After She's Gone by Sheryl Browne.
Book 1 - Detective Inspector Matthew Adams.
He’s killed your child and kidnapped your wife. What would YOU do?
Brilliant read. Read in one sitting. Couldn't put it down. 5*.

This is a showdown between Matthew- a DI- and Patrick- a villain. It's twisty and well paced. Thanks for the ARC.

AFTER SHE’S GONE is a psychological thriller and the first novel in a new series featuring DI Matthew Adams by Sheryl Browne. This was a fast-paced thriller which had me on the edge of my seat, flipping the pages as fast as I could.

He’s killed your child and kidnapped your wife. What would YOU do?

DI Matthew Adams and his wife Rebecca are dealing with the grief after losing their daughter, Lily in a hit and run accident. The parents are also dealing with the loss/miscarriage of their second child after the accident. Matthew, a police officer knows it wasn’t just an accident…his daughter was murdered by an old childhood enemy of Matthew, who holds DI Adams responsible for the death of his brother during a drug bust.

Patrick Sullivan, is a drug dealer, pimp and murderer. He was a bully at school and now runs the family business of prostitution and drugs. The man is pure evil!

And now…Matthew only wants REVENGE, to have Patrick suffer for Lily’s death and all the hurt he has caused his family. He wants Patrick to suffer. Matthew and Rebecca have taken in Matthew’s niece, Ashley who was in child care, as her mother is an alcoholic. I admire the strength of this couple and all that they have been through.

Two men at war…but who will win?

After She's Gone is a gripping emotional crime story, with well-believable characters that come alive on the page. Highly recommended for those readers that read psychological thrillers.

Many thanks to the author, Choc Lit via Netgalley for my digital copy.

A great thrilling novel with great characters and plot. A new author that I would recommend fans of the genre reading.

Very fast paced and very intriguing. I enjoyed how it kept me hooked and it was an original story. Nowadays so many books read the same. Highly recommend

2.5 Stars

I realize my take on this book is very different from most of the other reviews, however, it is what it is.

The feud between evil drug dealer, Patrick Sullivan, and Detective Inspector Matthew Adams has been going on since these two men were children. When Adams feels that Sullivan killed his child, he is hellbent for revenge. The feud takes on all new levels. For me, those levels became ridiculous. I just could not see Adams, as a cop, doing the things that he does. He treats his wife like crap, moves his alcoholic sister's daughter from a group home to his house to live and treats her like crap.

And Sullivan was disgusting and what he does is disgusting. I just felt like the author just thought of the worst things (all of them) and put them into this book.

I had to give up the book after a little after halfway. I was not enjoying it at all. Way too far fetched for me and I grew very tired of these men acting like children. I could not and did not finish. I left them to fight it out without me because frankly, I really didn't care.

Thanks to Choc Lit and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Standard crime thriller with an unstable narrator/ cop. Nothing particularly new here and a bit stale. Not so thrilling at all.

Psychological thriller that definitely gets the heart rate speeding up

Detective Inspector Matthew Adams and his wife Becky live on some rural property in Buckinghamshire County southeast of London, England. Becky is a radiographer (which I believe would be an x-ray technician in the U.S.).

They are devastated when their daughter, Lily, is killed by a hit-and-run driver and practically destroyed when Becky then miscarries the child she was carrying.

This is the story of DI Adams going after the psycho that was responsible for all of this - because Adams knows exactly who that is.

This is a well-written thriller with believable characters, mostly believable police procedures and an intense, nail-biting storyline.

The antagonist in the story is truly a despicable character and author Browne does an excellent job of describing this psychopath and his actions.

This is the first in a series about DI Adams.

I received this book from Choc Lit Limited through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.

Really good book which will keep you on the edge of your seat!
This book reminded me of some of Martina Cole's earlier books (without all the swearing!) and it really makes you think about whether you would really take revenge or not.
Sullivan is a nasty piece of work and DI Matthew Adams has a long history with him.
Matthew knows Sullivan arranged for his young daughter to be killed as an act of revenge, and it's something he will never get over.
What then happens pulls Matthew into a situation where his career is on the line but can he let Sullivan get away with it?
I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read more by Sheryl Browne.
Thanks to NetGalley and Death by Choc Lit for sending me an advance copy to read and review.

