Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

Ugh. I wanted to like this book- I really did. But nope. I wanted to slap the main character so many times. She kept insisting that nothing was going on yet 4 people around her were dead- and I don’t think that’s a spoiler.

You know when you’re watching a game show and the contestants don’t know the answer, but it’s so simple and blatant so you’re screaming at the TV and cursing the contestants stupidity? That’s how I felt during this whole book.

I had to re-read the ‘climactic’ part because I apparently didn’t realize that was it.

Also, the accents and the vernacular was probably correct, but I had a hard time figuring out what they were saying.

Excellent fast paced, addictive read. Paula is barely holding herself together at the funeral for her beloved husband, who has passed just a few years after her only son. While at the funeral, Paula meets a total stranger who slips a note in her pocket telling her that her husband wasn’t who she thought he was. Paula soon comes to the realization that this stranger named Cara knows more about her husband than she does. As Paula and Cara try to unravel the mystery of Thomas, they soon become aware that whatever business Paula’s husband was involved in has put many lives in danger, including their own. Twisty, delicious thriller with lots of plot twists.

It took me longer than normal to finish this book, because I recently lost my own husband. I’m so glad I read it. Being able to relate to Paula has really helped me. Great read and I highly recommend!

Paula has lost her husband of thirty years and at his funeral a young woman comes up to her and puts a note in her pocket that says her husband is not who she thinks he is. As the story unfolds it seems that Paula has been very naive to the things her husband has been up to.
This is a story of love and loss, grief and sadness but also about relationships and how well we know the people we love and share our life with.

I received a free e-copy of After He Died by Michael J. Malone from Net Galley and Trafalgar Square Publishing in exchange for my review.

This thriller twists back and forth on itself, almost from the beginning until the very end. Everyone is hiding something, and Paula, a grieving widow and the main character, must navigate a world she no longer feels secure in. The scenes of Paula alone, confronting her grief and at times being overcome by it, are exceptionally well-written. My heart ached for her time and time again.

Some of the answers Paula finds in her search for the truth about her late husband aren’t ultimately very surprising, but there were two in particular that shocked me. This is a well-written, fast paced book, that will keep your attention until the very last page.

The story definitely had me hooked from the beginning. I managed to finish the book in just a few short hours. While I was able to piece most of the ending together before I got there, there were some good twist and turns to the story.

I wasn't crazy about this book. It was a decent read. Nothing really memorable. The story line was okay, but the characters kind of fell flat for me. But I like happy endings, and this book delivered on that.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC.

Some books just shouldn't be read at a specific time in your life, I truly believe that. This book flopped for me. I couldn't escape with it. I couldn't sink my teeth into it. I was angry at Paula for how clueless and gullible she could be. I felt like a lot of this was a bias hate on the husband book and I couldn't love it.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this book for review!

For a short book, it does not contain any fluff to lengthen the plot. The plot is intense and filled with hints that lead to the suspect behind the questionable killing. Who is behind her husband's death and subsequent murders that follow it? What's the intent for the murders?

I love how Paula (main) does not dive into trouble but reasonable trouble comes her way due to the circumstances related to her husband. Grief is expressed in a reasonable manner without overexaggeration.

So I give it a 5 star !! <3

Thank you NetGalley, Michael J Malone and Trafalgar Square Publishing for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Paula’s husband of almost thirty years just died of a heart attack just before the anniversary of their son’s death and her world falls apart. She is stunned when a younger woman slips her a note at the funeral saying that her husband isn’t who she thought he was. The two women finally meet and Paula is shocked by the revelations that are brought to her attention. We soon see that both women’s lives are in danger!

I really enjoyed that we begin the novel wondering who Paula’s husband really was and what he was up to that she didn’t know about. I loved Paula’s character and how native she is, but how she needs to know what is going on in her life. I also really enjoyed Cara’s character and how different she is from Paula in so many different ways. The fact that they grew up in two very different economic status’ really connect them together because they find out very different things that help the case really come together. I loved how the novel moved along at a steady pace with something interesting happening in almost every chapter. There were tons of moments in this novel that I was shocked, surprised and interested in what was going on and kept flipping through to find out what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the ending because I really didn’t see it coming and was shocked with how deep into this some of the characters were! I would definitely recommend this novel!

