After You Die by Eva Dolan

After You Die
By Eva Dolan
Published by Harvill Secker (14 January 2016)
ISBN: 978-1910701010

Publisher's description

Dawn Prentice was already known to the Peterborough Hate Crimes Unit.

The previous summer she had logged a number of calls detailing the harassment she and her severely disabled teenage daughter were undergoing. Now she is dead – stabbed to death whilst Holly Prentice has been left to starve upstairs. DS Ferreira, only recently back serving on the force after being severely injured in the line of duty, had met with Dawn that summer. Was she negligent in not taking Dawn’s accusations more seriously? Did the murderer even know that Holly was helpless upstairs while her mother bled to death?

Whilst Ferreira battles her demons, determined to prove she’s up to the frontline, DI Zigic is drawn into conflict with an official seemingly resolved to hide the truth about one of his main suspects. Can either officer unpick the truth about mother and daughter, and bring their killer to justice?

My verdict
After You Die is the third in the Zigic & Ferreira series but I read it easily as a standalone.

The book covers a highly emotional subject and a shocking and tragic crime. It's very sensitively written and the characters are all very believable, with 'real' lives. Even though I hadn't met the main characters before, I found it easy to relate to them and follow their backstories.

Zigic & Ferreira are investigating the deaths of Dawn Prentice and her daughter Holly, who was severely disabled in a climbing accident. Dawn was killed in a vicious stabbing in her own kitchen, while Holly was left to die upstairs.

After You Die reads as a whodunnit - who could be callous enough to leave a disabled teenager to die of neglect in this way? The investigation isn't sensationalised or drawn out, as seen in some crime fiction, and I found it hard to put the book down. There are many suspects and the layers unfold to reveal a complex (but easy to follow) plot. This is a book that keeps you guessing all the way.

I received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.