''The Memory Game'' is a

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

journalists Nicci Gerrard and Sean French under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Nicci French Nicci French is the pseudonym of English husband-and-wife team Nicci Gerrard (born 10 June 1958) and Sean French (born 28 May 1959), who write psychological thrillers together. Personal lives Nicci Gerrard and Sean French were married in 1990. ...

. It was their first novel and was originally published by

William Heinemann William Henry Heinemann (18 May 1863 – 5 October 1920) was an English publisher of Jewish descent and the founder of the Heinemann publishing house in London. Early life On 18 May 1863, William Heinemann was born in Surbiton, Surrey, Englan ...

in 1997.

Plot

The novel concerns the account of Jane Martello, a middle-aged woman undergoing divorce proceedings with her husband and separating herself from the large, strong family she has known since her childhood. The intricate traditions of her family and the one she had married into begin to break down when the body of her sister-in-law, Natalie, is found buried in the garden after over two decades. This startlingly close distance to the house leads to the revelation of the murderer being very close to the family. The revelation brings down the family structure that for so long was unbalanced, but stable, with characters such as Jane's father-in-law, Alan, an openly crude and sexist novelist who frequently had relations outside his marriage (to the knowledge of the whole family). Jane undergoes psychiatric counselling as she struggles with the mysterious circumstances around the death of one of her best childhood friends as well as the precursors to what appears to be a

midlife crisis A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle-aged individuals, typically 45 to 65 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a person's grow ...

. She undergoes a memory exercise (which the book is named for) to unlock repressed memories from her friend's death. What she unlocks may be the key to Natalie's death, provided those around her believe them to be valid.

In popular media

The book has been turned into a Dutch-Belgian movie called '.

References

British thriller novels 1997 British novels Novels by Nicci French Novels about midlife crisis Heinemann (publisher) books {{1990s-thriller-novel-stub