After He Died by Michael J Malone ** Blog Tour Review and Giveaway**

I am so happy to welcome you to this stop on the blog tour for Michael J Malone's After He Died. I have a great Giveaway for you to enter- details on how to enter are at the foot of this post. 
 

You need to know who your husband really was…

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… 

My Thoughts

This is a great page turner- the kind of book which carries you along through every twisty- turney moment. It begins at Paula's husbands' funeral and from this slightly claustrophobic opening scene, the mystery begins to unwind. Trying to get through the day through medication, Paula can barely make sense of what is happening and that is how the reader feels as well. You start from a very fuzzy beginning and slowly begin to make sense of what you know.  

    A striking feature of the novel is the very restricted number of characters who appear in the story. You begin to realise that all the answers are going to lie within Paula's family and friends. Nevertheless, there are plenty of surprises and revelations to unravel. It is Paula's journey through her grief which dominates the story as she gradually realises the truth about the people she thought she knew. There is also an interesting story strand running  throughout, centred around the class divide and the lack of choice and opportunity open to some people.  

In short: Domestic noir - do you know your partner? 

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.

You can read my review of House of Spines here.

You can follow Michael here: Twitter  |  Website  |  Facebook 

Book link: Amazon UK 

Thanks to Michael Malone, and Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.  

                                                              

                                                              Follow the rest of the tour! 

                                                                   Giveaway ( Worldwide) 

To win a copy of After He Died just Follow and Retweet the pinned tweet at @bookslifethings . Closing Date is 30th September 2018 and there is one winner.  Good luck!