After He Died

Michael J. Malone

Jul 2018 · Orenda Books

About this ebook

When a strange woman slips a note into grieving widow Paula's pocket at her husband's funeral, everything suggests that he was not all that he seemed ... A devastatingly moving, explosive psychological thriller from the international bestselling author of A Suitable Lie.

'Disturbing but compulsive ... I loved it' Martina Cole

'Bristling with unease, this is domestic noir at its very darkest, twisting the marriage thriller into a new and troubling shape' Eva Dolan

'Vivid, visceral and compulsive' Ian Rankin

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You need to know who your husband really was...

When Paula Gadd's husband of almost thirty 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.

Both a dark, twisty slice of domestic noir and taut, explosive psychological thriller, After He Died is also a chilling reminder that the people we trust the most can harbour the deadliest secrets...

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Praise for Michael J. Malone

'Gripping and suspenseful fare that reinforces Malone's renown for producing psychological thrillers' Herald Scotland

'It's a tough high-wire act, balancing believability with surprise, but the author pulls it off with aplomb. Excellent stuff' Doug Johnstone, The Big Issue

'Michael J Malone has portrayed this beautifully and managed to get the balance just right ... A well-paced, excellent read' Promoting Crime

'After he Died is a fantastic read packed with engaging characters and a compelling narrative' CrimeSquad

'An explosive tale, one that takes hold, bites, and doesn't let go' LoveReading

'A stark, gripping storyline' Scots

'A fine, page-turning thriller' Daily Mail

'Original, engrossing and scary' The Times

'Brilliantly creepy' Daily Record

'Genuinely shocking' Crime by the Book

'Delightfully disturbing' Chapter in My Life

'Michael Malone has a way of telling a story that just leaves you more than a little disturbed yet breathless with admiration' Live & Deadly

'Enthralling, wonderful, intense, full of suspense and twists that had my head in a spin! Crime Book Junkie

'Michael J. Malone is quickly making his way up my list of favourite authors' Always Trust in Books

Ratings and reviews

Paula Gadd is attending her husband's funeral when a young woman walks up, hugs her, and hands her a note. Then she leaves. The note suggests that her husband was not the man she thought he was. Losing her husband of almost 30 years was bad enough, but she had also lost her son just a few years ago and practically on the same date. And now someone has placed doubts in her mind about her husband. When Paula meets the young woman, she expected to be told that her husband had had an affair. But what she's told is something worse ... much worse. And they are both in danger. This is a well written psychological thriller. It's an action packed page turner with finely drawn characters. There are twists and turns that appear out of nowhere. Some characters have dark terrible secrets in their pasts that they don't want anyone to know. Sometimes they kill someone close to them .... Many thanks to the author / Trafalgar Square Publishing - Orenda Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

About the author

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns' country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. Other published work includes: Carnegie's Call; A Taste for Malice; The Guillotine Choice; Beyond the Rage; The Bad Samaritan and Dog Fight. His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines and After He Died soon followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr.