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Alex Dahl

The Boy At The Door Paperback – 27 June 2018

by Alex Dahl (Author)

195 ratings

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What would you do for the perfect life? Would you lie? Would you cheat? Would you kill? When Cecilia ends up looking after a boy with no home, dark secrets from her past force their way to surface...

A brilliant, twisty psychological thriller. Perfect for fans of Friend Request , He Said/She Said and A Simple Favour . 'Unsettling, layered, bold, unpredictable, dark. EXCELLENT' Will Dean, author of Dark Pines . 'Grips like a vice ... REMARKABLE' Crime Time . Everyone has secrets. Even those who seem to be perfect... On a rainy October evening, Cecilia Wilborg – loving wife, devoted mother, tennis club regular – is waiting for her kids to finish their swimming lesson. It's been a long day. She can almost taste the crisp, cold glass of Chablis she'll pour for herself once the girls are tucked up in bed. But what Cecilia doesn't know, is that this is the last time life will feel normal. Tonight she'll be asked to drop a little boy home, a simple favour that will threaten to expose her deepest, darkest secret... 'STUNNING ... Intricate and twisted with dark secrets emerging at every turn' ALEXANDRA BURT, author of Sunday Times bestseller Little Girl Gone . 'Heartbreaking and HEAD-SPINNING' MARY TORJUSSEN, author of Gone Without a Trace .

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Product details

Publisher : Head of Zeus GB; UK Airports ed edition (27 June 2018)
Language : English
Paperback : 384 pages
ISBN-10 : 1786699249
ISBN-13 : 978-1786699244
Dimensions : 22.7 x 3.2 x 14.5 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 334,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 35,032 in Suspense Thrillers (Books)
- 142,224 in Religion & Spirituality (Books)

Customer Reviews:
195 ratings

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'A rollicking great read ... [Cecilia] is a fascinating character who lies relentlessly, with reckless abandon, in a desperate bid to protect the big secret she's hiding' Connaught Telegraph. '[Dahl] adds some twisted black humour and creates a tense narration that will keep readers intrigued and wondering how to approach the main character' Crime Review. 'Alex Dahl's sharp characterisations make her story feel fresh' Sunday Express. 'A riveting psychological thriller' Excelle magazine. 'A novel of remarkable accomplishment that sets its nuanced and intriguing characters in the context of a plot that grips like a vice' Crime Time. 'Unsettling, layered, bold, unpredictable, dark. EXCELLENT' Will Dean. 'Dahl savagely delineates the price of living in a society that insists women must try to be perfect wives and mothers and have successful careers, too, or they'll be inevitably made to feel they're never good enough' Publishers Weekly, Starred Review. 'Atmospheric and beautifully written ... combines complex and believable characters with a heart-breaking and head-spinning plot' Mary Torjussen. 'Stunning ... an extraordinary plot; intricate and twisted with dark secrets emerging at every turn. An engaging mystery with an ending you won't see coming' Alexandra Burt.

About the Author

Alex Dahl is a half-American, half-Norwegian author. Born in Oslo, she studied Russian and German linguistics with international studies, then went on to complete an MA in creative writing at Bath Spa University and an MSc in business management at Bath University. A committed Francophile, Alex loves to travel, and has so far lived in Moscow, Paris, Stuttgart, Sandefjord, Switzerland, Bath and London. Her second thriller, The Heart Keeper will be published later this year.

Customer reviews

5 star		51%
4 star		26%
3 star		15%
2 star		3%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Trace

far fetched

Reviewed in Australia on 26 October 2018

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I didn't mind it but it was too far fetched. I kept finding myself questioning the plot and saying "as if" to myself. It was OK and I finished it but I wouldn't pick it up again. Maybe a 2.5 instead of a three

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realmum

Brilliant

Reviewed in Australia on 29 September 2018

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Thoroughly enjoyed this book great characters and an intriguing well written storyline. Highly recommend. I loved and loathed Cecilia and Anni they are at times good, bad and evil and sometimes even kind.

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Kath Andrews

Wow

Reviewed in Australia on 22 August 2018

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Not my usual type of read but it was very hard to put down. I hot lost a few times but I actually really enjoyed it.

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Amazon Customer

Brilliant!

Reviewed in Australia on 3 October 2018

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In-depth, twists & turns. No one knows what goes on under the surface of everyday life. Great read. Highly recommend.

