After He's Gone

From the outside looking in, you would be forgiven for thinking that they were the perfect family. Wealthy boy meets girl, sweeps her off her feet, marries her, they move into a lovely home and have a child. But appearances are deceiving and one day, they handsome husband is sprawled out in a pool of blood on the floor while his beautiful wife stands above him. She did it of course, it’s always the spouse. The problem is, she doesn’t remember if she did it or not. A twisty tale that brings to mind the phrase “be careful what you wish for”

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for this arc!

The book takes no time at all to get right into the thick of it. Did Abby do the unthinkable and kill her husband?

In the first chapter we find Charles, Abby's husband, murdered in their home in cold blood but the crime scene seems to be a little off. Abby is the one who finds him dead and calls the police but has no recollection of the prior events that lead to his demise. Apparently she has been having blackouts over the last few months; chunks of time are missing throughout her days which she shares with Peter, the detective.

The book is told in alternating timelines from when Abby first met the rich and handsome Charles to present day, from both Abby and Peter's perspectives.

This book was so juicy I could not put it down. One minute you think that Abby and Charles are the perfect fairytale couple. He comes from a well off family and woes her with all his charm and money, but money cannot buy happiness. As their relationship begins to get more serious, i.e. marriage, you get a sense that Charles is quite controlling and verbally/emotionally abusive. He isn't the prince charming she expected he once was. I began wanting to murder him myself. I was hoping she actually did it. I will say the ending was kind of laughable at some parts, I would even say ridiculous but overall a decent read.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

This was a page turner that’s for sure and I thoroughly enjoyed it but it frustrated me at times.. twists and turns galore …

3.75 Stars
I'm just going to throw it out there. This is one of those mystery novels where you will most likely get annoyed and frustrated with the protagonist.

Abby was a law student when she met the charming and handsome Charles. Right away, he swept her off her feet. He took her to fancy restaurants and showered her with gifts. Less than a year later, they were married. That's when she noticed a change in her husband's demeanor. He became controlling and aggressive. Things didn't get any better after having a child. One day, she found her husband dead on the living room floor. The thing was, she couldn't remember if she had done it or not.

Abby was weak-minded and lacked a backbone. It was maddening. She had multiple chances to get out. Of course, she chose not to.
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With that being said, the story was still entertaining and kept me captivated the entire time. I would recommend it to those who are a fan of domestic mystery novels.


***I would like to thank NetGalley, Katherine Bolger Hyde (the author), and Severn House for graciously sending me an ARC to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.**

I really enjoyed this domestic thriller, much more than I had anticipated after reading some mixed reviews.
This book quickly drew me in and the writing style is easy and fast paced. I had planned to start this book, but had to keep reading to get to the end.
The characters are unlikeable and annoying but that just added to my intrigue.
Overall, this is a great read and one that I’d recommend.

A good story that pulls the reader along. Abby is a scholarship student in her first year of law school. Tiny and shy, with an un approving father and a dominant sister, she has very little self confidence. The best looking student in law school, Charles Crenshaw notices Abby one day to her utter surprise. Confident and wealthy, Abby doesn’t understand what Charles sees in her, but she is completely and utterly smitten. After a whirlwind courtship they are married as soon as Charles finishes law school. Very soon, perfect Charles becomes nightmare Charles, abusive, demanding and absolutely vile. Always into mind games, he sabotages his condoms so Abby gets pregnant before she can finish her degree. Burdened with school and a new baby, Abby starts suffering from migraines that are accompanied by blackouts. One day Abby comes to beside Charles’ dead body. Did she finally snap? The book is told through both Abby’s POV and Peter, the detective assigned to the case. All the details of the previous three years emerge. An implausible ending, but an enjoyable read. I would recommend.
My thanks to netgalley, the author and the publisher for an advance copy.

3.75/5 stars! Ok; hear me out: Abby sucks and is super unlikable and I wanted to scream at her multiple times. Now that that is out of the way, I really enjoyed this story. I didn't see the final twist coming and enjoyed the different storylines of sharing both when they met, their 'happy' marriage, the murder, and the investigation that follows. It was an easy story to stay engaged in and despite Abby being a pain in the a**, I really enjoyed it.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Seemingly Perfect…
Seemingly perfect lives are not so perfect after all in this twisting psychological suspense. Abby and Charles have the perfect marriage. Right? Not so, as Charles is soon to be found bloodied and very dead at their home. Did Abby finally snap - or not? Effectively told in dual timeline and with dual perspectives, the reader soon learns the backstory and the present life of this controlling and volatile relationship. Well drawn characters populate an edgy plot with twists and turns aplenty.

I was hooked from the start! I love when books start right in the middle of the action and this one definitely managed that. The characters were well written and a but annoying but at least they were consistently annoying and it was just who they were. It'd be weirder if a completely logical and rational character suddenly made all these irritatingly decision but our protagonist just had some questionable judgement lol. The lave kept up, the two timeliness never got confusing or lost, there are the required twists for a good domestic noir and I don't really have anything bad to say here really! Maybe some bits were a but out there but it's a fiction book not a documentary so who cares. I really enjoyed it

Detective Peter Rocher finds himself with a whopper. In a wealthy neighborhood in the living room of a well-to-do family lawyer Charles Crenshaw is dead in a pool of his own blood. His wife found him but she doesn't remember whay happened due to a blackout.

