Amsterdam. The city of red lights, weed, canals and stroopwafels. The perfect setting for Ruth Kelly’s latest destination thriller and the new home of her main character, Becca.
Becca and Nathan recently relocated from Devon to the Netherlands for Nathan to fulfill his dream of running a restaurant. However, Becca, who gave up her career for the move, is struggling to settle in, find a job and make friends. The novelty of living in Amsterdam is starting to wear thin.
Nathan’s main priority is to get Muse up and running; he has little time for his wife. The fact that he spends many a late night with his business partner, Katya, a Dutch chef with long blonde hair and a golden tan, only contributes to Becca’s insecurity. Is Becca’s paranoia justified, or has she developed an unhealthy obsession, much like her high school fixation with her best friend?
As teenagers, Becca, who lived on a council estate, and Georgie, from an affluent family, were inseparable until Georgie traded Becca for cooler friends. Now, after over a decade of no contact, Georgie arrives unannounced on Becca’s doorstep on New Year’s Eve. Though anyone else would be suspicious, Becca is not; she is currently miserable, vulnerable and alone after being ditched by Nathan for a business meeting.
Georgie convinces Becca to have a girls’ night out. They talk their way into an art dealer’s private gallery opening after-party and soon the girls are downing drinks with two Americans and partying like it’s 1999. We’ve all known a woman with Georgie’s manipulative privilege, making her a highly convincing character that immediately resonates with readers.
Becca wakes up in A&E with a blurred memory; blood tests confirmed she was drugged. Georgie never came home, and evidence points to Becca. Her parents and the police dismiss Georgie’s disappearance, claiming she was just seeking attention and that partying tourists frequently get lost in Amsterdam.
However, TikToker Jamie Finn views Georgie’s disappearance as a chance to boost his followers and profit. Kelly’s previous novel, The Ice Retreat, also featured an influencer, and in The After Party she explores the impact of social media. The amateur detective tries to supplant proper law enforcement, potentially hampering the legitimate investigation. True crime podcasters and influencers in crime novels do reflect the current world, and it still has its novelty here, but perhaps the impact of this trend is fading.
Jamie, like fellow narrators Becca and Georgie, is a thoroughly unlikeable character. Becca is a pushover, gullible, and hard to sympathise with. On the opposite side is Georgie, who is selfish, spoiled, and a hog for attention. And let’s not forget Nathan, the husband who is more worried about his restaurant’s reputation than the possibility that his wife might be a murderer.
With characters it’s hard to sympathise with, our focus comes to rest on the mechanics of the plot. This is a successful strategy by Kelly, as we are less concerned with who is guilty than with finding out what happened. Kelly keeps us in the dark on two fronts: what happened to Georgie; and another question – the identity of a body pulled from a canal early in the book.
Following the story requires close attention due to the switches between narrators and timelines, and it feels somewhat drawn out, at times losing its momentum. A twist-filled psychological thriller, The After Party prioritises a dark, compelling plot over character sympathy, exploring themes of obsession, betrayal, and toxic relationships.
Also see Ruth Ware’s 2017 novel The Woman in Cabin 10, which was adapted for television by Netflix earlier this year.
Pan Macmillan
Print/Kindle
£9.19
CFL Rating: 3 Stars
