AFTER SHE’S GONE- Camilla Grebe

Thrillers and crime seem to be my go-to genre and as much as I regularly mix it up and read other genres I always come back to them for a good pulse-racing read- After She’s Gone was no exception. Having seen this book around social media platforms such as Instagram I just loved the look of the cover which instantly drew me in with the eerie snow covered forest. 

A cold case brought back to the present- I loved how this novel twisted and turned with intertwining stories and intriguing and troubled characters that added to the mystery. I was instantly grabbed by the prospect of the story- a character who holds all the answers but doesn’t know. I felt this was an interesting angle for the story to be told and would help it unravel in a more unusual way in comparison to a first person pose. Grebe does this really effectively as I actually enjoyed the chapters of Jake and Hanne more than that of Malin who is one of the female protagonists of the story. The Scandi thriller is based in Sweden and the setting of Ormberg adds atmospheric tension and gives a clear hint that there are some dark secrets suppressed within both Ormberg and the personal lives of the characters. This definitely added to the tension and the haunting storyline that slowly unravels piece by piece with the help of Jake and Hanne’s diary. 

Originally a slow burner, Grebe really picked up the pace and the suspense about a third of the way through and from there I raced through this page turner which cleverly leaves some twists and turns to the very end! The added theme of racism adds an extra aspect to the read as the story weaves in and out of the lives of the camp of asylum seekers residing in Ormberg, something that regularly gets revisited through the story. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this read and would recommend it to those in search of a haunting thriller to get your blood pumping.

I was kindly gifted this copy from Reader’s First and Bonnier Zafre in exchange for an honest review.