If there’s one thing I like, it is discovering new authors. I had never read anything by this author before and so I picked up the book with some excitement and I began to read. I really enjoyed this book but more about that in a bit.
Cecilia Wilborg really got on my nerves from the start and I can’t say that I warmed to her at all. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as it meant that I could keep an open mind and think things through in an unbiased manner. Cecilia is a career woman, who works hard and she has two children, although she depends on an au pair for help. The au pair isn’t around at the moment which means that Cecilia has to transport her children places and she seems to begrudge looking after her own children, which made me want to slap her silly with a wet flip flop. Honestly, the woman is lucky enough to have children but she doesn’t want to have to care for them. I also can’t believe her stupidity. She picks her child up from the swimming baths and she takes a strange child home because the receptionist of the swimming baths asks her to as his parents haven’t picked him up. She does take him home and care for him overnight without notifying the authorities, without considering the risk that this child may or may not present to her own children and in fact in my eyes, she is guilty of child abduction. Cecilia doesn’t realise what she has got herself into and things start to go wrong. I realise that it looks as though I am ripping her character to pieces but let me explain. I used to work in Childrens Social Services and then the Disclosure & Barring Service so of course I look at this kind of scenario with my safeguarding hat on.
I have to say that reading this book did become addictive. As soon as I started reading the book, I was hooked and I just had to keep turning those pages to find out who the little boy is or was and whether or not Cecilia kept hold of her perfect life. As the tension level increased, so did the speed with which I turned the pages. At times the page numbers seemed to fly past in a blur. I loved the way that the characters were devised. Each and every one of them had their secrets or were tortured souls in one way and it was interesting to see how this affected their day to day interactions. The characters seemed so real and believable that they seemed to come alive and I even began comparing them to some people that I know as they share similar characteristics. Reading this book was very much like riding on a scary rollercoaster ride with no real idea of which direction the story (or the ride) is going to take. There were moments that made me cross, moments that made me gasp out loud and moments that made my heart rate increase.
In conclusion I loved reading this book although I can’t say the same about Cecilia, who just made me shake my head at some of her actions. I would recommend this book to other readers and especially to those fans of psychological thrillers. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a well deserved 4* out of 5*,

Ahh this one is going to be a tough book to review! 

If I were to describe 'The Boy at the Door' in three words based on the concept alone, I would confidently say; twisted, dark and devious. However, if I were to describe this book in three words based on the content, I would say that it was confusing, uncertain and difficult.

Why?

Because whilst I enjoyed the overall premise of 'The Boy at the Door', I found the way in which the storyline was delivered, highly confusing. At times it felt like I was supposed to know more about the characters and the setting than that I actually did, making me feel as though I was missing a vital puzzle piece when it came to the hard-hitting moments. That said, I fully admit that there were times where I felt like I couldn't continue with the book, yet due to the high intrigue level, I couldn't help but be drawn to the storyline as I needed to know what happened to the boy and why Cecilia acted like she knew a lot more than she let on.

'The Boy at the Door' is interesting, very dark and weirdly addictive. I enjoyed the different setting, but I just wish that the delivery was less confusing. All in all, I definitely wouldn't rule out reading another book by this author in the future!

The Boy at the Door started out really fast! Cecilia and her two daughters were at the indoor pool for lessons but she just couldn’t wait to get home and kick back. But the pool supervisor calls her over to say that an eight year old boy needs a ride home because his mother never came to get him.
So far… sounds realistic right? But the story continues unraveling and secrets are revealed sending Cecilia’s life spiraling downhill! But how far will she go to keep things hidden so that her life can remain as “perfect” as it has been! Alex Dahl is a very talented author and we look forward to reading more of her work!

