After She’d Gone | Alex Dahl
REVIEWED BY LINDA HILL
After She’d Gone is an adrenaline rush of a read; fast paced, thrilling, occasionally violent and always compelling!
I’m not sure it’s correct to say I enjoyed the book because it was an all too terrifying insight into the seething underbelly of organised crime, the glamorous modelling world and how close to the edge those caught up in it can be, but my word it was a narrative I couldn’t tear myself away from because it was quite brilliant. It made my pulse race, my heart sicken and my rational mind so glad to be me and not one of the beautiful girls who get ensnared by men in this literal and metaphorical cut-throat world.
Alex Dahl’s plotting is scalpel sharp and flawless. I suspect it’s no accident that After She’d Gone is presented in three parts in the traditional three act structure as its motifs are universal and time immemoria.
Brutal and affecting…
With themes of #MeToo, coercion, domestic violence and corruption at so many levels, it almost feels wrong to say After She’d Gone is entertaining, but it is such a brilliantly crafted and exiting read that it is both diverting and appalling. What is so affecting about After She’d Gone is that, although these scenarios are played out here in the arena of the rich and powerful, they are also happening in so many lives at so many levels across the world, making the narrative profound and disturbing.
However, as well as being realistically brutal in its depiction of corruption, After She’d Gone also shows tenderness, illustrating the strength of maternal and family love with such convincing relationships between Liv and Adrian and between Anastasia and Vera. I loved the way Vera’s presence is a force for strength and good even when she’s quite a minor character.
The characters are astoundingly well depicted. For me it was Adrian who captured my imagination the most. His neurodivergence is presented with sensitivity but without saccharine condescension so that he is completely convincing. I appreciated the balance that some of the minor men brought in comparison to Gio and his associates, but it is Liv, Anastasia and Selma who bring the story to life with such vivacity. It feels absolutely right that Anastasia’s part of the story is a first person account, because she adds immediacy to the narrative.
I’d defy any reader not to feel unsettled and affected by After She’d Gone. I thought it was excellent!
Out now, After She’d Gone by Alex Dahl (Head of Zeus, HB £20) is available to order from Amazon.
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