This is the first in a new series with DI Matthew Adams as the lead character. What a fantastic first book it is too. It starts off with the death of a child, be warned, not an easy subject to write about. Matthew is at war with patrick Sullivan, his childhood enemy and all round evil villain. The book is fast paced, well written and compelling. The only negative for me was Matthew took matters into his own hands...no more spoilers from me. if you like your crime thrillers, you will enjoy this book. Many thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads and Amazon.

After She's Gone will pull at readers heart strings how does one more on after the loss of a child knowing you could have prevented it?
Sheryl Browne paints a very raw man who feels as if he lost everything and can only find peace inside of a bottle. The story is very much a police procedural story but it also has heart and soul as Matthew and Becky struggle to find their peace after the death of their daughter.
Matthew throws himself into finding the killer his nemesis Patrick Sullivan. Sherly tries hard to make every character come to life and she does it so well that Patrick Sullivan is a broken man who take his angry out on Matthew Adams instead of the real reason he turned himself into a vile and evil man.
Each characters will pull at the readers heart strings as the face pace thriller takes you to edge and brings the readers back finding peace.
After She's Gone is a intense face paced cat and mouse game that will have readers wondering if the cat will eat the mouse in the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Choc Lit for the chance to review Sheryl Browne

Matthew and Rebecca (Becky) Adams's daughter Lily dies in a car accident. The accident also caused Becky to miscarry their second child. Detective Inspector Matthew Adams knows that the accident had been instigated by Patrick Sullivan. Sullivan, a local criminal, blames Matthew for the death of his brother and has held a grudge ever since.

Kirsten, Matthew's younger sister is an alcoholic and drug addict. Even though her brother has tried to help her get her life sorted, all his attempts have failed. Recently, Matthew and Becky found out that Kirsten has a thirteen year old daughter called Ashley. Unfortunately Ashley, because Kirsten is not capable of looking after her, is in care. Matthew and Becky have agreed to be responsible for Ashley and give her a home.

Hell-bent on taking revenge, Sullivan starts to follow Becky and eventually kidnaps her. He tells Matthew that he wants all police investigations dropped and a £100k. In return he will release Becky. However, unbeknown yet to Matthew, Sullivan killed his father Michael and even his own wife, so can the psychopath be trusted to keep his word.

Ashley for her own safety, had been staying with one of Matthew and Becky's friend. She decides that she is going home and leaves, but unfortunately Sullivan captures her also. Matthew now has to try and save both Becky and Ashley. Can he do this and stay alive?

A really enjoyable read. This is book #1 in the series, so it's great to know that there are more DI Matthew Adams books to follow.

Many thanks to the author, Netgalley & Choc-lit, for providing me with a digital copy.

I found this a bit rambling and repetitive and the characters quite wooden and one dimensional. So, sorry, not for me.

I've had this on my TBR for a little while now but with book three about to be released and book two also on my TBR, I thought I'd better squeeze them in. I have to say that I really must sort my TBR out as, if this is the quality of some of the books languishing on it, I am really missing out on some great reads!
Our hero here is DI Matthew Adams. His nemesis is all round bad egg Patrick Sullivan. Their mutual hatred stems back to childhood when Patrick would regularly bully Matthew, especially teasing him about his asthma. This feud escalated when Patrick's brother was shot dead in a bust orchestrated by Matthew. Patrick's retaliation hit Matthew and his wife personally and, when we meet them, they are still trying to get over this devastating loss. As things start to escalate further between the hero and villain, with more innocents being dragged into the mire, how far will each go to exact the necessary revenge on the other, and who else will get caught in the crossfire.
Oh my, this book had me gripped from start to finish. It opens with a flashback to Matthew's devastating loss and that basically sets the tone for what happens thereafter. We follow Matthew as he has some very difficult decisions to make both morally and also personally as he is on the cusp of opening up his home to his niece who has struggles of her own. Although I did feel for Matthew, I really felt for his long suffering wife Rebecca and what had happened to her and the fact that, even though she is still hurting, she is willing to open up her heart again.
One of the things I didn't really like about the character of Matthew was his coping mechanism being too similar to the one that he berates his sister for having. I found that to be a little off key, a bit pot kettle, but was willing to suck it up for the sake of the rest of the book which was simply brilliant.
I do have to admit that initially I did struggle with the author's style of writing. The methods that she employed to get information to the reader sometimes seemed a little strange and disjointed at first but I did persevere and am so glad I did as I did manage to get my head round it quite soon thereafter.
One of the things I really loved about this book was the portrayal of Patrick. Oh my, the author really does get under the skin of a desperate psychopath and her description of him was deliciously dark and creepy as well as disturbing the heck out of me.
All in all, a great series opener, like I already said, I have book two lined up ready to go and I really can't wait to crack it open.

