Do Me a Favor

Cover of Novel – Picture of Highway at Night

Have you ever felt so indebted to someone that you’re compelled to return the favor? What if the favor makes no sense or is dangerous?

This is the premise in Nicci French’s newest thriller, THE FAVOR.

Jude has always been successful. She was an amazing student, a golden child. At least, that’s what everyone believed. Everyone but her.

Back in high school, Jude was madly in love with bad boy Liam Birch. They couldn’t have been any more different, but she supposed that’s what drove her to him. The magical summer before college was all-consuming, until a car accident ended their last night of drunken revelry. The police arrested Liam for driving under the influence. He didn’t think he’d be going to prison, but their courtship came to an abrasive halt.

Liam refused to see Jude, saying his life was “complicated.” She would soon leave for college in Bristol. After seeing Liam with another girl, she knew her time with him had ended.

Now a medical doctor specializing in geriatrics, Jude can’t believe it when Liam waits for her outside of the hospital late one Friday afternoon. She hasn’t seen him in 11 years, but he’s piqued her interest. Even though she was supposed to meet her fiancé, Nat, for breakfast, she readily accepts Liam’s invitation to get coffee. The thrill of seeing him again is irresistible.

After talking about the past, Liam explains why he’s tracked her down after all these years. He wants her to do him a favor. It’s a cryptic request, at best, but Jude can’t refuse the boy she used to love. He asks her to take his wallet and cell phone, drive to a cottage almost three hours away, then pick him up late Saturday night at a nearby train station. He will fill her in on the favor when he gets there.

Jude agrees to do what Liam asks, even though she doesn’t understand any of it. But one thing she’s sure of is that she must do it. When she lies to her fiancé, Nat, the fabrication rolls off her tongue. One lie leads to another until the police show up to question her. That’s when her problems really begin.

Read the rest of my article and interview with Nicci French in The Big Thrill.