducting her own investigation, soon realizing peril sits on her own doorstep.