This is a well crafted mystery and quite a page turner, but let down a little by some awkwardness in the translation.

Having not read The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair I was not aware of the hype around it when I requested and received the ARC from NetGalley.
Now I’m glad that I hadn’t as I found the writing style not to my taste. There was too many perspectives and plot twists that it was hard to keep up.
Not one of the better books that I’ve read.

I was given The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair many years ago and it was one of the books that reignited my love of reading as an adult. It was blooming fab and I ended up loving it so I think I’ll always have a bit of a soft spot for Joël Dicker. This has been sat on my kindle from @ for far too long, I wanted to read The Baltimore Boys before picking it up and I’m glad I did (PSA: TBB I also adored).

The Alaska Sanders Affair sees Joël Dicker return to the same style equation to be solved as HQ (very different from 622), and it’s always that little bit better when you already have the characters backstory. 622 fell a bit flat so I much much more enjoyed returning to Marcus Goldman!

As this is the third book following MG, I would argue it’s maybe one you could read as a standalone. Theres a balance to be found between giving some of the backstory, but not too much so as to repeat what you already know. TASA dances the line and there’s some minor bits that I felt didn’t work but that’s just my opinion.

It’s a book for fans of murder mysteries/thrillers with heavy character development (although I question how much development is really done because of the way the MC just is). I thought I had a feeling for where this was going but I didn’t work it out the way I thought. Pro to this - I don’t like a predictable read. Con - I don’t like feeling it’s obvious. Glad to say I was wrong though in this case. I’d say these books for me are the equivalent of a ‘cosy mystery’, I can understand that some people are not fans of the cheesy aspects but I had a fun time with this and it was definitely an easy read! I will definitely be picking up whatever comes next from JD and am so grateful for the opportunity to read this - I’ll be recommending for sure!

I wasn't a huge fan of the previous book ( Harry Quebert...) but know that it was hugely popular so decided to give this one a go. I think it's just reinforced my view! I found the story ponderous.

Having loved the truth about the Harry Quebert Affair, I picked up this book with great anticipation, and it certainly lived up to all my high expectations. We follow the investigation of an apparently open and shut cold case with Marcus Goldman, and his friend, Sergeant Perry Gaholwood. I really enjoyed catching up with the characters from the previous novel and learning more about them. The case is certainly not straightforward and there were many twists and turns which kept you guessing to the end. There is something about this authors writing that just draws me in and keeps me up late at night to read just one more chapter. A book that could easily be read as a stand alone but you would be missing out if you did not read his previously mentioned book. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return. for an honest review.

I struggled with this book as it’s been so long since I’ve read The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair, I didn’t really remember any characters. This was very long and became quite tedious.

I loved The Harry Quebert Affair - it's my favourite book by Joel Dicker so I was eagerly anticipating The Alaska Sanders Affair and I'm so pleased to say that I loved it every bit as much! We're back with Marcus Goldman and he ends up investigating the murder of Alaska Sanders, which happened 11 years previously. He has a bond with sergeant Perry Gahalowood from when he was writing about Harry Quebert so it was great to see where their relationship is now. This novel is convoluted, it moves back and forth in time and has red herrings galore but they are all of the things that I just adored in a Joel Dicker novel. He has such a a way of writing that keeps me invested and this story was so tricksy and has so many elements to it but everything we find out is relevant, I don't know how he manages to put together a novel like this. I loved this book so much, I highly recommend it!

Wow. I absolutely loved this book. It didn’t disappoint. The sequel to The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair but can also be read as a standalone. A complex layered and intriguing mystery. It’s so captivating. I couldn’t put it down.
Marcus Goldman helps his friend Perry Gahalwood to investigate and piece together what happened to Alaska Sanders, who was murdered 11 years previously.
I love this author’s writing style, the way he weaves all the pieces together. It’s well written, so detailed and easy to read. A brilliant twisty story that keeps you guessing all the way through. I liked all the characters and the way they draw you in. I loved the relationship and conversations between Marcus and Perry. Both so distinct and likeable.
Overall, a gripping crime thrilling police procedural. Definitely recommend this one if you enjoy this genre. It’s well worth the read. I look forward to reading more from @joeldicker in the future.
With thanks to #NetGallery @quercusbooks @lauraekay for an arc of #TheAlaskaSandersAffair in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 12 September 2024.

3.5 stars on this one.

Premise; the perfect murder executed by an unlikely individual who framed an innocent party for 11 years.

The book was definitely interesting to read, I enjoy Dicker's writing, it's always engaging including the way he shifts perspectives from present to past and back to present over the entire book. I enjoyed the chronology of the story, the pacing and the setup of the various characters. Alaska herself may not have been as well developed at the beginning of the story as she was in the final chapters, which made for a better understanding of who she was and what she really was about. The only main gripe I had was when the "supposed character" was noted as the murderer it felt absolutely anticlimactic but I am glad that the writer redeemed that section swiftly when he wrote the actual murdered. This gave the book the shock element it needed. Also, I wish the writer had given us more detail on what actually killed Helen for closure.

Intriguing mystery to read although it has taken some time to get through. This is my 3rd book from this writer and I cannot wait to read more of his works in the future.

This is my first Joel Dicker book and I absolutely devoured it. A different writing style to what I usually read and I loved it. I look forward to reading other titles by this author. Maybe I should have read “The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair “ after seeing other reviews. But I don’t feel it’s essential to read in order *****

Oh dear. I was so disappointed with this book, it was clunky & confusing & very, very long. There are far too many characters, red herrings & an unbelievable plot.

Marcus Goldman is back- it is eleven years on and again he is immersed in a murder- this time of a woman in a fast-food carpark. changes everything. He starts unravelling the case Sergeant Perry Gahalowood. This book is about their relationship and the effect of the original murder on them both- it is a symbiotic relationship that grows throughout the novel.
A good plot twist but did feel a little too long.

I certainly can’t complain that all the loose endings weren’t sorted by the end but gosh what a long winded read to get there.
Interesting characters who I mostly did like and if you enjoy a good twist the this one is for you.

The murder of Alaska Sanders was swiftly resolved—two suspects emerged, one died, and the other confessed, sealing the case. However, eleven years later, a woman's death in a fast-food parking lot disrupts this apparent closure. Marcus Goldman, a celebrity author and amateur investigator, uncovers a thread that threatens to unravel the very fabric of his best friend’s life.

Sergeant Perry Gahalowood, who oversaw the original investigation, is determined to set the record straight. Joining forces with Marcus, he confronts the most intricate case of his career, seeking redemption for past errors.

In this sequel to the acclaimed The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, Joël Dicker masterfully constructs a slow-burn police procedural. Methodically, the characters uncover an unguessable puzzle, revealing twists only a plot master like Dicker could devise. As a devoted fan of the previous work, I found this follow-up highly anticipated and utterly satisfying. The investigation leads Marcus and Perry to reassess their assumptions about the initial case, proving that even seemingly closed chapters can hold deeper secrets. A brilliantly crafted whodunnit with a captivatingly twisty narrative, this novel solidifies the dynamic between Goldman and Gahalowood.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

Outstanding. I felt part of the investigation. It’s so clever with how it’s fiction yet it’s written like it’s non fiction. I never figured out the culprit so I wouldn’t make a good detective!
I will read anything by Joel Dicker, and I will continue to do so.

The first book I read that was written by Joël Dicker was The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair. A very enjoyable read and memorable for being slightly different in that it is supposedly the Author telling the story in first person.

Click forward to The Alaska Sanders Affair and we have a re-hash of The Truth. I can only guess that Joël Dicker was given a huge advance on this book and he just churned out The Truth 2.0.

