What would you do if you were living your life and suddenly posts saying you'd died started appearing on Facebook?

Wow, what an amazing book! Jess seems to have a great life. She works at the local cinema with her best friend Sadie. I loved the way that Linda Green gives us a really well-fleshed out version of Jess's character-we even learn that she cannot live without eyeliner and the fact she is a Harry Potter fan. Jess is 22 at the start of the book and meets Lee at the station . He'a 10 years older than her, but they hit it off immediately and start dating.

Everything seems perfect. Then, the Facebook messages start. They are not your usual messages. Jess is shocked to see that they are memorial messages to her from family and friends. Except they are posted 18 years in the future.
Jess can see them but no one else can-not even Sadie. Yet her Facebook profile page is full of mesaages, As Jess begins to worry she's going mad, death is doubly present because Jess's mother sadly passed away a short time before.

The book is peppered with Jess's memories of her mum and she's really close to her dad.

The book sent shivers down my spine and is very sad yet so brilliantly written. Jess is really positive and I like her character. I liked Sadie, Lee and Jess's dad, too. We see how the characters evolve throughout the book as well as what they live through.

The book got me thinking, About the fragility of life. About friendships. About everything and everyone who is dear to me. I love books with explosive standout plots that keep me up at night and waking early the next day for more. Literally could not stop thinking about this book! It taps into that age-old question- will you be remembered when you are gone? The book explores the current world of the popularity and danger of social networks and of cyber bullying, but in a really sensitive and poignant way that makes After I'm Gone truly unforgettable.

Thanks to Linda Green and Quercus Books for a copy of this via NetGalley. After I've Gone is one of the best thrillers of my year so far, if not the best. I had VoiceOver on my iPad read it to me, and it is truly chilling in parts but I felt an urge to continue.

Highly recommended if you like a meaty thriller that makes you think and which you will not want to stop reading or be able to stop thinking about! It made me smile, laugh cry and not be able to stop thinking about the book or it's plot. I felt happiness, sadness and a need to keep listening to the book. After I've Gone will stay in my memory for a very long time.

I'd love to see this book made into a film!

This one stands out due to its current, very creative and refreshing plot idea. Bravo to Linda Green for such an original concept!

I would categorise the book as a suspenseful family drama, which covers the emotional topics of parent / child relationships and what we will do to protect that relationship, mental health, friendship, death and the future to name a few.

We discover from the first few pages of this book that Jess could likely die in a few months, due to the very unique inclusion of some Facebook posts by friends and family to Jess. It is through these Facebook posts, dated 18 months in advance, that we learn bit by bit what could possibly become of Jess.

I loved that the posts displayed a profile picture, providing me with a face to tie up to the character. I also like the idea of still being able to leave Facebook posts on the wall of someone who is no longer with us, even if the communication is one sided, it's a means of communication none the less.

I enjoyed getting to know Jess, and warmed up to her wit and humour from the get go. It made for entertaining reading as we uncover the easy going relationship she had with Sadie, her best friend. The reader then gets to witness Jess' transformation over a short space in time, since she first receives the future-based Facebook posts that only she can see. This drastic personality change bothered me initially, but thinking about it, I suppose in reality, this change probably happens many a time for those in a similar situation.

As much as I enjoyed the book, there were a few kinks in the armour that need mentioning :

- It frustrated me that, although Jess was aware of her possible future, she still allows herself to fall into the same trappings. With her personality, one would've thought she would have used her Facebook knowledge and done some investigating, like make contact with the former girlfriend to set any doubts aside, or made some alternative arrangements in order to sidestep her possible fate.

- Jess was selective in what she chose to believe from the Facebook posts, which didn't work that well for me. You don't get to pick and choose the bits that you believe with all your heart, and then hope the bits that you don't like won't affect you.

- Her primary reason for staying in her situation is for her son's sake, so that he would be conceived. Yet even after his conception, she still hangs around.


Despite these issues, it does not take away from the fact that this was an original, entertaining and emotional read that I would recommend to anyone looking for something unique.

Thank you to Netgalley, Linda Green and Quercus for an advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

5* read. What a clever concept and so topical. A fantastic read from a great author. Absolutely addictive reading. Would highly recommend. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

I have come across some very interesting subject themes and plots in my time as an avid reader then a reviewer for the past 7 years, this one will stand out in my memory as one that I have enjoyed so much I was either talking about it or anxious to get back to my Kindle to read more of it.