This story bounces between past and present. Mysteries and revelations are revealed as the story unfolds. I was hooked, unable to put this down. The writing was superb and the plot was delicious.

Abby and Charles meet in law school. Charles is from a well known, very wealthy family and Abby can't believe her good luck when he asks her out. Their relationship blossoms quickly and they are soon married. Charles begins working for his father's law firm and Abby finds herself pregnant, but still has a year left of law school to attend. After the arrival of their daughter, Emma, she starts to have migraines and blackouts. One day after coming home, she finds Charles lying on the floor with blood all over his head. Abby has another blackout is not certain if she killed him, or if it was someone else. Detective Peter Rocher takes over the case to find out what really happened that day.

AFTER HE'S GONE was such a good book, I had a hard time putting it down. I have never read a book by this author before and I was so happy to stumble upon it on NetGalley. If you liked BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by B.A. Paris, I think you will enjoy this book too. A brilliant read!! 4.5 stars, rounding up to 5.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for my ARC!

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for an early copy of After He's Gone. I must admit when I read the synopsis, I was like should I or should I not request this book, BOY am I glad I did!!!!!! What an unbelievable story, JUST WOW!!!!!! So, so, so good, sad its over with. Felt like I was there with the characters. Sad parts to it but an EXCELLENT read! Thank you again so much.

This was a good read!!!

Charles swept Abby off her feet from the first day the met! He pretty much wined and dined her with all fancy restaurants expand her taste buds! But that don’t last …. After a while he becomes very controlling. She thought it would change after having her baby girl Emma … NOPE sadly it gets worse!

Abby comes to find Charles lying in a puddle of blood on a white carpet! Nothing else has blood on it neither is there splats of blood to be found. After forensic evidence shows they did not clean up the house to try and cover their own tracks …

Abby is confused because she’s not sure weather or not she killed Charles or no! She’s been having blackouts. But as the strong unfold the truth will be revealed 😉 Spoiler Freee 😉

I gave it 4 starts because I’m just not a fan of the past and present chapters switch off!


Thank You to NetGalley Katherine Bolger Hyde & Severn House for my ARC publication Date 04/4/23

I really liked this book - it had all the ingredients, a thriller/psychological novel needs to have - plus tiny little romantic vibes as well.

We have a man that seems to be murdered, many suspects - especially his wife, that experiences medical blackouts - and a cop, that has actual hunches and feelings.

This was a very good book, which did not let me stop reading it...plenty of suspense !

Thank you to #NetGalley, Severn Book Publisher and Katherine Bolger Hyde for the opportunity to read an advance copy of After He’s Gone, to be published April 4, 2023. This detective novel was told from two points of view, the heroine and the detective who works throughout the book to determine who killed her husband. It’s intense, clue-filled and sensational. Anyone who enjoys a good crime novel would likely enjoy this book. #NetGalley. #SevernBookPublisher. #KatherineBolgerHyde. #AfterHe’sGone

After He’s Gone by Katherine Bolger Hyde was a quick & slightly uneasy read. I finished it quickly -partly because I wanted to know what exactly had happened but also because I felt so disgusted about the situation the female MC was in that I wanted to get to the end of the book faster.

The author did such a good job making the antagonist so detestable that I didn’t care much about what had happened to him, BUT, I did still have the curiosity that propelled me to keep reading and find out exactly how it had happened. I was definitely rooting for Abby throughout the book.

I liked the dual timeline and how the past was slowly revealed to the reader. I liked the dual POV that kept the reader in the dark until the end.

I did not care for the (spoiler) romance attempt thrown in between Abby and Peter. I don’t typically enjoy romance in thrillers and in this particular story I felt that Abby desiring a relationship so quickly after her husband died felt gross - even though her husband was despicably horrible - and I thought it was horribly unprofessional of Peter to fall for his main suspect in the case. It just felt unnecessary and wrong for this story.

I will be posting this review on Instagram, Goodreads and Amazon.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5453128407

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqtrW2Brbum/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

This book is a classic "did she do it?" mystery. The main character, Abby, finds herself standing over her dead husband's body. But she cannot remember - did she murder him? Prior to this, Abby had been experiencing blackouts and migraines. She did not think too much of them, until standing over her dead husband's body.

The story switches between two timelines - prior to the husband's death and post-death. As the story develops, we learn more about Abby's past and her relationship with her husband. This was definitely a page-turner. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it to be a quick and easy read. It may not be the most original storyline, but it definitely sucked me in!

Thank you Severn House and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Who else is psyched up for this Memorial Day Weekend?

My husband has been busying himself packing up the rafts, the cooler, beach towels and sunblock. I myself, have packed 10 books in our shared suitcase... OOPS!

One book I do not have to pack up is After He's Gone.

I have a problem containing myself and got a little too excited in anticipation for the weekend and picked this superstar up last night and well, time got away from me and I was up until 4am reading.

This book was worth it!

The twists, the turns, the lies, the deceit...

I was totally consumed and I know you will be too! This is a 5 star thriller that will be loved by all.

Here is a bit of a teaser :

harles and I were law students when I fell for him. He was handsome, charming, sure of himself—and he deigned to look at me. We had a dream-come-true courtship, wedding, and honeymoon, all orchestrated and paid for by his wealthy parents. Then he brought me home…and I woke up. Nineteen months and a baby later, I'm standing in our pristine living room, looking at Charles lying in a pool of blood. I don't remember how I got here. The police are bound to think I killed him. But I didn't…did I?