The Boy at the Door started out really fast! Cecilia and her two daughters were at the indoor pool for lessons when she just can't wait to get home and kick back. But the pool supervisor calls her over to say that an eight year old boy needs a ride home because his mother never came to get him.
So far... sounds realistic right? But the story continues unraveling and secrets are revealed sending Cecilia's life spiraling downhill! But how far will she go to keep things hidden so that her life can remain as "perfect" as it has been! Alex Dahl is a very talented author and we look forward to reading more of her work!

Well, this book kept me riveted the entire time I was reading it. In fact, when life forced me to have to put it down and participate, it still kept hold of me as I was still thinking about it. It is definitely a thinkie kind of book, especially as its chronology is not exactly straight forward.
We start with Cecilia, married mum of two daughters. She has worked very hard to get it all, and all is definitely what she has, on face value at least, and is now still working very hard to keep hold of it. Her perfect house, perfect family, perfect part-time job. Perfect, at least, on the surface. Below this, the cracks are there and, as the book begins, it looks like it won't take much for them to reach that perfect surface and destroy it all. It seems that time is nigh as circumstances conspire to throw her world out of kilter when she, reluctantly, agrees to give a lift to a boy whose parents have failed to collect him from swim club. His house is empty so Cecelia decides to take him home and just drop him off at school the next morning. But things don't quite go according to plan, and this small act of kindness turns out to be the catalyst for what happens next.
Oh my days. Talk about "oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive"! I am not going anywhere near the plot in this review as, in the book, it is delivered in such a way as to delight and surprise so to say anything more here would spoil it. It's also very convoluted and complex so be prepared to suspend belief for a while and hold what you both know and don't understand and just trust, as the author does pull it all together very satisfactorily towards the end.
Characterisation was excellent. We hear the story as told by several of the characters in turn. Each had their own distinct voice so it was easy to follow who was speaking and when. We also have entries from a journal interspersed throughout to add a bit more background and character definition.
The psychological elements in this book were also very well done. There are quite a lot of what I call wounded characters in the book and, as such, the overall tone could have got too dark. The author manages to stay on the right side of things though, mainly by the introduction of some lighter moments at just the right times to keep the tone balanced.
Pacing is good, a little slow in places but overall the pacing matched the narrative well which is the important thing for me. Not every book has to be wham bam. Sometimes, as with this book, it is better to simmer rather than boil, especially when so much is unknown or unexplained. It just adds to the level of intrigue.
All in all, a pretty nifty debut book that I enjoyed reading and which left me satisfied at its conclusion. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The boy at the Door by Alex Dhal is a thriller with so many twist and turns that I could not put it down and read it in one day.
Cecilia is rich, a dutiful wife and mother of two young daughters.
One day at the local swimming pool she agrees to give a young boy a lift home when his mother fails to pick him up. This incident has far reaching consequences that threaten to change her life.
I found Cecilia a hard character to like and some of the subject matter was uncomfortable to read. The story had me hooked from the beginning and I had to keep reading to find out the outcome.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Jead Of Zeus for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fast read for me, really compelling and beautifully written

Cecilia takes in an abandoned child, against her better judgment and her wishes, she kind of gets roped into it. This child seemingly has no family and even the authorities are struggling to place him. So into her family he comes – but this will change everything for her.

The thing I loved about this one was the character voice when Cecilia was telling the tale – she is divisive yet fascinating – her attitude towards her husband and girls is strangely obtuse, but she also see’s life through a lens that is very realistic. She is, as characters in these novels usually are, hiding secrets, which as the story twists and turns really put you inside her head. We also get portions of the story from the boy’s point of view, some of these are more than a little heartbreaking. The plotting is clever, I was never quite sure where we were going to end up and the whole thing had a very emotive feel that appealed to me.

The Boy At The Door was an excellent example of a psychological thriller – great characters and a beautiful mystery element, you’ll get pulled along with this one and won’t want to put it down until you find the resolution – which, when it comes, is perfectly placed and somewhat thought provoking.

If you love this kind of thing (and I do) I would definitely recommend it. A really great read.