Intricately and beautifully woven, “After Image” by author Jaime deBlanc is a tale of loss and the unbearable not knowing when a loved one disappears. Jaime deBlanc pulls us into this world through Natasha – a young woman traumatized by the loss of her (step) sister four years prior. The novel opens with the discovery of human remains in the nearby hills and Natasha’s visit to the police station to identify belongings found with the remains.
It is here we learn that Natasha has suffered from Conversion Disorder since Allie went missing. In another time, this temporary blindness caused by the brain’s response to trauma was called ‘hysterical blindness’. It plunges Tash into darkness when the anxiety and stress builds to an unbearable level. Despite this, Natasha appears to be a reliable narrator, as she takes us back and forth between her present (2017) and 2013, when Allie went missing and everyone’s lives changed.
Over time, deBlanc carefully doles out tidbits of information and hints subtly at the depths of each character’s identity. She carefully dropped Tesla into the timeline – Isabel, the missing girl’s mother, is seen driving a Tesla Roadster in a 2008 flashback. The first Teslas were released in February 2008, and of course the unbelievably wealthy and vapid Isabel would be among the first to have this car. A cutting yet subtle indication of her insipid grasp at being elite.
A few elements I predicted and in another writer’s hands might seem overdone (the brief affair Natasha has – really?), but there are only so many ways to fit all the pieces together and the difference is in the telling. Jaime deBlanc has crafted a story that is breathtaking in its careful handling of Natasha’s grief and the relationships undone by a disappearance. I was continually gripped by the story but also deBlanc’s writing, it is truly a delight to read.
Highly recommend to readers who enjoy a mystery and want to be absorbed in its telling. After Image by Jaime deBlanc hits bookshelves October 8, 2024.
Joy Reads Books 