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. I wholeheartedly agree with another reviewer who said that this novel started out strong and the author set up a promising premise. After reading about 75% of the book, I just could not make myself pick it up and finish. It just dragged for me. . I didn't finish the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley. Michael J. Malone, Trafalgar Square Publishing and Orenda Books for this ARC.

Wow. This is my first Michael J. Malone book, and it certainly will not be my last. This book was exciting, extremely well paced, and addictive! I couldn't stop reading it, and I didn't want it to end all at the same time. Beautifully written characters (Joe is my favorite), woven into a beautifully written story.

I cannot wait to read more of his books.

So I’m gonna give this 4 stars because this reminds me of Harlan Coben. It was at more times than not predictable although still an entertaining read.

Mr. Malone creates a perfect Thriller read with this one! How well do you know those you love? Do you think you know your husband? With this book, you'll start to question everyone around you, wondering what skeletons they may be hiding. Hold on tight, because this is one heart pounding ride to the very last page!

You need to know who your husband really was... When Paula Gadd’s husband of almost 30 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.

This one felt more like a decent mystery to me than a suspenseful thriller. It had a good story line and I really enjoyed the mystery part of the book. I wasn't a big fan of the main character and the ending fell a little flat for me, otherwise it was a decent book.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC of #AfterHeDied
Pub Date: 01 Mar 2019

This novel started out strong. Malone really set up a promising premise and I was very invested. After the initial flash of happenings, however, the book slowed down exponentially.

First of all, drinking copious amounts of gin and coffee is not a personality trait. At first, I thought the portrayal of the grieving widow was well done, but that didn't go anywhere, I didn't feel like the protagonist grew at all. She didn't leave an impression on me and I can't even really come up with a personality trait to describe her.

The other characters were more or less the same and the plot was slow. It wasn't until I was over 60% done with the book that things started to progress. And after all that the ending was...ok.

As a thriller, it's not, but the mystery isn't bad and it is entertaining enough. I think I just wanted more than the run of the mill story of this genre.

After He Died was a decent thriller and a good story line, but somehow it just felt a little flat. I was very excited to read this, but felt a little bored in some places. I couldn't really get myself to love it.

Paula was the main character (the widow of Thomas) and I just felt like asking "could she really be this clueless"? Most of the book focused on her grief, and while it was well written, I wanted more from the story. There were times I was on the edge of my seat, but then the storyline just seemed to fall away from those parts. I wish there would've been more about Thomas (that weren't biased from Paula's POV). I also wish there would've been more action in this book; more into the business, the family, her son, the stalking parts, etc. Again, it was a decent thriller, but it had the potential to be great.

Paula's husband dies leaving her completely grief stricken. At Thomas' funeral, Paula is approached by a woman who tells her that Thomas isn't the man she thought he was. What follows is a story of deceit, betrayal, death and heart break.

Thank you to Netgalley and Trafalgar Square Publishing for this ARC.

At Paula's husband's funeral, a woman comes up to her and tells her that her husband was not the man she thought. This leads to a big unraveling of Paula's life in which her husband may have had mob connections and so on. It wasn't a bad story, but I wasn't really that into it. I also wasn't all that surprised by the ending. 3 stars.

Paula's husband of thirty years is dead. At the funeral a young woman she has never seen slips a note in her pocket telling Paula she didn't know who her husband really was. So although she is grieving, Paula decides to follow up and find out what secrets Thomas may have harbored. His two brothers seem to know nothing so who is this mysterious young woman who is sure her husband was hiding something. Lots of twists and turns, but at times the grieving seemed to overtake the plot a bit. Overall, I enjoyed the plot as it was hard to tell who the bad guys were and I hadn't guessed it at the end.