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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I like books that are like this...what I mean is could it possibly happen in the real world? I liked the different POV in, small chapters for each character as well as flicking to present time to where the woman was murdered. It kept me reading for sure but then I was really close to the end and I felt like there was still a lot to cover but it all got wrapped up on one page and just out with it, like here you go, done! For the build up of it, I just thought it was anti-climatic. Sure, the book was probably more about the curfew and beliefs of it, learning from others etc but it didn't hit the mark for me. Still recommend a read, I think it's a great book for a debate!
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really loved the concept of this book and the dystopian setting. It made me feel sorry for the men! What I liked about the mystery was that we didn’t know who the killer or the victim were till right at the end. Which meant the murderer was ambiguous too.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
I really enjoyed this read. Sped through it in 24 hours.
I found the theme challenging at times (purely because I had been through it as a child), which just tells me that it has been written well and by someone else who has experience it (as they state in the authors note). It was interesting to see a potential solution to the problem and how that still isn't going to 100% stop the problem all of the time. Also has great writing of the characters discovering their true feelings and seeing things for how they truly are.
I found the theme challenging at times (purely because I had been through it as a child), which just tells me that it has been written well and by someone else who has experience it (as they state in the authors note). It was interesting to see a potential solution to the problem and how that still isn't going to 100% stop the problem all of the time. Also has great writing of the characters discovering their true feelings and seeing things for how they truly are.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow, what a book! The author very cleverly takes things a further step or two on into what could happen in the future. My review/thoughts are possibly controversial to some, but Cass in the book agrees with me 😉 Men are tagged and curfewed from 7pm to 7am each night, allowing women to reclaim the streets and walk around freely without fear. However, as Cass says, and the author gives some stats at the end, still most crimes are by men that women know and these would usually be in the home. So is confining men to the home actually making things worse for some - like the rise in Domestic Violence during the pandemic (the book was written pre pandemic)?
I grew up learning not to walk down certain paths if it was dark or late, walking in the middle of the road to avoid being boxed in, sending taxi details to friends. I took risks that looking back now I shouldn't have and I've been lucky. The book goes beyond that to a point where theoretically, it is safe for women to walk the streets at night and get in taxis (only female taxi drivers after 7pm) because the men are all locked up in their homes. But this has other implications, for example, funding for DNA science goes down significantly because the tagging scheme costs so much. So if a woman did the killing, how would they be identified as obviously they don't wear tags? Couples also have to have counselling to determine if they are matched and suited to live together - to try and avoid women being in a home with a risky man - but it made me uncomfortable that someone in authority could sign off on my relationship! Also, males are tagged from age 10.
My favourite quote:
"She would be struck by a deep physical understanding of his body and of hers and what their differences meant."
I grew up learning not to walk down certain paths if it was dark or late, walking in the middle of the road to avoid being boxed in, sending taxi details to friends. I took risks that looking back now I shouldn't have and I've been lucky. The book goes beyond that to a point where theoretically, it is safe for women to walk the streets at night and get in taxis (only female taxi drivers after 7pm) because the men are all locked up in their homes. But this has other implications, for example, funding for DNA science goes down significantly because the tagging scheme costs so much. So if a woman did the killing, how would they be identified as obviously they don't wear tags? Couples also have to have counselling to determine if they are matched and suited to live together - to try and avoid women being in a home with a risky man - but it made me uncomfortable that someone in authority could sign off on my relationship! Also, males are tagged from age 10.
My favourite quote:
"She would be struck by a deep physical understanding of his body and of hers and what their differences meant."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Abortion
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
After Dark is a book I am struggling to review, because it ignited so many feelings in me and I don’t know how to effectively sum this book up! One thing that’s easy to state, though, is that I was completely hooked from start to finish.
The novel is dark, focusing on the investigation of a crime (the type of novel I love!) set in a dystopian Britain where men are under curfew at night. Not only that, but they have to wear electronic tags around their ankles which alerts the authorities if they break the curfew. As a result, they’re no longer able to work in careers like policing, where they’d need to be out of the house overnight. It’s all in a bid to stop spiralling levels of violence against women – something that is all too familiar to us in the present day, sadly.
We encounter several different characters in After Dark – there’s Pamela, a police officer investigating the murder of a young woman, whose body was found at nighttime. Pamela doesn’t believe that all men should be ruled out of committing the crime, just because they in theory shouldn’t be able to leave the house undetected.
Then there’s Sarah, who works at a tagging centre and whose teenage daughter Cass holds a lot of resentment for her mother as she believes she is to blame for her father being in prison.
And Helen, a teacher who is determined to move in with her new boyfriend, despite warnings from others about him.
I loved the way this novel reveals twists and surprises along the way, and we find out some of these characters are more connected than we first thought. I thought After Dark was incredibly intelligent and interesting. The political side of the police’s investigation is also an interesting one. The author does a fantastic job of making you consider whether curfew is actually a good thing – despite the fact that it has reduced male violence against women HUGELY. Is it really fair to tag and restrict half of the population from the age of 10 because of the actions of a few awful people?
It’s surprisingly easy to read – I raced through it in no time (partly because I just could not put it down!) and loved the characterisation.
I don’t want to give too much away so I’ll finish by saying that if you enjoy intriguing, thought-provoking mysteries that really make you think ‘what if?, and you’re a fan of crime fiction with a twist, then this is (in my opinion) the perfect novel for you!
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thought the premise of this book would be an interesting one to explore, especially given the rise in violence against women recently. Would placing men under curfew solve the problem? It certainly would feel good to walk at night without having to worry about being followed. However it's obvious from reading this story that shifting the balance of power too much in women's favour doesn't work either.
Most of the characters in this book are awful, especially Sarah and her teenage daughter. I just couldn't believe how they were both acting and so couldn't find anyone to root for.
I also found the pacing of the book extremely slow. I was more interested in the investigation side of the murder rather than the events leading up to it. It seemed to take an eternity for the body to be identified which I found frustrating for a story set in the future with new technology.
So all in all this one was a disappointing read unfortunately.
I thought the premise of this book would be an interesting one to explore, especially given the rise in violence against women recently. Would placing men under curfew solve the problem? It certainly would feel good to walk at night without having to worry about being followed. However it's obvious from reading this story that shifting the balance of power too much in women's favour doesn't work either.
Most of the characters in this book are awful, especially Sarah and her teenage daughter. I just couldn't believe how they were both acting and so couldn't find anyone to root for.
I also found the pacing of the book extremely slow. I was more interested in the investigation side of the murder rather than the events leading up to it. It seemed to take an eternity for the body to be identified which I found frustrating for a story set in the future with new technology.
So all in all this one was a disappointing read unfortunately.