After Image

By: Jaime deBlanc

Narrated by: Vivia Font

Years after a young woman’s mysterious disappearance, her stepsister is compelled to discover the truth in a novel of haunting psychological suspense.

Four years ago, beautiful yet troubled Allie Andersen vanished without a trace. The twenty-one-year-old daughter of an acclaimed actress, her disappearance captivated the media, left her family distraught, and became a fixation for online theorists, who implicated everybody Allie knew and loved. Everyone, including her devoted stepsister, Natasha.

Now, Natasha is finally trying to move on. The panic attacks and episodes of hysterical blindness she has suffered since her stepsister’s disappearance have diminished, and she no longer obsesses over the speculations of strangers. Until the remains of a young woman’s body are discovered in a lonely mountain canyon.

As Natasha reconnects with the sympathetic Detective Ruiz, inexplicable pieces of evidence surface that open her eyes to a family she thought she knew. It seems that everyone in Allie’s life had a credible motive for wanting Allie to vanish. Following each new clue, Natasha is determined to finally find the truth, wherever it leads, and whatever the cost.

©2024 by Jaime deBlanc. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“DeBlanc creates palpable suspense in this impressive, character-driven debut…A gripping psychological thriller.” —Booklist

“A must-read debut. Thrilling and seductive, After Image sucks you in with irresistible twists and holds you with its wrenching portrait of difficult love…With gripping, confident prose, Jaime deBlanc offers readers a powerful vision of sisterhood, found families, and the lies that protect our deepest secrets.” —Amy Gentry, bestselling author of Good as Gone and Bad Habits

“As deBlanc’s suspense novel proves, there is something stronger than money or fame: the unyielding force of sisterly love.” —Jenny Milchman, Mary Higgins Clark Award–winning author of Cover of Snow and The Usual Silence

Deftly written, suspenseful

This book achieves something rare—-a character driven story that keeps anticipation and suspense without relying on narrative gimmicks or predictable plot devices. Really enjoyed it. HBO could make a movie or limited series with it.

Compelling Story

The story while not deep was compelling enough for me to want to keep reading. The only thing that almost made me return the book was the narrator’s pronunciation of the name McNamara. Instead of Mac Nah Mare Ah, it was repeatedly ( hundreds of times ) read as Mac nam ara with the emphasis on “nam” It was so weird and it stated so many times, it took away from the story . Otherwise the narrator was wonderful.

Amazing book!

Absolutely loved this book! I couldn’t predict the ending at all, every time I thought I knew what was happening a curve ball came!

So many twists and turns!

Wow, what a great read/ listen by Jaime deBlanc! I had to force myself to put it away at night so I could sleep.
There were so many twists and turns that it kept me guessing until the end.
As much as I loved Vivia Font's narration, I could only give it four stars. Sometimes it was hard to decipher which character was speaking because they sounded too much like another one.
Overall this book gets 5 stars in my opinion. I can't wait to see what comes next from deBlanc.

Fleshed-out characters

I particularly enjoyed this book because it went a bit further than your typical murder-mystery-thriller. The main character skirt had detailed back stories and distinct personalities, a bit more so than I usually see in this genre.

Slow but worth it

In some ways it’s a typical “who done it”, but it has enough of its own personality to set it apart. The first half moves pretty slowly, but the characters were interesting enough that I didn’t mind hanging out with them.

Very Slow Until the Last 1/4

I had trouble getting into this one. I'm not quite sure why. The narrator was great, and the story itself turned out to be decent, but nothing groundbreaking or new. I sympathized with the protagonist and the missing girl as well, but I just felt like the first 3/4 of the story was a slow to get through. Worth the listen, but don't expect anything that hasn't been done before. I did appreciate the end.