Judith Winter is a geriatric medical doctor who works in a hospital. One day, when her shift is over, she is greeted by her first love, Liam. Jude is flabbergasted to find him waiting for her and has mixed feelings about his showing up at her place of employment.

Jude and Liam were teenagers when they started a relationship and have not seen each other in 11 years. They parted ways after surviving a horrific car accident for which Liam took the blame. Jude sustained a head injury and was hospitalized for days. She suffers from migraines yet still manages to work, despite the pain. Now she is engaged to marry Nat and is looking forward to embarking on a whole new life.

"Readers will find themselves on the edge of their seats following the clues and red herrings, leading to a surprise ending that this reviewer did not see coming."

But Liam has an agenda: he needs Jude to do him a favor. She feels obligated to help him after he explains what he wants her to do. Her immediate task is to take his car, go to a secluded cottage he rented, and pick him up at the train station that night. That is the only information she is given.Unfortunately, he never shows up at the station.

Later that night, Liam’s phone rings, and Jude answers it cautiously. It’s the police, and they inform her that Liam has been stabbed to death. Detective Inspector Leila Fox and Sergeant Brendan Patterson are on the case and don’t leave her alone. They come to her house and call her to the police station for questioning multiple times. No one believes Jude’s story, which makes her quite depressed. She still cannot fathom what the favor was that Liam wanted.

As the days slowly pass, Liam’s will surfaces. Jude learns that she and Liam’s brother, Dermot, have been named executors. They are shocked by this turn of events, and everyone is now convinced that Jude and Liam were romantically involved. After all, why would he have given her such a responsibility if she wasn’t special to him in a vital and personal way?

Jude consults her accountant brother to help her decipher the chaos of Liam’s business and personal files. He tells her to recuse herself from the task because she is not equipped to resolve his mess. Although she does not heed his advice, she does allow him to look further into Liam’s finances and bequests, which are many.

As the narrative of THE FAVOR unfolds, author Nicci French (the pseudonym of Nicci Gerrard and her husband, Sean French) reveals plenty of secrets. Readers will find themselves on the edge of their seats following the clues and red herrings, leading to a surprise ending that this reviewer did not see coming.