Police inform Ellie that her husband died in a fiery car crash with another woman, and evidence suggests he was having an affair. Her friends and family tell her to accept it, but Ellie knows something's not right. So she sets out to prove them all wrong in the unpredictable psychological thriller What to Do When Someone Dies.
Ellie Falkner and Greg Manning had a good marriage--they argued occasionally, but they were trying to get pregnant and Greg wasn't the type to have an affair. Ellie creates a timeline of the last two months of her husband's life to show Greg couldn't have had an affair. Both the police and her friends dismiss the timeline as inconsequential. When Milena Livingstone's name is revealed as the woman in the crash with Greg, Ellie enters Milena's workplace and gets a temp filing job with Milena's partner. She finds no mention of Greg at Milena's desk and no e-mails between them. Ellie is sure Greg and Milena's car accident is suspicious, but Greg's best friend shows her a note from Milena in Greg's things as proof of the affair. Just as Ellie becomes resigned to the idea her husband was cheating, a stranger's cryptic remark at Greg's funeral causes Ellie to realize her life is in danger.
Partners Nicci Gerrard and Sean French write catchy thrillers under the pen name Nicci French (House of Corrections), and What to Do When Someone Dies serves as a solid entry in their long list of novels. Some of Ellie's actions may seem questionable, but her instincts ultimately lead her to the truth. --Paul Dinh-McCrillis, freelance reviewer