After She'd Gone by Alex Dahl

 

After She'd Gone by Alex Dahl.

Published 18th August 2022 by Aries, Head of Zeus.

From the cover of the book:

Unsettling, gripping and glamorous. A timely psychological thriller about the danger of beauty, the lure of power, and the fierce love of a mother for her son.

Liv keeps a low profile in Sandefjord, Norway: she's 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 to work as a model. She's rich. She's desired. But there's a dark side to the high-pressure catwalk shows; the sun-baked Italian palazzos; the drink-fuelled after-parties hosted by powerful men. Soon, she will do anything to escape.

Selma is a journalist in Oslo. She's investigating scandals in the modelling industry, but can't get her article published. Then a woman goes missing in Sandefjord. Now Selma is about to uncover the biggest story of her life...

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Liv Carlson is a woman who tries to live under the radar. Fiercely protective of her autistic son Adrian, she has told him nothing of the secrets she keeps about the life she used to live. To all intents and purposes, they seem to be a single mother and her son getting along as best they can in Sandefjord, Norway, but Liv's past is about to catch up with her.

In Milan, Anastasia cannot believe how much her life has changed in the last few months. No longer living a simple life with her grandmother in Russia, she is now an aspiring cat-walk model. At first this life seems full of glamour and excitement, but Anastasia begins to see beneath the gloss to the ugly truth about the world she has now become a part of. Soon she begins to lose herself and longs for an escape back to the life she lived before she became famous.

Selma is a tenacious Oslo journalist. Having just finished writing an exposé into the dark side of the modelling industry, it seems her story may never see the light of day, because of pressure from powerful figures who would prefer their shady activities to remain secret. Frustrated, Selma needs to distract herself with another story, and something about the report of a woman and her son who have mysteriously gone missing from Sandefjord catches her attention. Selma has no idea that her new investigation is about to take her into even more dangerous waters.

The story is told through the eyes of Liv, her son Adrian, Anastasia and Selma, cutting back and forth between them as you build up a picture of their hopes, fears, and ultimately, struggles for survival. It takes some time to see how Anastasia's story fits into the picture, and Dahl uses the atmosphere of mystery this injects to ramp up the suspense in the most delicious way. Their individual voices are beautifully written, as I have come to expect from Dahl, and you become entirely invested in the threads of their stories, anticipating the time that they surely must collide to answer the many questions she conjures in your mind as the book progresses. They are all thoroughly convincing in their roles, although Adrian is particularly well drawn, and I think Dahl does an absolutely cracking job of keeping him in character all the way through - my heart broke for him as he tries to make sense of the things that befall him.

Scandi-noir is one of my favourite genres and I loved the parts of the story that take place in the ice and snow of Norway, which give added bite to the shocking opening parts of the book, but Dahl also mixes things up nicely to please the lovers of a summer scorcher too by bringing in the glamour and heat of Italy and other sun-baked locations as she immerses you in the world of modelling. This makes for a fascinating contrast as scenes switch back and forth between the characters - all the while hitting that unsettling sweet spot that danger lurks beneath the surface in them all. There is such a lovely contrast in the parts of the story that tell of simple pleasures that are cast away in favour of false idols, and of naivety that gives way to realisation that the world is sometimes not as innocent as we might think too.

There are layers upon layers here, and too many themes that Dahl touches upon to mention in a simple review, but expect some intriguing things to ponder upon - especially about neurodiversity, beauty, power, and the bond between a mother and her son. This is a sophisticated book and it drew me in completely. Dahl cleverly weaves her magic to misdirect, dropping little reassuring whispers that convince you that you know where this story is leading, until the moments she catches you with disclosures that have you second guessing yourself time and time again. The pacing of the reveals is perfect, and I did not see what this was heading until she hit me with a highly enjoyable twist and twist again ending that ticked all my thriller boxes. There is also a nice little aside about Dahl's previous excellent book Cabin Fever, for those who spot it!

I loved it! My favourite Alex Dahl yet.

After She'd Gone is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Aries for sending me a hardcover copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Ransom PR for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Alex Dahl is 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. She was also a model in her late teens and this is how she came up with the idea for After She’d Gone. 

 A committed Francophile, Alex loves to travel, and has so far lived in Moscow, Paris, Stuttgart, Sandefjord, Switzerland, Spain, Bath and London. 

She is the author of four other thrillers: Cabin Fever, Playdate, The Heart Keeper, and The Boy at the Door, which was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger.