I think this was an excellent story that kept me engaged and turning the pages! I would consider this more a psychological thriller than a murder mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed one of the main protagonists, the mother Cecelia. She works endlessly trying to keep up her perfect family image with her husband and girls. Not likeable in the least, however I found her voice to be captivating even though I loved to hate her. My favorite POV though was that of the little boy Tobias. His thoughts are so eloquently written, yet heartbreaking. Some parts of the story just didn’t sit well with me though as they seemed too far fetched...I’m not sure how the Norwegian system works, but a woman taking in a boy without alerting the authorities nor locating the parents first for permission just doesn’t seem plausible. Neither does the child protection services asking Cecelia to keep the boy for an extended period of time. Another POV is through heroin addict Anni and I had a hard time believing that her thoughts in her diary entries were that of a junkie. Her inner thoughts were too educated and meticulous to be that of an addict of her caliber. All in all though I enjoyed this book as the eerie Scandinavian backdrop was perfect and I always enjoy reading various POV. I look forward to what author Alex Dahl creates next.

I was very excited to receive a copy from NetGalley. I must admit though, this one was extremely slow for me in the beginning. I also had a hard time figuring out who's POV we were in during some of the chapters, as they flip between main characters Cecilia and Tobias.

Cecilia is a spoiled rotten housewife who works part time and can't possibly care for her two (just as spoiled as she is) daughters without the help of an au pair, who just left them before the start of the book, and she's just really stressed out about her life.... yeah, Cecilia is that insufferable throughout the entire book. I could not stand her character. She's a horrible, vapid woman.

Tobias is a young boy abandoned at swimming lessons and taken home by Cecilia, who was coerced into taking him by the receptionist at the facility. Cecilia really does not want to throw a wrench in her "perfect" life and have others gossiping about her, unless that gossip is to her advantage. Tobias doesn't speak much and he isn't sure who his parents even are. Tobia's POV chapters are difficult to follow at times. I realize we were getting this young boy's thoughts during this time, but it was hard to follow.

Cecilia's chapters were just hard to read because she was so horrid. There are a few journal entries from Annika, the woman that most recently had Tobias in her care (mother or not??) and frankly her journal entries were hard to read too, but only because of the sadness surrounding them and Anni's issues.

This book had many twists and turns, almost all of them I saw coming a mile away, and due to the writing, I can only give this book a 2.5 star rating, bumped up to 3 stars.

Review: THE BOY AT THE DOOR by Alex Dahl. I thought that there were a bit too many unrealistic coincidences and a bit too many drawn out conversations and descriptions and I totally hated the main character of Cecilia. The basic storyline was decent though .⭐⭐⭐Three stars.

Cecilia Wilborg seems to have it all. An adoring and kind husband, two beautiful daughters, and an elegant home. When picking her daughters up at their swim lessons, she discovers that a little boy has been left behind. The receptionist asks her if she would mind giving him a ride home as no one has arrived to pick him up. Cecilia reluctantly agrees only to find that the house he supposedly lives in is abandoned. What is she to do but to bring the boy home to spend the night at their house. She'll drop him off at school tomorrow so he can be someone else's problem....

I had high hopes for this book, but to me, a lot of it seemed very far fetched, even from the very beginning. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and to the location. It was ok, but a bit slow. I wish they hadn't revealed the twist half way through because it left a lot to be desired for the remaining half of the book.

I am reading and enjoying The Boy At The Door by Alex Dahl. This is one of those books where I started it and wasn’t sure what it was going to be about. Sometimes I want to be completely surprised and see how things unfold without knowing what to expect. So far, I am totally into it!

Here’s what you will want to know if you want to know at all:

Set against a stunning Scandinavian backdrop, a gritty novel of psychological suspense that asks the question how far would you go to hold onto what you have?

Cecilia Wilborg has it all–a loving husband, two beautiful daughters and a gorgeous home in the affluent Norwegian town of Sandefjord. And she works hard to keep it all together. Too hard. Because one mistake from her past could bring it all crashing down around her.

Annika Lucasson lives a dark life with her abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend. She’s lost everything one too many times and now she’s got one last chance to save herself, thanks to Cecilia. Annika knows her secret–and just how much she’s willing to do to make it all go away…

When someone forgets to pick up their little boy at the local pool, Cecilia agrees to take him home, only to find an abandoned, empty house. It’s the first step in the unraveling of her meticulously crafted life, as her and Annika’s worlds collide…

I have so many questions and as the book delves further, I know they will be answered. I am looking forward to a Sunday afternoon of finishing this one up! You can read this one right now as it came out in July!

A contemporary setting and a modern cast gives a fresh face to an ageless topic of abandonment and circumstances in "The Boy at the Door." When a little boy is left at a community indoor swimming pool, a wealthy self-centered woman is the only one who can take him home. There is no home, however, and she and family are forced into taking this child into their home on a temporary basis. It turns out that he's the child she gave up at his birth. There's so much depth to this story, which includes betrayal, blackmail, breakdowns and more. Dahl has put together a fascinating story that keeps readers guessing. And in the end, no one is quite as they first appear.

I really wanted to love this. I've been enjoying thrillers lately and the fact that this is one set in Norway really intrigued me. I feel like I could have dealt with the fact that the main character was so incredibly unlikable but I just couldn't get past that the premise was so unlikely. I live in a community similar to what she described (though in the States) and there is no way that the people at the swimming pool would have released the child they didn't know into the custody of an adult who was a stranger to the child and Cecilia's actions following this were equally unbelievable. Coupled with the fact I felt the writing was a bit clunky and the fact that Cecilia is just the worst I decided this one just wasn't for me. I do think my experience did hamper my enjoyment of the book somewhat as I just couldn't get past what to me felt too absurd.

Most women’s fiction novels center around a protagonist who puts relationships at the center of her life. Children, especially, are most important—even if those children aren’t her own, or are practically strangers. But in Alex Dahl’s debut, The Boy at the Door, her protagonist, Norwegian wife and mother Cecilia Wilborg, seems to care more about her social standing and her tennis dates than her children. Read the rest of my review by clicking on the link below:

*3.5-4 stars.

Cecilia Wilborg seems to have the perfect life: she is an interior stylist in a wealthy Norwegian town, with a successful, loving husband, two beautiful young daughters and a fabulous home. But she also has a deep, dark secret that she will do almost anything to keep. Does that include murder?

Her perfect life starts to unravel the night she is asked to bring a young boy named Tobias home from swimming lessons. But when she finds the address where he supposedly lives, the place is dark and cold and it's obvious these people have been squatting there.

What to do with the boy? The obvious answer is to call the police but Tobias begs her not to and so, against her better judgment, she lets him spend the night at her house and takes him to school in the morning. Soon the school is calling though to say he's not enrolled there. After a meeting with school authorities and social services, Cecilia's husband Johan agrees to let Tobias stay with them until something more suitable can be arranged.

The boy is strangely uncommunicative. Who was he living with? When a body is found floating in the canal, she is identified as Annika Lucasson, a known drug addict/dealer. DNA tests show she is not the boy's mother but the police believe Tobias was in her keeping up until her murder. They are now looking for her abusive boyfriend, Krysz, who may have returned to Poland.

The story is told through the points of view of three main characters: Cecelia, Tobias and through Annika's journals. This works well to fill in the storyline. Cecelia is quite unlikeable and proves herself to be a most unreliable narrator as she can't tell the truth to save her soul. Is she crazy?? You decide. Who is Tobias really? And what links Cecilia and Annika together--two women who have lived such different lives?

I found this mystery quite fascinating with its many plot twists and turns. Love a well-told Scandinavian mystery where the culture and setting play a big role.

I received an arc of this new novel from the publisher via Net Galley for an honest review. Many thanks.

A tense psychological thriller featuring an unreliable narrator makes for a great summer beach book. My customers who are seeking the next Gone Girl or Girl on the Train will love this. Can’t wait to see what the author has next!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing and Alex Dahl for the opportunity to read this gripping debut thriller - I can't wait to see what she writes next!

Cecelia has a perfect life - she's rich with a part-time job just to make her happy, an adoring husband, and 2 girls. But Cecelia is a perfectionist - everything in its place and everything scripted to make sure all appearances are maintained. Until the day that a little boy is left behind at the girls' swimming lessons on a rainy night. The receptionist can't get in touch with his mother and asks Cecelia to drop him off at his home. When she gets there, it is an abandoned house. Tobias, the little boy, begs Cecelia not to call the police. Instead, she takes him home for the night.

Thus sets the stage. We are told this story through the voices of Cecelia, Tobias and the journals of Annika - a drug addict. There are many twists and turns in this book and I couldn't put it down! A fabulous debut.

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Boy at the Door. If your summer reading list is lacking something suspenseful and disturbing, (c’mon they can’t all be light and fluffy) I highly recommend adding this book to your TBR.

If Bravo were casting for The Real Housewives of Sandefjord, they would most definitely want to contract with Cecelia Wilborg. Socialite, designer, day-drinking pill-popper… Cecelia wears a lot of hats. She’s driven to achieve perfection in all aspects of her life and that’s a lot of pressure. She’s understandably annoyed when charged with the task of bringing home a young boy left behind at the club pool. Seriously, she’s a busy woman and those Missoni blankets are not going to buy themselves.

Things go from bad to worse quickly when she discovers an abandoned house at the address she’s been given. Faced with making a difficult decision in terms of how to handle the situation Cecelia, well, let’s just say she doesn’t do exactly as I would have done. And so begins an epic tale of lies, secrets, and more lies to cover up the secrets.

The strength of this book, which is both plot and character driven, lies overwhelmingly in the awesomely rendered character that is Cecelia. She is an absolutely convincing dichotomy of a woman. She is both a “love to hate” and “I can can truly empathize with that” sort of woman. Careful attention was paid to the development of each character. Fear of preventing you from going in with an open mind prevents me from making specific comments on the other characters.

The Boy at the Door provides the trifecta of suspense; it’s a page-turner with an unreliable narrator and an original plot. Solid by any standards, it’s especially impressive as a debut. Though I’ve struggled with Nordic noir in the past, I’ve found this to be a fresh offering; a leaning toward domestic suspense that still offers some traditional crime and procedural elements. I will definitely look forward to Alex Dahl’s next novel.

DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE GIVEAWAY ON MY INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT BEGINNING AT 11AM EST.
In closing, I will leave you with what I now think of as “Johan’s theme”:


(Youtube video of OH CECELIA inserted here on blog)

4.5/5 stars

Many thanks to Berkley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Cecilia Wilborg lacks nothing; she has what seems to be a perfect life with her husband and two daughters, though it soon becomes clear that she is keeping some dark secrets from her family. They end up providing a temporary foster home for a young boy named Tobias, and Cecilia’s life starts to unravel when she learns he has connections to Annika Lucasson. Annika, a drug addict with an abusive drug-dealing boyfriend, is privy to Cecilia’s secrets which if revealed would destroy her life.

The novel has three narrators. Cecilia’s first-person narration is interspersed with some chapters from Tobias’ perspective, also written in the first person, and some journal entries and letters written by Annika. Cecilia’s narration becomes annoying because she keeps withholding information. Instead, she just goes on and on about her fears that her life will disintegrate: “I’m overwhelmed by a sensation of the past as a slithering snake sneaking up on me, ready to unleash its poison on this immaculate life I’ve fought so hard for” and “maybe [Tobias’ presence] won’t dislodge those huge, black boulders inside of me and send them crashing onto this life I’ve managed to preserve against some hefty odds” and “his very presence threatens to unleash a wave of grief and regret so huge it would knock me down forever if I don’t keep suppressing it at any cost.”

Cecilia is not a likeable person; she certainly did not get any sympathy from me. She is materialistic: “being me is very expensive” and “I prefer my surroundings to be beautiful at all times.” She is very shallow, constantly making judgments about people based on their appearance: “Back then she was a timid, chubby girl with messy pigtails and hand-me-down clothes, and she’s not really that different now. Scruffy is the word that comes to mind. I must admit that she’s gone from awkwardly tall and “big-boned” to what I suppose some people might call statuesque, but she most definitely retains that gangly, clownish presence I remember from childhood.”

The decisions she made in the past and continues to make reveal her to be narcissistic and self-absorbed. She once met a man and “less than ten minutes after he sat down beside me, Thiago was inside me”?! She is not the greatest of mothers; she complains how her daughters keep viewing YouTube makeup tutorials and are constantly arguing, but she does nothing to intervene. Johan, Cecilia’s husband, once tells her, “’You’re a bitch. You can be so much more than that, and you know I love you dearly, but sometimes you really are a bitch.’” That describes her perfectly. As more and more about Cecilia is revealed, I ended up not caring what happened to her.

Several events are just unbelievable. I know nothing about Child Services in Norway but I can’t imagine that they would place a vulnerable child in a foster home that had not been properly vetted. A child in foster care could suffer an injury and the family could keep him from attending school for some time and authorities wouldn’t care? Then when the scar from the injury is obvious, no one would investigate? Then there are the many coincidences. Tobias gives Cecilia a key that, pardon the pun, unlocks everything? How convenient! Even the ownership of a farmhouse is connected to both Cecilia and Annika’s families?

The book is described as a “gritty novel of psychological suspense.” There is grit since the novel includes substance abuse, prostitution, rape, physical abuse, abandoned children, and murder, but the glacial pace means there is little suspense. In fact, the nature of Cecilia’s secrets is not difficult to guess long before the truth is revealed. Even the title is misleading; Tobias is never a boy at the door.

Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review: Thankyou so much @Prhinternational & @NetGalley for my free copy of The Boy At The Door #ad #partner

I’ve seen really good reviews of this one which is why I was so excited to pick it up after being invited to review it. It was a really good read, only took me longer because of how busy my schedule is. A really addictive read & it really brought out how society places these unrealistic pressures on everyone that it can get so frustrating to be a certain type of person to please people.

