Review of After the Crash by Michael Bussi

After the Crash

After the Crash is an engaging mystery novel with a cleverly twisting, fast-moving plot and lively, conversational prose. A page turner, I simply didn’t want to put it down!

A number of unanswered questions in the story grab and maintain a grip on the reader’s imagination: What happened to cause the plane crash? Who, really, is Lylie – and how on earth did she survive? What is the nature of Lylie’s relationship to Marc – why are her messages to him so cryptic? What happened to Marc’s father? Why is Malvina de Carville “crazy”? And what is it that Credule Grand-Duc has discovered at the eleventh hour? This list goes on…

Michel Bussi tells a suspenseful tale masterfully – deliberately leading the reader through six action-packed days in the autumn of 1998. The antecedent narrative, the years from 1980 to the present of the story, is relayed through Credule Grand-Duc’s journal entries. Set in France, the tale moves through the streets and neighborhoods of Paris, North to Dieppe and then southeast to the Doubs River and the Swiss border – a picturesque journey to imagine.

Through the course of the novel the personalities of Marc and Lylie are slowly unveiled until their relationship can be understood. Similarly, the characters of the de Carville family members – Malvina, Leonce and Mathilde, Nicole Vitral and Credule Grand Duc gradually come into focus – leading to some surprises.

After the Crash’s pace is exhilarating, the characters engaging and the plot is well designed to keep you guessing until the end; highly recommended for an entertaining read.

Reviewed by Angela Wiseman