It takes a certain skill to write a thriller where the premise is intriguing yet the reveal comes only in the very final pages. Bussi, a phenomenon in his native France and author of 15 works, succeeds in After the Crash. While I guessed one part of the mystery, the missing clue was far from evident. This was a compulsive read, even if its style was too pared back and hard-boiled for my liking. After the Crash is not high literature, but nor does it set out to be so. An abundance of cliché and heavy use of simile is the norm. I was gripped until the end, but I'm happy to see this go to the charity shop. (The book was originally donated by Jonathan Clarkson, who had no desire to read it.) 6 out of 10.
By Michel Bussi