I actually read this in one day by the aide of sync on my Ipad and Iphone. I either had one in my hand or another whilst waiting in the car, waiting at the doctors, waiting for supper to cook.
I was glued.

Jess Mount is 22 years old. She lives a nice relatively quiet life with her dad. Her Mother passed away and Jess found this hard to deal with, she had a bit of a breakdown.

Sadie is Jess best friend, she is strong, loyal and loves Jess to bits very supportive and protective of her.

This is the age of cyberland, social media at its best. Namely, Facebook.

Whilst Jess posts normal stuff to her wall, there is something tragically puzzlingly wrong.
Her Facebook posts have skipped forward 18months, how can that happen? You can't go forward. This happens after she meets Lee, Mr Perfect.


She is now living side by side with Facebook, each time logging on to see her future unfolding.
Its unsettling, its made her anxious, of course it has, is this for real? Or is she having another breakdown.

She shows Sadie, only Sadie can't see it. No screen shots, nothing will show it up as proof.

Lee seems to be the perfect boyfriend, pays her lots of attention, compliments, kind, giving and supportive. Hes everything she needs right now.

But....
alongside this is the revelation that she is dead, yes DEAD. On facebook at least. What's happening, who is doing this, how could this happen, is she going mad?

Tributes from her Father
Heartfelt pour outs from Sadie, its all there. But how did she die.

This plays on her mind all the time. She refuses to look at her Facebook wall. But come on, its tempting right? Even if it scares you witless.

I just had to keep on reading and reading, who or what is happening and is this really going to happen to her?

I got so annoyed at Jess, I wanted her to just see what was happening in front of her eyes as the story unfolded. I wanted to grab her and shake her WAKE UP....
You can change this, you do have the power to change this.

I enjoyed this so much its shot up my charts of what I have read this year, for sure.

My thanks to Quercus Books via Net Galley for my early copy

Twenty two year old Jess has found herself caught up in a living nightmare.She has just discovered condolence messages on her Facebook timeline from her Dad,her bff Sadie and other family members and people that she knows.It seems that in eighteen months time Jess will be killed in an accident.Is this a cruel online prank or a glimpse into her actual future?.

Amongst the posts are pictures of a gorgeous baby boy that she has not yet conceived.When the posts reveal that Jess`s death might not have been an accident after all,she finds herself caught in a confusing dilemma.If she changes the future to save her own life then the baby that she has fallen so deeply in love with Will never exist.

At the start of the story our heroine Jess is a very likeable character who has a wicked sense of humour and I loved the interactions between her and Sadie.As the story unfolds and she struggles of understand and believe what the posts are revealing and with other things that are happening in her life,the changes in her behaviour are scary and realistic.As a reader you like to try and sympathize with the main character but considering what she knew was going to happen,some of her actions were incredibly frustrating.

The story flowed well considering it was narrated by more than one character and set in the past,present day and the future.I liked the unique idea of using posts on Jess`s timeline to narrate the parts set in the future.The cast were a mixed bag of well developed,some likeable,some not so likeable characters although one character did redeem themselves a bit by the end of the story.

I thought the first part of the story was very intense and intreguing and my favourite parts of the book were the timeline chapters.Once a certain character is introduced its not hard to work out where the path of Jess`s life is going.Some elements of the story are left unexplained but then not everything in life is explainable.It's not a fast paced story but some parts are tense and intreguing.This is the first book that I have read by this author and it most definitely won't be my last.

"You Have Eighteen Months Left To Live!"
This is the message that Jess Mount reads when she opens her Facebook page and what is even worse, only she can see it!
Jess is working at the local cinema with her best friend, she is grieving the loss of her mum and has a very close relationship with her dad. She thinks her life has turned around when she meets the handsome Lee and they start a relationship. However the message on her social media page fills Jess with trepidation.
She knows she has to make a choice. Does she choose this path or try to change fate and alter the outcome of her life.
As the story progresses a sinister side surfaces to the man she loves which gives a chilling and sinister feel to the story. Jess wonders how she will meet her death, which is fast approaching. and leaves you gripped to the story from beginning to end.
The book first contains the genre of romance, which quickly leads to a murder mystery with glimpses of supernatural throughout. The social media aspect is a unique and compelling storyline. It is hard not to imagine opening your own Facebook page to see an outpouring of grief from your loved ones following your death, which is eighteen months in the future.
The characters of her best friend and dad were weak and uninsightful to Jess's plight. Although Jess had a very strong connection to both,  they remained oblivious and you desperately wanted one of them to step up to the mark. The mother in law is defensive of her son. What has happened in the past to make her act this way?
The book deals with the controversial subjects of mental health and domestic abuse in a sympathetic way. It is a good example of how the deeply strong bond of love can overrule the brains messages when mental health is compromised.
An easy read, gripping and sinister at times, Linda Green does not disappoint with this book and I will be eagerly awaiting her next publication.

