After Dark: a stunning and unforgettable crime thriller

When I first met Abigail Boone in Dominic Nolan’s previous novel, Past Life, she was one of the most intriguing characters I’ve come across in crime fiction. The second book in the series, After Dark, follows on from events in the previous one, so I would recommend that you pick up the first one before diving into the second. Dominic Nolan writes these books so well, and the picturesque Kent landscape brings to life a haunting and atmospheric setting.Abigail Boone is a former detective, but following a horrific accident during a previous investigation, she now has no memory of anything before that moment. She can’t even remember her own family. Abigail has had to rebuild her life and make the best out of a bad situation. This is what I think makes her character so unique. Abigail has had to start afresh, but you can see how painful this is for her, especially as she feels very little physical connection to her son and her former husband.But aside from creating intriguing characters, the plot has a strong hook, and it opens with an explosive prologue which drew me into the story from the first page. In the opening chapters, a young girl has been found wandering. But what is shocking to the police and the doctors who examine her, is that she has no identification. She hasn’t developed as other children had, and there are strong suspicions that she has been kept in captivity since birth? But how has she managed to free herself? What sort of person would do something like this?After the conclusion of the Past Life, Boone has since been in prison, but DI Barbara Brown seeks her help with the investigation as it may be linked to the case Abigail was previously involved in. But Abigail soon finds herself in even murkier waters as another woman seeks her help to find her son who went missing thirty years earlier, and it seems that the cases might be linked.Boone is such a brilliant character who I am hoping is going to return in future books. I feel that there is a lot more to learn about her, and I’m interested to see how she will develop. I will certainly be returning to find out. After Dark is a gritty crime novel that will keep you invested in the characters and Dominic Nolan weaves together an utterly gripping plot.

Absolutely loved this book, already in my top 5 books ever . I'm a little worried saying that as it's quite a dark story and I don't want people to judge me. BUT anyone that likes reading words should read this book. It will change your life, not in a self help way exactly, but it will inspire you to be more compassionate and a better person. You'll know what I mean once you've read it.Do it now - no time to waste

Somewhat darker than his first book - Past Life - but with the same strong female characters, I enjoyed this one even more.Strong themes of vengeance and justice, but the memory-loss thread is less dominant in this book as the main character has started to develop a fuller post-trauma personality.Maybe disobey the title and read it during the daytime for the good of your nerves!

At this point, I have read only part of this book but as I don’t want to rush the experience, and therefore leaving just a brief review of which, I will update at the end of the book. Over my life time, I must have read hundreds of novels BUT as much as I have tried to, I have been unable to read a book written by a male author. I find that their perspective and style of writing is difficult to follow and I simply do not enjoy them. UNTIL NOW! 🙂 I am a great fan of and used to the similar style of Jessie Keane, Mandasue Heller, Kimberley chambers and Martina Cole and with this book of Dominic Nolan’s, I initially found it a little difficult to get into as with the other authors, their writing style seems to flow quickly and I whiz through the books easily...as this is a vine review, I intended to persevere and really wait until I find time to not have to rush read this one and I am so glad I did.The reason I selected this book is because it is only the second book of Dominics and I had read the review of the first one before deciding to give this one a try. The reviews on his debut book are amazing so I couldn’t resist giving this one a go...even though I have struggled with male authors. Although the style of writing is a different pace to what I am used to, I am now happy to say that i am thoroughly enjoying the book...and I will be getting his debut book to (Past Life).Dominic Nolan has converted me and he will now be added to my list of favourite authors. I have tried several British male authors and this is the only one I can enjoy...I am so pleased and will definitely be reading more of his.When reading this book, it feels as if I am reading a screen play or drama script... so real is the feeling and it is clear that Dominic Nolan is a very knowledgeable, intellectual author and I think I can really get used to it. Thank you Dominic...I look forward to your future books.I will update once I have read the book completely but I thoroughly recommend Dominic Nolan as an author...it is a refreshing change for me. ***Update***. I have now completed the book and I am so glad I did as this author is definitely on my favourites list..and my first male author! A wonderful read that draws you in the further you get into it. Fabulous!

I didn't realise this book was a follow up to a previous book, although it becomes quickly obvious when the opening scene is crammed full of some fairly clumsy recapping. Right from the start, the narrative is confusing, going from five years ago, to present day, to four years ago, and alternating between two different character's viewpoints. I couldn't warm to any of the characters, who all seem harsh and cold, with no qualities I could warm to as a reader. This means when things happen to them, it's very hard to care, even though this book deals with some really dark themes of child abuse, kidnap etc.What makes the writing style even odder is the author's habit of describing their food in great detail, like some sort of diabolical Famous Five where we were told about the lashings of sandwiches and cakes in between solving mysteries! I passed over the first of these with a raised eyebrow "....Whereas Storm sliced through her yolk, letting it run over the rest, Boone carefully cut away the white until she was left with a chalky pocket of yellow that she deposited whole into her mouth and allowed to dissolve on her tongue in a moment of ecstasy." And after ploughing through almost 120 pages of depressing grimness and dull characters, I finally gave up reading (not something I do easily) at this cringeworthy description of eating a bit of orange "She pressed a segment into her mouth and it burst like a tardy, epiphanic orgasm, though anything could seem transcendent after triumphant shagging".I'm not sure what this book wants to be - dark thriller? Food porn? The writing style is inconsistent but not gripping or memorable - every time I picked it up I had to backtrack a few pages to try to remember what was happening, when we were and whose point of view it was. I will never find out who did whatever it was they did, because sadly I could not keep dragging myself through this book.