Blog Tour ~ After He Died by Michael J Malone

📖 Jaffareadstoo is thrilled to host today's stop on the Blog Tour for After He Died 📖

Orenda Books
30 September 2018

My thanks to the publishers and Random Things tours for the copy of the book
and also the kind invitation to be part of this blog tour

What's it all about...

When Paula Gadd’s husband of almost thirty years dies, just days away from the seventh anniversary of their son Christopher’s death, her world falls apart. Grieving and bereft, she is stunned when a young woman approaches her at the funeral service, and slips something into her pocket. A note suggesting that Paula’s husband was not all that he seemed… When the two women eventually meet, a series of revelations challenges everything Paula thought she knew, and it becomes immediately clear that both women’s lives are in very real danger. Both a dark, twisty slice of domestic noir and taut, explosive psychological thriller, After He Died is also a chilling reminder that the people we trust the most can harbour the deadliest secrets…

What did I think about it...

We never truly know just what is going on in someone's life and that certainly rings true for Paula Gadd, for even as she greets mourners at her husband's funeral, and with little time to come to terms with his untimely death, she finds that she into thrust into a maelstrom of deceit and buried secrets.

The mystery at the heart of the novel is complex with lots of twists and turns which, most certainly, had me guessing. I enjoyed how the action fairly bounces along so that you are never really sure of what Paula is going to find out next and that there is much for her to discover is obvious from the start. It's interesting to observe just how Paula deals with the fact that her husband of thirty years is someone that she truly didn't know and, as the story moves along, it becomes obvious that she has more questions about his life than there are clear answers. 

After He Died isn't just dark domestic noir, it is also a sympathetic portrayal of grief and how it affects judgement and I think that the author captures this really well in the way that Paula's behaviour is often a little unpredictable. The other characters who flit into and out of the story are equally unreliable, and there were definitely some that I liked more than others, but there is no doubt that, collectively, they add the necessary light and shade to what is, after all, quite a dark thriller.

Beautifully written with a distinct eye for detail, After He Died is a fascinating character driven novel by a skilful author who really knows how to keep the tension alive until the very last page.

About the Author

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. Other published work includes: Carnegie’s Call; A Taste for Malice; The Guillotine Choice; Beyond the Rage; The Bad Samaritan and Dog Fight. His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines soon followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller.

Twitter @MichaelJMalone1 #AfterHeDied


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