I was sent this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A book that gets you hooked from the first page, read it in one day as I couldn't put it down. I found it incredibly emotional and without any spoilers I really love that buying this book supports some fanastic charities. Couldn't recommend more. Best book I've read this year.

I really enjoyed the book, it has everything I love in a novel from start to finish. I can’t wait to read what the author has planned next!

This is the nightmare scenario of the digital age! You log into Facebook and find memorial posts in your honour 18 months in the future!! But nobody else can see them! Are you going mad?! Is this a new form of Cyber Bullying? Jess finds herself in this exact predicament and it makes for some very nervy reading as her story unfolds.

Jess is your typical 20 something! Loving life working with her BFF Sadie at the local cinema, living a simple life with her Dad whilst missing her mum who she sadly lost a few years earlier - and she's feisty and very funny! I loved her attitude at the start of the book! Standing up for herself and her life seemed to be perfect, especially when a man she met on the train buys her flowers!

And then things change! The new man in her life, Lee, seems to be the perfect guy! Good looking and attentive and she seems to be living the dream! And then the Facebook posts appear! Of how her friends and family are missing her since her death, how her son is missing her, how her perfect wedding seems such a long time ago....... it can't be real surely?! And if you saw posts from the future, how does that change the way you behave?! Trying to figure out how she died begins to play on her mind and she has nobody to turn to for help. Things begin to happen in her life that she seemingly has no control over no matter how hard she tries to alter and this tension really adds to the intrigue with this story.

But as things unfold it became very clear as a reader that things were just not adding up and my initial fascination with the future posts began to disappear and my connection with Jess fell apart as she became a completely different character, quick to forget about family and friends and quite selfish. Certain aspects of the storyline were never really explained and it all became a little rushed towards the end which was a shame after such a clever build up.

I liked the way it tackled a very sensitive topic in a completely different way although I'm not sure it worked as well as the character still made the same mistakes as others do in her position and I was just left wondering if knowing the future took away a key element in the impact on the reader as the plot was revealed. All I wanted to do was just shout at Jess and make her wake up to herself!!

I found the first half of the book to be really well paced and full of intrigue but just felt it a shame the 2nd half didn't quite live up to the same standard. Was still a really interesting read though and one very current with the use of social media and how we are quick to rely on it - good and bad!

A unique way of telling a story - in the future before it actually happens. I loved it. This is too good a book not to read

This book on one hand follows the love story of Jess - a feisty, take-no-prisoners, kind of girl in her early 20s - and Lee, a little older, working in PR, sophisticated and relatively well-off. And at first it seems like an amazing, whirlwind romance but suddenly Jess starts to see strange posts on Facebook, dated 18 months in the future, full of outpourings of grief. What shocks her is that her friends and family are grieving for her death. In their posts she can see the remains of her life mapped out before her - marriage, a beautiful baby and then, suddenly, a brutal, and possibly suspicious death. But no-one else can see the posts, she can't even take a screen shot or photo of them: is she losing her mind? She has a history of mental health problems - having a breakdown after the death of her beloved mother when she was just 15 - but she is sure that this message from the future is real.

This is a pacy and well-plotted novel which touches on issues of parental love, domestic violence, public mourning via social media and mental health. It certainly made me think about whether the course of our lives is fixed. Do we move blindly into our future or can we shape it ourselves? Even as the book drew to its conclusion I couldn't tell if Jess would succumb to the life that Facebook was showing her or whether she would find the strength to fight for herself and for her beloved baby. If you enjoyed Gone Girl and its imitators then give Linda Green a try. Even if you can't pronounce Mytholmroyd...

thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an arc of this book by Linda Green in exchange for an honest review.

The story centres around Jess Mount a young lady who is struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother and deal with her grief. Her life takes a new turn when she meets and starts a relationship with Lee. Posts start appearing on her Facebook page skipping 18 months in advance predicting future events in her life. Is this the path her life will follow or can she change it?

Many life issues are covered during the course of the story namely mental health and domestic violence.

I have to admit this isn't the sort of book i would normally read but did actually enjoy it although i did feel the ending was abit rushed.