The Alaska sanders affair wastes so much time going over plot lines from different perspectives that the story becomes tedious and downright boring. The plot twists seem to be there just to achieve the word count and as such there is no real story just a series of annoying setups.

I have read other books by Joël Dicker and I had vowed never to read any more but I was tempted by the offer of a ARC from Netgalley, for which I am very grateful for as I am now firmly of the opinion that The Alaska Sanders Affair will definitely be the last Joël Dicker novel I will read.

The sequel to the Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair is a multi layered twisty.crime thriller set over two timelines. I liked the relationship between Marcus the writer and Sergeant Gahalowood, though at times the role of author as investigator felt unrealistic. The novel was a touch too long but the denouement very satisfying and the storytelling pristine.

A twist far too far 3.5 raised

I’m stop go with Dicker, I do love his intelligence, his twistiness, his interesting characters and the fact that a lot more is going on than just the crime investigation by a famous writer (Dicker’s somehow alter ego) Marcus Golding and laconic detective Perry Gahalowood, but in Alaska Sanders, as in his first, Harry Quebert, ultimately the cleverness becomes rather wearing, and the endless twists, well, endless.

I found myself, perhaps unfairly, comparing Dicker’s playing around with the writer as investigator, or playing with fiction itself, with that other much wittier writer pairing with a detective – Anthony Horowitz, in his Horowitz and Hawthorne outings. What I miss with Dicker is wit as well as incisiveness and sparkle

I had 5 starred Dicker’s more heartful, deeper investigation of mysteries in his fictional writer’s own family second novel, whereas I had 4 starred ‘Harry Quebert’ because The Baltimore Boys, involving more of Goldman’s background psychology and history had tenderness and heart, rather than a to the nth degree celebrally twisty journey.

I reveal no spoilers here, but this plot, which flips between 1999 (and sometimes a bit earlier) and 2010, including times inbetween, concerns the death of Alaska Sanders, and the subsequent police investigations. Alaska, a brilliant and beautiful young woman, model and aspiring actress, who somewhat mysteriously is working at a gas station, in small town Mount Pleasant, New Hampshire is violently killed in 1999. Though the murder was solved by the police, all was not quite as it seemed. One of the police team at that time was Perry Gahalowood, whim Marcus got to know and have a strong affection for, in ‘Harry Quebert’. Perry is one of the people who gave Marcus a sense of longed for family and community because of how Perry and his wife welcomed Marcus into their family.

Somehow, though, new information begins to suggest that the initial solve of Alaska’s murder may not have been quite as conclusive as things seemed. Marcus, now a famous writer gets involved again, in part because of his need for strong relationships with some kind of father figure, or cohesive family, to heal where these were lacking, or may have been lacking, in his boyhood. And then there is Marcus’ desire to be a family man himself, but, somehow, he can never quite commit, is never quite sure that any woman he is drawn to, is the one. He is not any kind of philanderer or Don Juan, but clearly has insecure attachment patterns

I thought Alaska Sanders would probably be a clear 4 star, perhaps even 4.5, but in the end the twisty and absorbing journey, which also incorporated Goldman’s neediness, his veneration of mythical golden family, need for a father figure and admired mentor, became a stretch too long and too twisty. The very final twist and revelations ensuing were a tangle far too far, and, frankly had a kind of gratuitous darkness and incredibility.

To sum up, perhaps too long (maybe like this review!) and definitely a final twist let down

This book is described as a slow burn police procedural however the writing is so good that it really doesn't feel like that. It is a thoroughly enjoyable read and the writer gives time to explore the story rather than the short chapter breakneck speed utilised by many writers. It makes a refreshing change to read writing like this.

I loved “The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair” so to dive back into this world of a writer diving passionately into local murders was very entertaining. This prequel/sequel had me guessing for a very long time… (perhaps ever so slightly too long a time) but I had to know what would happen at the end. I love the relationship between Gahalowood and his “writer”. A solid read.