Captivating Nordic noir with expertly crafted characters

Part police procedural and part psychological thriller, After She's Gone is a well-written page-turner with a strong cast of characters and an immersive plot. Told from the perspective of psychological profiler Hanne, police officer Malin and cross-dressing teenager Jake, the story is set in fictional Ormberg, a former industrial town that has been neglected by the government and used as a sanctuary for refugees. The characters in this town felt very human and multidimensional, with emotions and motivations that seemed impacted and enlarged by their realistic, almost ghost-town, surrounds. While After She's Gone, and the series in which this book appears, revolves around ageing psychological profiler Hanne, I hope that this is not the last we will read of young police officer Malin. I particularly warmed to her and teenager Jake and I enjoyed the relationships they formed with the other characters in this book. I feel there is plenty of scope for the development of Malin's character and I would love her to feature in future novels.