I thoroughly enjoyed After I've Gone. As soon as I saw this was available to request on NetGalley, I knew this would be the book for me. The story is such an interesting concept and I have to say I was intrigued from the very first page.

I loved the way the story was told in present day and then also gave insights into the potential future. It was wonderfully written with great main characters and the bond between Jess and her Dad was lovely.

I couldn't put this book down and would highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley, Quercus Books and Linda Green for the chance to review.

When I first read the synopsis for this book, I was mainly wondering how on earth the author would be able to successfully include Facebook as a manner of time-travel/a portal in the future and it was great to see just how well the author was able to manage this. The story follows Jess Mount as she she attempts to deal with the knowledge that she apparently only has eighteen months to live, however not only is she trying to understand what on earth is happening to her as times goes on it becomes more and more apparent that her demise was not accidental, someone else is likely behind it. One thing I liked about this was that it kind of took us back eighteen months, to the start of 2016. Not only does this bring up memories from last year some less favourable then others but it shows the use of social media and the way the public reacts to deaths of friends and family as well as celebrities.

Jess herself was a lot younger then I expected her to be and her decisions she makes at the start of the book reflect this. Despite her youth she still has a complicated past with her mother passing away 7 years previously. I think it also provided more of a shock value as a single 22 year old is somehow able to see a glimpse into her future in which is she not only married but is mother to an adorable little boy, that and she is now no longer among the living but I think for her at the time the other stuff was actually more of a surprise. It also provided a great opportunity for the author to be able to show a lot of character growth and development something she took full advantages off.

Absolutely loved this one! A page turner right from the word go. A well deserved 5 stars and a must read for any fan of this genre.

Jess is a happy 22 year old who enjoys her job, has fun with with her best friend Sadie and meets good looking Lee who asks her out. On checking her timeline on facebook she discovers a tribute about her death from Sadie, the following morning there is one from her dad but they are actually 18 months in the future. She tries to show Sadie the posts but Jess is the only one able to see them.

The story follows the future posts about Jess’s death, the present day and what had happened to Jess in her past. The posts show that she has married Lee and given birth to a son. The story is told by Jess, with facebook posts from her best friend Sadie, Jess’ dad and also Lee’s mum. Jess has to decide how to proceed with her life to possibly prevent her death.

This was a very well written and interesting story, I couldn’t wait to find out what happened. An excellent book which I would highly recommend.

4.5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the first page to the last. It was full of twists and turns and told from different character viewpoints and different timelines which definitely added to the storyline. Would definitely recommend this book.

Excellent book. Great main characters and plot. I would recommend this book.

This book has a great concept, but the whole thing didn't really hang together for me. The facebook posts felt contrived, especially as the book tries to make them *look* like facebook posts, complete with dates and times and the profile picture of the person posting. It wasn't that I didn't believe people would be leaving tributes on the facebook wall of a person who'd died - I've seen that happen - but that so many people would still be leaving tributes months later. Then as the book went on, people started sending private facebook messages to the deceased, which was even less credible. When the private messages started discussing the court-case, and then someone leaving an actual *confession* (via a facebook message? really?), I gave up hope. The voices in the facebook posts were also all the same - there was no change in tone, in vocabulary, to differentiate them.

I felt that the story was very predictable. Oh, sure, there was a twist at the end, but even that was something that was signposted a long time before. There were also very large plot-holes - not just the facebook messages, but things like Lee being stupid enough to take his new girlfriend to the same hotel where he'd beaten a previous girlfriend senseless. Jess is introduced as someone who is full of fun, feisty and confident, yet within a few weeks of meeting this man, she has turned into someone who will stay with a man who she firmly believes will kill her. Again, I know this happens, but in this case, Jess's suspicions that she will be abused begin even before she sees the first sign of angry temper - but this doesn't make her at all hesitant. Her main reason for staying seems to be that she can't face not getting to know her (not yet conceived) child, but even after the child is conceived, she stays. And then, after the first episode of violence, by which time she is firmly convinced this man will kill her - she stays.

The bookclub questions at the end seem to suggest that the reader is supposed to be left not knowing whether the facebook posts are really from the future or whether it's all in Jess's mind, but if this was part of what the author was trying to achieve, I don't think it has worked. The progress of the story hangs on the reader's acceptance of the reality of these posts. Without them, Jess would not have known about the impending violence, about the marriage proposal, of the details of her wedding, about her child, or about Lee's history with previous girlfriends.

All of that said, the writing was very good in places, and I really did love the concept. I just wish the execution hadn't been so disappointing.