I loved Camilla Grebe’s first novel, “The Ice Beneath Her” so it’s no wonder I loved this second in the series. It’s not necessary to read one to enjoy the other, but you’ll recognize some of the investigators if you do.
Camilla’s novels are a prime example of why I love to read. I can travel anywhere, walk into the homes, listen to their conversations and basically live in a foreign country without ever leaving the comfort of my chair. In this instance, we traveled to the village of Ormberg in Scandinavia. Granted a lot of the town’s description is based on the new local policewoman, Malin’s opinion, which is very negative, desolate and colorless. This doesn’t mean the town actually looks this way; this exemplifies Malin’s discontent with her current status as an officer and a resident of her old hometown.
The police are searching for a missing investigator, Peter, who was last seen with his partner, a criminal profiler, Hanne Lagerlind-Schoen, who was found at the edge of the woods bloody, disoriented and shoeless. She is slowly losing her memory to Alzheimer’s, so she says she’s not able to tell anyone where she last saw Peter. To complicate things, a woman’s body is found near the same location, and there’s proof that Hanne was there.
Jake is a young teenager who lives in town and attends the local school. He’s perceived as weak and somewhat feminine, and he’s forever questioning himself and his character. But as times get tough, we see the true nature and strength that Jake is capable of. Jake has in his possession a diary that sheds light on who may have killed the stranger in the woods, and as he reads thru someone else’s confessions, he must either turn a blind eye or confess to his role in the mystery.
This is a well-plotted and fast-paced read with some disturbing personalities. I strongly recommend Ms. Grebe’s new novel.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to Ballentine Books for making it available.)

I didn’t see that coming! Not one bit of it. A lot of times I shy away from books that aren’t written by American or English authors. I think it’s because in my experience they can lose something in the translation and the landscape can vary so different that it makes it harder to picture. Not this one though. In fact the landscape and its people is what made it so fascinating.

The characters and writing are superb and well layered. The way the story weaves from the various narrators and diary entries was seamless. There were plenty of twists and red herrings to keep you on your toes.

The villain was unexpected (at least to me). That final zinger was pretty awesome too! I would recommend this and read more by the author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for a copy in exchange for a review.

This is the first Scandinavian thriller I have read. The characters are well-developed; adding a woman who suffered from some early-onset memory loss was a brilliant touch because for a long time, her recollections were vague and not very helpful, but still kept the other members of her team guessing. The young boy with secrets was also a brilliant addition.

I enjoyed all the elements of this story that made it such a well-written book.

Out of the frozen depths of a forest in Ormberg, Sweden, a woman stumbles onto the road. Her arms are covered with scratches, her feet are bare, and she has no memory of who she is. Local police identify her as psychological profiler Hanne Lagerlind-Schön, who, with her partner, had been helping investigate the cold case of a young woman’s murder.

Hanne begins to recover but cannot recall anything about where her partner is, or what their investigation had uncovered before her disappearance. Police have only one lead: a young woman in a sequined dress who was spotted nearby the night Hanne was found.

"Named the Best Nordic Crime Novel of the Year by the Crime Writers of Scandinavia." And I can see why! Holy moly this book grabs you and doesn't let go! I'm still thinking about this story. If you get a chance to read this book, I highly recommend it.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #AfterShesGone
Pub Date: 26 Feb 2019

This is a book that involves the investigation into two murders 20 years apart. It follows two main characters in a small "hick" town in Sweden. Malin-a young woman in her 20's who is a detective with the police team investigating the murder; and Jake-a teenage boy who lives in the town and becomes involved in the investigation of the murder as well. Occasionally in the second half of the story the book throws in some parts told through Hanne, another investigator and profiler brought in on the case, and who is found wandering barefoot and bloody in the woods near the beginning of the story, and who unfortunately also suffers from dementia and can't remember a thing. What does she have to do with the bodies found 20 yearsapart and why was her bloody shoe found near one of the bodies?Can the murderer be from their town, or is it an outsider/refugee staying in the town or passing through? Definitely a decent read, and one I would recommend to others.

“After She’s Gone” by Camilla Grebe is a thriller set in a small Swedish town. The book begins with one of the main characters, Malin, finding the body of a 5 year old girl by a Cairn in the woods.
The story is told by several narrators: Malin, Hanne (a criminal profiler) and Jake (a teen boy with a secret.)
I enjoyed this book and it kept me guessing till the end.

Boy, I really enjoyed Camilla Grebe's book. It had one of the most unbelievable, I didn't think that's coming, in the book. You have to read it yourself to discover it, it will blow you away. Malin is a fairly new policewoman and she goes home to drunks and weird people. An old dropped case that she found when she was younger where a little girl that was found dead was reopened. They brought Peter and Hanne to profile the case and end up with Hanne being forgetful and Peter missing. The case gets even more interesting when they find the mother of the little girl murdered in the same place 20 years later. Where was she. The case gets involved when Jake, a young boy gets involved with Hanne when he finds her brown book that she writes things down so she can remember. Much more is in the story but you can get the drift, it's worth the time reading it.

“After She’s Gone” is an awesome suspense-filled crime thriller. It has an interesting, intricate plot and true to life well developed characters with twisted motivations. I enjoyed reading this book. It was full of tension, suspense and interesting twists and turns all way to the end. Advance reader copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

A psychologically complex Swedish mystery full of original characters, twisted motivations and horror in a isolated and beautiful setting. Malin is the primary protagonist of the police, a relatively new investigator drawn in because of her familiarity with the area, a tiny, isolated and seemingly dying town in the forest where she grew up and fled as soon as she could. The second main character is Jake, a young man still exploring his identity and unwillingly pulled into the investigation. A cold case of a dead child left at an ancient cairn, a new case of a woman left in the same place, a forensic investigator with creeping dementia, and both past and present refugee camps nearby, bringing out prejudice and fear in what is left of the community. The plotting is intricate, the characters well-developed, the sense of place is exceptional, the mystery twisty. What's not to like?

A story with a message, it starts with a teenage Malin finding a skeleton at a popular kids hangout deep in the woods. The victim, a child was never identified and the homicide case remained unsolved. Fast forward to the present Malin has become a cop working wiith a small group of specialists attempting to solve cold cases. Her connection to the area and people was the reason she is assigned to help investigate the cold case of the skeleton she found years ago. She didn't want to go back to that area, even though her mother and family still lived there, she managed to escape from the depressed economy and influx of refugees no one wanted plus a reminder of her lost love. She is now engaged and moving to Stockhom, a much better area in her opinion, with her soon to be husband. Shortly after arriving one of the team Hanne, a profiler, was found wandering in the snowy woods, barefoot arms covered in blood and no memory of what happened. Hanne's constant companion Peter, also one of the investigating team, is no where to be found. The group sets out to find their colleague while trying to work their cold case. However, none of the townspeople talk and no one seems to know what happened now or in the past especially Hanne. To complicate things nother body, a woman, is found in the exact place Malin discovered the skeleton years ago. The same wooded area Hanne stumbled out of. Marlin can't believe all of this happening in the small town when was born in, everyone knows everyone, who possibly could be behind two murders, a missing law man and what do the refugees know if anything? Interesting twists and turns all way to the end. Great book an interesting read. I received a digital copy of the book from the author through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGallley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in return for my opinion!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was full of suspense and tension, and the twists were very good. I liked that the mysteries of the past twined seamlessly with the new mystery, and the different voices that were used to narrate. The play between past and present was very good, and I liked the tension.

I thought the characters were very good, and the list of suspects for the crimes was great. It really was a mystery until the very end!

Camilla Grebe has a stellar premiere with After She's Gone. One can easily see why this was named the Best Nordic Crime Novel of the Year by the Crime Writers of Scandinavia!

For lovers of Nordic Noir this is an unputdownable thriller.A psychological profiler who has lost her memory a young boy who must keep a secret at any cost ..A crime that might never be solved because these two witnesses can’t report what happened.So well written so tense highly recommend.#netgalley #randomhouse ballentine,

For readers of Nordic mysteries, this is an engaging tale set in small town Sweden that explores what happens when witnesses to a crime can't come forward, either due to loss of memory or fear of revealing themselves.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC of #AfterShesGone

Camilla Grebe gives us a marvelous, twisted tale of crime, horror, and mystery. True to the Nordic Noir genre, the novel has a continuous dark and eerie feel. An adolescent boy, struggling to find his identity and a detective brought back to a home she’s left behind get thrown together in the mystery behind a missing woman and a ten year old unsolved murder. The plot is multidimensional and supported by elaborate and wonderfully depicted characters. A compelling crime fiction novel. Wonderfully written. 5 stars.

This was a very good book had me on the edge of my seat thank you to net galley and the publisher for letting me have the chance to read this book first time reading her books would enjoy reading more of her books

Starting the month of reading in style with a Scandinavian thriller. It’s been a while since I’ve read them, in itself an accomplishment considering their prevalence in the world. And this was really great too, even for a subgenre that’s reliably good. Which is to say it had all the right Scandinavian elements (dark atmosphere, forbidding weather, gorgeous but isolated scenery) and genre prerequisites (suspense, murder mysteries, plot twists) and on top of that was also very well written. In fact it was notably more emotionally developed than these things usually are, which is to say sometimes Scandinavian fiction has a certain reserve and this didn’t really and it allowed for a more immersive reading experience. The plot has (predominantly) the basic dual narrative structure so often utilized in thrillers, one from a young female cop who, for an investigation, returns to a small town she was so desperate to flee and the other is from a fourteen year old local boy. Both get inextricably entangled with the events, the former through police work, the latter through a journal he finds. The novel is very well structured and information is doled out in just the right portions (through police findings and journal entries) to maintain the optimal suspense. And because the setting is so insular and the cast of characters is so limited, the final reveal is that much more of a stunner. I kind of sort of had my suspicions, but was enjoying the ride too much and nothing was made obvious until very close to the end, so kudos to the author. Even though when it comes to thrillers standard police procedurals are lower on my list, this had more than enough psychological suspense and drama and character development to make up for it. Not sure if this is part of a series, one listing had it as such, but it read very well as a standalone, which is my preference anyway. Interestingly enough, the author didn’t settle for just writing a top shelf thriller, she went for a message. A message that is as important as it is timely, albeit somewhat heavyhanded in the delivery. Just as the plot centers around a refugee center, the novel centers around a refugee crisis. Malin, the cop, one of the main protagonists, spends the entire novel contemplating the center and the way refugees in it are given government assistance ahead of the locals in the economically depressed small town, her way of thinking (a certainly popular one) is that the country should take care of its own citizens first and foremost. When a coworker confronts her by saying…well, what if that was you? doesn’t really register until some genuinely horrific (yes, such is the denouement of this novel, psychologically horrific) events change her perspective. At first honestly I was slightly annoyed with the moralistic and lesson like stand of the novel (seemed out of place), but it made me think and I actually ended up enjoying it all the more for it. So that’s Malin’s arc. Jake, the teenage boy, the other protagonist, is more uniformly likeable and his arc is a thing of beauty. The kid spends so much time questioning his masculinity and thinking himself aberrant (his word, he likes words) only to end up the bravest toughest man in the book. There is also a fascinating representation of a person with dementia, the plot crucial journal in the book belongs to her and is maintained for purposes of covering up the fading memory, such a terrifyingly claustrophobic thing. So anyway, I’m done listing things I liked about this book, there were plenty. It was a great read, a standout in an overpopulated genre, a genuinely thrilling mystery. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.