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LaineeK

Easy Read

Reviewed in Australia on 19 August 2018

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I found this a little slow to start but it evolved into a good story

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Gripping, dark and intense tale

Reviewed in Australia on 23 July 2018

Are you a fan of mysteries with dark and disturbing undertones and sinister, unlikeable characters that really get under your skin? Then this may be the perfect book for you! Dahl’s opening chapter immediately drew me in and set the tone for this addictive and yet disturbing novel which made me want to fling it away in horror, but at the same time read deep into the night to find out what would happen.

Cecilia Wilborg is one of Sandefjord’s “yummy mummies”, a mother to two young girls and wife to successful banker Johan, living an affluent life in this picturesque Norwegian town where appearance matters. With pristine homes, expensive cars, stylish clothes and au-pair girls to look after the more unsavoury aspects of child-rearing, the women of the town gather regularly to gossip and (whilst they won’t admit it) judge each other. Appearance is everything, and Cecilia has long learned to fit in and play the game. It was absolutely not part of her plan to be tasked with driving an abandoned boy home, whose mother has failed to pick him up from the pool after her daughter’s swimming class, but how could she refuse without looking mean and uncharitable? Very reluctantly, Cecilia agrees, not realising that her carefully constructed life will soon unravel as a result.

I have typed and erased parts of this review several times already, loathe to reveal any spoilers that may take away some of the shock value of this dark and evil tale. May I just say that my heart broke several times over for little Tobias, the abandoned boy the story centres around? There were a lot of surprises in store in this story, and most characters managed to shock me as the layers of carefully constructed lies were slowly being stripped away. As a lover of the bleakness of Scandinavian noir, I got exactly what I had bargained for! I am a bit lost for words to be honest. At times I wanted to throw this book across the room in anger and disgust, alternated by a deep sense of sadness for all involved. This was not a happy story, but a very compelling one, which saw me flicking the pages furiously until the early morning hours, because I could not tear myself away.

For lovers of Scandinavian noir, The Boy at the Door is a must-read, and I think you will not be disappointed with this gripping, dark and intense tale. There are many triggers for the faint-of-heart and readers who do not enjoy dark stories with lots of dysfunctional characters, but for me this was a definite winner! I am looking forward to reading more from this author!

3 people found this helpful

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UNUSUAL, INTRIGUING AND ENTERTAINING

Reviewed in Australia on 8 January 2021

Multifaceted drama/mystery, “The Boy At The Door” has quite a intense mood and dark themes – an abandoned boy; life altering circumstances; scandals and entanglements; and deceit, secrets and reveals.
Set in Sandefjord Norway, Alex Dahl has written an atmospheric and deeply character based book. Some plot directions are a little messy, or aren’t totally plausible. Others are unexpected – a shock even – but TBATD is definitely unusual, intriguing and entertaining.

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Jade St Clair Scatterbooker

My #BookReview of the atmospheric psychological suspense novel THE BOY AT THE DOOR by Alex Dahl

Reviewed in Australia on 20 September 2018

“What would you do for the perfect life? Would you lie? Cheat? Or…kill?”

THE BOY AT THE DOOR by debut author Alex Dahl is full of atmospheric Nordic suspense that will keep you guessing until the very last page.

Cecilia Wilborg has the perfect life with her handsome husband and two gorgeous daughters in the picturesque Norwegian town of Sandefjord. When the tiny and abandoned 8 year old Tobias needs a place to stay Cecilia’s perfect life slowly begins to unravel before her very eyes.

THE BOY AT THE DOOR is a brilliantly twisty and turny debut from half-American, half-Norwegian Dahl. There were a couple of times that I did need to suspend disbelief, such as the explanation for how Tobias came to stay in the Wilborg home for such an extended period, but once I decided to go with it I was too caught up with the mystery and suspense to worry about it.

I loved the first person narrative style, particularly from Cecilia’s perspective. She really did begin the novel as the perfect rich bitchy Mummy type and brilliantly descended further into madness as the novel progressed. I particularly loved the scene where she threw a champagne bottle at some of her frenemies!

A delightfully suspenseful debut and I’ll be looking forward to reading more from Alex Dahl.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a review copy.

