"After She's Gone"

"After She's Gone"
Written by Camilla Grebe
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

As an entry into the Scandinavian noir sub-genre, "After She's Gone" tells an atmospheric tale of a small town in Sweden, completely rocked by a cold case that now has a little warmth.

Detectives Hanne and Peter were told to visit the small town of Ormberg, to investigate a cold case. Hanne has been losing her memory, due to the development of dementia. She is found cold and bloody on the mountain, without Peter. Where has he gone? Is she involved? What can Hanne not remember?
A younger, less experienced detective, Malin, is placed onto the case, investigating the disappearance of Peter and the missing memories of Hanne. Additionally, a young boy from the village, Jake, has found the diary that Hanne has written in, accidentally embroiling himself in massive danger.

Unfortunately, the execution of the plot and characters highly disappointed me. I enjoyed Malin's character and would have preferred the book to be told through selectively her perspective. Jake's perspective of a grieving son who spends his time wearing his sister's makeup and dresses made me worried about the representation. Including a character who may be questioning his sexuality could be well-implemented, but in this story, it just felt that the author needed to add some more personality, so she threw that in. It was not explained very well and seemed to be used for shock value.

I was unimpressed by some strange character decisions and author's choices. Reading of Jake's  adolescent naivety left the book feeling endless. Additionally, allowing Hanne to remain on the police force when her colleagues knew of her dementia was highly unprofessional and extremely unbelievable. I personally was very surprised by the reveal, but it was not a pleasant surprise. Introducing the villain(s) who we meet once or twice to be revealed as behind the crimes was disappointing.

In conclusion, I truly did not enjoy this novel. I was supremely disappointed, and I do not plan to recommend this novel to others.

I received a finished edition of this novel in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes. Thank you to the publishing company.