BOOK REVIEW - Alone - Barbara De Smedt - Digital Book - 4*

BOOK REVIEW 

Alone - Barbara De Smedt

*book links are affiliate links, which means that I earn from qualifying purchases. 

I actually won the book that I am reviewing today in a giveaway on StoryGraph (which is my preferred choice for tracking my reading) and read it earlier this year as soon as I downloaded it. It had recently been translated into English from Dutch, after receiving awards and rave reviews in the Netherlands. 

I entered the giveaway as a thriller lover. The premise sounded great, the cover was creepy as anything (it's all grey and dark, with an empty cot in the middle) and I was immediately sold! I love entering these giveaways as they are a great way to get my hands on books that I wouldn't have known existed (though it also does a great job of inflating my TBR too!). 

BLURB

Julie Meskins is going through a hard time after the sudden death of her mother. She throws herself into her Veterinary Medicine Studies and prefers one night stands over serious commitment. When she becomes pregnant, a series of strange events are set in motion. Then, she disappears from her apartment. The police are puzzled. Who could be behind her disappearance? Was she kidnapped by the baby's father and killed, or did she run away?

MY REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

SPICE: 🔥🔥(references to acts, in an unfavourable light with some consent issues. Along with general reference to previous "dating" endevours).

Alone was my first thriller read of 2024, it was psychological and tense and it utilised two of my favourite methods of storytelling; Multiple POV and dual timelines. These methods are brilliant for thrillers, as they serve two key purposes; to keep the reader guessing and to maintain a fast pace. 

Julie is a young woman, faced with an unexpected pregnancy (and therefore relationship) , while also dealing with her grief over the sudden loss of her mother. The story unfolds as Julie vanishes from her apartment and follows her, her partner, the police and her stalker in the present day. We are also shown snapshots of time in both her, and her stalkers childhoods, going from their youth to present day and culminating in a twisty tale that explores abuse, alcoholism, mental health and loss. 

Sometimes a thriller can be so predictable that the outcome can be sussed out in the first couple of chapters. With Alone, while I did work out the main twists to the story, it was much later in the book, just as things started to fall into place in preparation for the finale. 

I found the pacing to be just right for a thriller, with the dual timeline helping to control the narrative and prevent the story from running away too quickly. 

There are some difficult topics in the book, particularly in parts exploring the childhood of the "stalker" character. It didn't feel gratuitous however, and each element served to give an insight into how the present day story unfolded. 

Barbara De Smedt used her personal experience of having a stalker to create this dark and suspenseful narrative. Many women have encountered unwanted behaviours such as some of those depicted in this book and I really liked how the author has used her own experience to take control, regain her power and ultimately get the last laugh. I can imagine it being very cathartic to creatively and expressively expel your demons like that and the fact that the story was loosely based on true events added an additional, quite terrifying, level to the story. 

Julie and her stalker are developed well, the dual timeline helping with that. However I did feel that the side characters, such as Julie's boyfriend, her best friend and the investigative journalist who's covering the case. There's a second book, set 15 years later, that follows Pieter (the journalist) through another crime investigation, which I believe will shed more light on his character. There was only snippets in this book which left more to be said. This book Koud (which translates as Cold) is currently only available in Dutch which means that I may never know what happens next in Pieter's investigative world. 

It was a nice, quick, and enjoyable read. I found myself devouring this book in less than a day. It was a page turner for sure.

In short, if you enjoy your thrillers pacy and psychological, this one will tick the boxes!

I hope you enjoyed this book review of Alone by Barbara De Smedt. If you'd like to stay in the loop with new posts and reviews, you can FOLLOW MY BLOG by clicking the link and subscribing. I also post bookish content on Instagram and on my YouTube channel. Happy reading!