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Jeannie GS

Superb.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 October 2018

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Despite the awful blurb, this novel was absolutely brilliant. Characters were beautifully drawn, warts and all: sympathetic but never maudlin observations made, connected by a wonderful plot. I never expected to be in tears at a couple points, but that's one of the many brilliant aspects which contributes to this novel's excellence. I can't wait for the next story from this gifted writer, and I hope she enjoys the same success as her fellow Norwegian, Mr Nesbo.

9 people found this helpful

fairymary

Started well dragged on towards the end,

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 September 2018

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I struggled with a lot of this book, it starts off quite good but then goes all over the place, I felt the ending dragged on and on, I even skipped a few paragraphs wishing it would end sooner, but just when you think that’s it it goes on another chapter, and was very far fetched. I didn’t like the main female character Cecelia she was such a bitch , and was more like a soap opera character than real life , .

7 people found this helpful

Annie

Promising, but poor proofreading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 May 2020

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A strange one, this one. I have given it three stars simply because I felt it had promise and I finished it, rather than abandoned it. I find the 5 star ratings rom others slightly odd.
The most irritating thing was that the proofreading and correction was unfinished and not very professional. Throughout the book, words had been crossed out rather than removed, and a better word inserted. There was one paragraph within Annie's diary that had slipped through the proofreading process - poor punctuation, capitals and misprunts. I reported these so maybe they will be corrected. I've never seen that before. Do I get the job?
It was an interesting start, although not terribly credible. I cannot imagine the boy, Tobias, being allowed to stay with a random family after being abandoned at a swimming pool, let alone being returned to them later. What happened to child protection?
The story was told from three perspectives - Cecilia, Anneka and Tobias.
Cecilia, the main character, was thoroughly dislikeable. She presented as someone who played a part throughout. She was shallow and plastic, and constantly lied as a means to an end. The kinder side of me would see her as someone damaged as a child, with ongoing attachment and trauma issues, doing whatever she had to do to meet her own needs.
Anneka/Annie was a sad character. I felt for her. Another damaged person. But much of her story was in diary form. Unfortunately, the author seemed to forget this at times - there was much speech within her story, and this just wasn't credible as a diary entry. Especially of someone high on drugs.
Tobias was an interesting character. Again damaged. I liked him. I would take take him home and nurture him. His story was so sad, and the safeguarding around him beggared belief.
The story meandered along. It was often confusing at the beginning of a chapter, as to whose perspective It was being written from.
Sadly, the ending was unsatisfactory. In fact, the book just stopped, which was quite unsatisfactory. Not my favourite read sadly.

One person found this helpful

Booklover Catlady

Very mixed opinion on this book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 July 2018

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This book altered my rating over and over as i read it. It started with five stars, dropped to three, up to four and with the ending three.

The initial p!it is good. The main character, Cecilia is not a likeable character. That's okay as it lines up with The plot. This book totally lost me during Annika's diary entries. Long winded and too much focus on her in this book.

Her end diary entries were not believable to me. She was high writing them and who writes entire conversations word for word in a journal. It lost credibility.

The boy in the book I loved. This is a sad take in many ways, painful at times. Glimmers of joy. I still do not get the time out into Annika's back life story. It was so irrelevant. It took away from the better p!or if the mother and the boy.

At the end I skimmed more long diary tellings. So bloody boring! Instead of enhancing a good plot it dips threading energy down. Never good in any novel. Chapters flit between first person of a few characters.

The ending seemed unrealistic considering all that had gone before. This book had oodles of potential if it had stayed focused on the core plot and people. So very mixed views from me. Parts loved and parts I really disliked. Such a shame. Some may love it. I've settled on three stars for all the strong parts. Diary entries are tricky in any book but if not written like a true diary it iBook suicide. You don't write a diary especially when on drugs as if it is an edited monologue. All that cutback or not written in diary form would raise this book to be a winner.

3 people found this helpful

Dahl's world building is excellent and her creation of authentic characters equally so

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 May 2018

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A truly enjoyable read on so many levels. Dahl's world building is excellent and her creation of authentic characters equally so. Though the protagonist is presented as a difficult person and hard to like, I wanted to follow her journey and understand her anxieties. Unravel the plot into individual points and perhaps a question mark might appear (as with most thrillers and almost all crime), but Dahl brings it all together smoothly and makes us believe in it. Surely the mark of a great writer.

5 people found this helpful

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