4.5★s

Detective Inspector Matthew Adams was devastated when his little daughter Lily died in his arms – his wife Becky was uninjured but the subsequent miscarriage meant the shocked couple were shattered. Matthew though knew who was to blame – and he was determined to make him pay if it was the last thing he did.

Patrick Sullivan was everything that was evil – his life had been surrounded by the spoils of the drugs he dealt; his girls were disposable; and his father – well that was another story. But he hated Matthew Adams with a passion and he knew a way to repay him for all the wrongs in his life – all Adams’ fault he knew.

But when a psychopath had someone in their sights, there was no way to understand their reasoning. And Sullivan was a dangerous man. What would he do to exact his revenge on the detective who’d made his criminal life so difficult? And what would Matthew do to put Sullivan where he wanted him?

After She’s Gone by Sheryl Browne in an intense, gripping and incredibly fast-paced thriller which had me on the edge of my seat. The action was full-on from the very first page and didn’t let up until the last. I wished Matthew didn’t try to solve his problems with alcohol – it seems a “usual” thing in police novels. But I thoroughly enjoyed my first read of this author and will read more. I also highly recommend After She’s Gone, which is the first in the Detective Inspector Matthew Adams series.

With thanks to NetGalley and Choc Lit for my digital copy to read and review.

OMG!!! I already read the second book and I loved it. I kept wondering what happend before and I had to read this one as well. It took me a while because the second one was so intense that I needed something (well a lot of somethings ;) ) before I could start this one.
It did not let me down. This one is as cruel, emotional, sadistic and beautiful at the same time as the sequel.
I did not want to put it away because the author dragged me in and kept me locked in, but sometimes I just had to. I needed to take a break to take a breath.
The author knows perfectly how to describe the emotions to make you feel them as well.
The five stars are more than earned. I only wish I could rate it even higher.

After She's gone is a great thrller that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole way through. DI Matthew Adams is my new book man to love. I recommend this book to all thriller lovers out there.

After she's Gone is a fantastic detective story. This book has a great plot and kept me glued to the pages.

I'm actually giving this book 4.5 stars, because the constant vendetta between Matthew and Sullivan drive me nuts and seems unnecessary to have it so prominent throughout the book.

That being said, this book is so good! It's an easy to read, wholly engaging story. There were definitely times I wish you'd have gotten more back story, and more character development... but I was so engrossed with what was going to happen that I hardly noticed until after the fact.

I will absolutely be getting book 2 when it comes out, because that ending had me like 😱

This is the first in a new series featuring DI Matthew Adams. The first chapter grabbed me by the throat and never let go.

Adams and his wife are coming to terms with losing their daughter in a hit and run accident. His wife was pregnant with their second child and the trauma caused her to miscarry. The driver was never caught ... but Adams knows exactly who was responsible ...and it wasn't an accident.

Patrick Sullivan is a drug dealer, and murderer. He and Adams attended the same school and Sullivan was one of the bullies that just never let up on Adams. There are lots of hard feelings left from those days. As an adult, and a member of law enforcement, Adams was responsible for the death of Sullivan's brother in a drug bust that went wrong.

This story is about revenge ... will Adams cross the line to ensure Sullivan pays for his crimes? And when Sullivan threatens his wife and teenage niece who lives with them .... what will Adams do?

This was a disturbing look at what happens when a man is pushed beyond his limits ... who has plainly had enough. A well-written story with credible characters make this a must read, especially for anyone who reads psychological thrillers.

Many thanks to the author / Choc Lit / Netgalley for the advance digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.