What Cathy Read Next...

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for After She’d Gone by Alex Dahl. My thanks to Sophie at Ransom PR for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Head of Zeus for my review copy. Do pop over to Instagram and check out the post by my tour buddy for today, Charli at bookishcharli.

About the Book

Liv loves her son, Adrian. That’s why she keeps a low profile in Sandefjord, Norway: just another tired single mother, trying to make ends meet. She has never told her son about the secrets she carries or the life she lived before he was born. She will do anything to keep him safe.

Anastasia’s life is transformed when she moves from Russia to Milan and starts modelling. Suddenly, she’s rich. She’s desired. But then she begins to see the dark side of her new life: the high-pressure catwalk shows; the glamorous, drink-fuelled after-parties; the sun-baked Italian palazzos owned by powerful men. She will do anything to escape.

Selma is an investigative journalist in Oslo. She’s been looking into the dangerous underworld of the modelling industry, but can’t seem to get her article published. Then, a woman goes missing in Sandefjord and Selma’s about to uncover the biggest story of her life…

Format: Hardback (416 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 18th August 2022 Genre: Thriller

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My Review

This unsettling and at times dark thriller immerses the reader in the sinister side of the fashion world in which young women, often from Eastern Europe, attracted by the prospect of travelling the world and striding the catwalks for big fashion houses discover the reality is quite, quite different. They find themselves drawn into a murky world of drugs and sexual exploitation in which men hold the power and aren’t afraid to use it. For the women, staying is risky, but leaving is even more so.

Investigative journalist Selma’s involvement comes about because of her role in investigating the previous disappearance of a young girl from the very same place as the missing woman – Sandefjord. (The case was the focus of the author’s previous book, Playdate.) Selma’s investigation takes her into a very murky world populated by extremely ruthless and, in some cases, very damaged individuals. I loved her strength, her fearlessness and her determination to get answers.

I confess I guessed some key aspects of the plot pretty early on but with this type of thriller you can never be sure the author’s not going to spring a surprise until you reach the final page, can you?

The standout element of the book for me was the wonderfully tender portrait of Adrian, a young boy who is different from other children. ‘Adrian craves freedom. He feels trapped in his own mind; he’s not like anyone else and he wishes he could fly away.’ He is obsessed with airplanes, loves watching them take off and land at the nearby airport, can spend hours absorbed in creating origami models of planes and knows the codes for every international airport. Contrary to what many think, he’s intelligent but often finds it difficult to communicate or express his feelings except through the ‘secret’ language his mother Liv has taught him. What he does know is there are things he must keep secret at all costs and, that if he’s to save his mother, he will have to be very brave. Spoiler: he is.

After She’d Gone is a taut, skilfully-crafted thriller that demonstrates all that glitters is not gold. It would make the perfect beach read.

In three words: Compelling, pacy, dark

Try something similar: Cold As Hell by Lilja Sigurðardóttir

About the Author

Alex Dahl is a half-American, half-Norwegian author. Born in Oslo. She studied Russian and German linguistics with international studies, then went on to complete an MA in creative writing at Bath Spa University and an MSc in business management at Bath University.

A committed Francophile, Alex loves to travel, and has so far lived in Moscow, Paris, Stuttgart, Sandefjord, Switzerland, Bath and London. She is the author of four other thrillers including The Boy at the Door, which was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger.

Connect with Alex
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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Books I Love That Were Written Over Ten Years Ago. Here are ten of my favourites.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – The author’s masterpiece, a book that has never gone out of print. For me, the 1940 film starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier, and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is the original and best adaptation of this classic novel.

Mr Standfast by John Buchan – My favourite of all John Buchan’s books because of the WW1 setting and an ending that always moves me to tears

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – Christmas wouldn’t be complete without either re-reading the book, listening to an audiobook version or watching Albert Finney in Scrooge (sorry but The Muppet Christmas Carol just doesn’t cut it)

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carre – The Cold War spy novel by the master of the genre that features the author’s most famous character, George Smiley. The 1965 film version starring Richard Burton as Alec Leamas is fantastic.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee – You probably read it at school and, like me, may have read it many times since. For me, Gregory Peck in the 1962 film version is Atticus Finch.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë – One of my favourite books of all time. And, yes, I am going to argue that the 1943 film starring Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles is the best adaptation.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys – A novel that “rescues” the character of Bertha Mason, the ‘madwoman in the attic’ from Jane Eyre, and gives us her story.

Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers – My favourite of the author’s Lord Peter Wimsey books because, not only is it a great crime mystery, but it features the fabulous Harriet Vane.

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco – The book that first kindled my love for historical mysteries.

Dissolution by C J Sansom – The first book in the author’s historical mystery series set in Tudor England featuring lawyer Matthew Shardlake. Mentioning it here has reminded me I still need to read book 7, Tombland. (It’s a whopper.)