The Boy at the Door is not your usual dark Scandinavian mystery. It has more of a psychological thriller feel to it, rather than a grizzly murder mystery. One lie begets more lies as Cecilia Wilborg protects the image of her perfect life and hides her lack of self-esteem.

Cecilia Weiborg works very hard to present the perfect image to family and friends. While the reader is made to believe that the town folk of Sandefjord are nosey and judgmental and her perfect-catch husband would find someone much more worthy if she weren’t flawless, it felt that her image making had more to do with making up for perceived insufficiencies. In her self-absorption, she can behave rudely to strangers as well as friends and family.
Cecilia’s delusional behavior is set on a disastrous course when she is asked to give a ride home from the public swimming pool.

Alex Dahl’s characters are intriguing in their imperfections and bad choices. Both Cecilia and Anni are at times empathetic, but for the most part, they are not likable. Both women’s bad choices leave them culpable for many lives ruined. Cecilia’s father is not much better for his part in the travesty. Cecilia’s husband, Johan, seems to be the only redeemable character, however, after Cecilia’s objectivity as the narrator comes into question, this could be another of her poor perceptions. Tobias, the precocious boy at the center of the story, draws people in with his looks and quiet charm. While his plight broke my heart, I found his maturity and sage comments unbelievable.

There are sufficient twists in this steadily paced mystery to keep readers in shock and guessing. Drugs and delusion drive the main character to make one bad choice after another. In the end, she has only herself to blame for the demise of her picture-perfect reputation. Read The Boy at the Door to find out if Cecilia does ultimately “win”.

3.5-4 stars

Cecelia Wilborg has a seemingly perfect life – a handsome, loving husband – Johan, TWO (2) beautiful daughters – Hermine & Nicoline, AND, a magnificent home in the picturesque countryside of Sandejford, Norway.

They say that it any given moment your life could change forever. For Cecilia, that’s the moment when the receptionist at her daughters’ swim class tells her about Tobias, an 8-year-old boy, whose parents never came to pick him up. She then asked Cecelia if she would drop Tobias off at HIS home on HER way home. Cecelia reluctantly agrees only to find a house that is uninhabitable with no parents in sight. From here the story spins out of control.

At times it felt a little far-fetched, BUT this is what kept me turning the pages. I would recommend this book. Even though it’s not psychological thriller, it is suspenseful. Easy to read. The flow is good, easy to follow.

I really enjoyed this read! I thought it had great character development and kept me interested the whole time! Will be recommending to customers!

The Boy At The Door is such an intriguing read that makes it hard to categorize. Marketed as a thriller it's more of a psychological twisted read as we try and figure out if Cecelia is really bonkers or not. The theme is centered on the fact that absolutely nothing may be out of place in Cecelia's idyllic life in Norway as she lives a farce of happiness as a rich wife and mom in Norway. Her zeal for perfection is thwarted as she finds herself as a temporary guardian of a small boy who seemingly appears out of nowhere.



Upsetting Cecelia's natural order of things she copes through alcohol and medicinal concoctions and yet she is still losing control of the changes this boy brings to her family life. Small fractures in her perfection are actual beginnings of an earthquake and questions how far will one lady go to promote herself in the ideal image?



And then we sit back and wonder -who the heck is this boy? And why is Cecelia freaking out when she is questioned about her relationships to those she and the boy both know? And is society so fickle as to not allow a person's past be forgiven if it was hidden?



I really enjoyed the novel and the meandering way we eventually tie it all together. A story that will keep you guessing till the very end!

giveaway on blog post which starts 7/245/18
http://www.burtonbookreview.com/2018/07/the-boy-at-door-by-alex-dahl-release.html

When an 8 year old boy is found alone at a swimming pool, a mystery begins to unravel - who is he? Where does he live? Why is he alone?

Set in an affluent Norwegian town, this book was super atmospheric - you can hear the rain, feel the cold, see the snow. I haven’t read enough books in this setting and I’ll definitely be back for more, it was almost a character in this book.

This was a very melancholy read for me, and a bit close to home with having an 8 year old boy myself. I couldn’t help but feel a tremendous amount of empathy for him. I became very attached to a few of the characters and my heart went out to them - combined with the dreary atmosphere, I left this one feeling a deep sense of doom and gloom. But that’s the power of good writing, isn’t it? It will make you feel deeply.

This was a Traveling Sisters read - always a pleasure to hear the perspectives of my fellow reviewers.

Thank you to Berkley for my ad

How far would you go to keep a secret? Cecilia will do just about anything to keep up the appearance of her perfect life. I didn't like any of the characters in this book. Cecilia was nothing but a selfish, self-centered person who would stop at nothing to keep what she had, and Anni is a drug addict that makes nothing but bad choices. The only likable character is 8 year old Tobias. It was an interesting read.