Collected here is a glossary of words and emotions that can be found throughout the Nicci French books. Explanations have been taken from The New Penguin Dictionary.
Arrest [Noun]
The Act of taking or detaining somebody in custody by authority of law Arrest [Verb trans]
To seize or capture (somebody), esp to take or keep (them) in custody by authority of law Assault 1. A violent physical or verbal attack 2a. An attempt to do or immediate threat of doing unlawful personal violence 2b. Rape or other physical attack of a sexual nature 3. An attempt to attack a fortification by a sudden rush Autopsy
A postmortem examination [see postmortem] Cadaver
A corpse, esp one intended for dissection Crime 1. Violation of law, or an instance of this, punishable by the state 2. A grave offence, esp against morality 3. Criminal activity: victims of crime Criminal [Adj] 1. Involving or constituting a crime: criminal negligence 2. Relating to crime or its punishment: criminal law 3. Guilty of crime: the criminal classes; the criminal mind Criminal
A person who has committed or been convicted of a crime DNA
Any of various nucleic acids that occur chiefly in the nuclei of cells, are the material that makes up genes, and consists of long strands of phosphate groups alternating with deoxyribose groups, from each of which projects a purine or pyrimidine base. The DNA chains typically occur as pairs in double mix. Note: DNA constitutes the genetic material within each cell, containing the code on which proteins are synthesized and the information that is transferred between cell generations during reproduction and development. Each strand of the double helix consists of a sequence of nucleotides, adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine (ACGT). The order in which they are arranged is the basis for the genetic code - Professor Seven Rose. Fear [Noun] 1. An unpleasant, often strong, emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger, or a state marked by this emotion 2. Anxiety or solicitude 3. Reason for alarm; danger Fear [Verb trans]
To be afraid of (somebody or thing); to consider or expect (them) with alarm Forensic science Interrogate 1. To question (somebody) formally, exhaustively, or aggressively 2. To give or send out a signal to (e.g. a computer) to trigger a response Kidnap
To seize and detain (a person) by force and often for ransom Manslaughter
The unlawful killing of somebody without malicious intent, e.g. by avoidable negligence or in the course of an unlawful act Murder [Noun] 1. The crime of unlawfully killing and intentionally killing somebody 2. Informal Something that is very difficult, dangerous or disagreeable It was murder trying to find a parking space 3. Informal * Get away with murder - To do whatever one likes without being punished or having to face the consequences Murder [Verb trans] 1. To kill (somebody) unlawfully and intentionally 2. To slaughter (somebody or something) brutally 3a. To destroy (something) 3b. Informal To mutilate, mangle, ruin Obsession 1. The state of being obsessed; specif a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea, associated with a psychiatric disorder 2. Loosely, something that preoccupies somebody Pathology 1. The study of the essential nature of diseases, esp their causes and the structural and functional changes that they produce 2. The anatomical and physiological abnormalities that constitute or characterize a particular disease Postmortem [Noun] 1. An examination of a body after death to determine the cause of death or the character and extent of changes produced by disease 2. An analysis or discussion of an event after it's over, esp if it has failed Postmortem [Adj] 1. Occurring after death 2. Following the event Revenge [Noun] 1a. The act or an instance of retaliating in order to get even for a wrong or injury: she took revenge on her former employers 1b. A desire to retaliate in this way: I saw revenge in his eyes 2. An opportunity for getting satisfaction or requital Revenge [Verb trans] 1. To retaliate for (an insult, injury, etc), esp by inflicting something similar on the perpetrators 2. To take revenge on behalf of (oneself or somebody else) Safe house
A place used for concealment and safety, e.g. a meeting place for spies or terrorists or a shelter for people threatened by violence Stalker 1. A person who stalks game 2. A person who, to the point of persecution, follows and watches somebody, often a celebrity, with whom they have become obsessed Vengeance
Punishment inflicted on somebody in retaliation for an injury received or offence felt: Something of vengeance I had tasted for the first time - Charlotte Bronte *With a vengeance 1. With great force or vehemence 2. To an extreme or excessive degree Victim 1. Somebody or something that is adversely affected by a force or agent, e.g.: A. somebody or something that is injured, destroyed, or subjected to oppression or mistreatment. B. a person who is tricked or cheated; a dupe 2. A living animal or person offered as a sacrifice in a religious rite Violence [Noun] 1a. Exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse, esp unnecessary or unlawful force 1b. An instance of violent treatment or procedure 2a. Intense or turbulent action or force 2b. Vehement feeling or expression, or an instance of such feeling or expression; feeling or forcefulness
3. The quality of being abrupt or discordant *Do violence to something
To outrage or insult somebody's feeling, etc Violence [Adj] 1a. Marked by extreme force or sudden intensive activity: a violent attack 1b. Said of a person: prone to using physical force and causing injury to others 1c. Excited or mentally disordered to the point of loss of self-control 2. Caused by force or violence; not natural: He died of a violent death 3a. Powerfully intense or furious: A violent denunciation 3b. Extreme or intense: She was suffering violent pains in her head
