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Publisher's Summary

Set against a stunning Scandinavian backdrop, a gritty novel of psychological suspense that asks the question how far would you go to hold onto what you have? 

Cecilia Wilborg has it all - a loving husband, two beautiful daughters and a gorgeous home in the affluent Norwegian town of Sandefjord. And she works hard to keep it all together. Too hard. Because one mistake from her past could bring it all crashing down around her. 

Annika Lucasson lives a dark life with her abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend. She's lost everything one too many times and now she's got one last chance to save herself, thanks to Cecilia. Annika knows her secret - and just how much she's willing to do to make it all go away... 

When someone forgets to pick up their little boy at the local pool, Cecilia agrees to take him home, only to find an abandoned, empty house. It's the first step in the unraveling of her meticulously crafted life, as her and Annika's worlds collide...
©2018 Alex Dahl (P)2018 Penguin Audio
Suspense Crime Thrillers Psychological
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What the critics say

"Dahl savagely delineates the price of living in a society that insists women must try to be perfect wives and mothers and have successful careers, too, or they’ll be inevitably made to feel they’re never good enough." (Publishers Weekly) 

"A tangled web, masterfully constructed and certain to satisfy fans of the genre." (Booklist)

"Scandi Noir at its best... Atmospheric and beautifully written...combines complex and believable characters with a heart-breaking and head-spinning plot." (Mary Torjussen, author of Gone Without a Trace and The Girl I Used to Be)

"The three actors who voice Cecilia, a beautiful rich housewife, Tobias, an abandoned child, and Annika, a doomed junkie, are perfectly cast, have appealing voices, and do exactly what the story needs them to do....this is an unusual and brilliantly executed example, and a flawless listen." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Boy at the Door

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  • Christine
  • 2018-09-10

One of the best

Liked everything about this book. Story and performance were both excellent. Loved the way it unfolded

4 people found this helpful

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  • MA Reviewer
  • 2018-08-13

I am Usually"Boy Crazy"....But Not For This One!

Very, very disappointing. I selected this book because of its strong reviews and compelling storyline. I also listened to a sample that was read by a superb narrator.

The book starts out strong and rapidly goes downhill. I invested 12 hours of my time listening to the book and it was not time well spent.

The story was very contrived and unbelievable. If I give specific examples (and there are many!) - I will reveal spoilers so I will stop here.

The narrators were excellent and I always enjoy a book with multiple narrators.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Mary Hobbie
  • 2018-08-07

Strange

It started off interesting enough. Caught my attention, made me want to keep listening. But the storyline was so sad, so depressing. There was nothing pleasant, nothing redeeming about the main character. She was a liar, cheat, immoral, and sociopathic person. And then it all just went downhill from there. It was great at first, I thought, wow, this author really knows how to write a character who people can despise, feel anger about and hate. But there needed to be also some empathy for her, some personal connection. There was all that with the character Annie. As the reader, I learned to like her, feel sorry for her, empathize with her and hope for her to find peace, make it in the world and be happy. But with the main character, um no. I wanted her locked up. Put away for good. Maybe that was the point? Some how though, it seemed like the author just kept trying to add more and more crazy stuff as she went along. It didn't seem planned out and the consequences of her actions NEVER really caught up to her.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Michael
  • 2018-08-18

Loved to Hate Cecilia!

The main character is despicable, a true narcissist thru and thru! This plot is intricate and the characters are written really well. I especially enjoyed Cecelia's narration. Annie's was a little whiney, but rang true.

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  • RueRue
  • 2019-05-12

Too improbable

This story hinges on some totally improbable coincidences that strain the believability of the plot. Added to that, the (3) central characters are distinctly unlikable ( yes, even little Tobias). The narration was pretty good, but it doesn't redeem the awfulness of the story.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Kimberly Wasilewski
  • 2019-04-19

Great Narration

I liked it. The mother was an awful person who didn't deserve what she got in the end.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Sideways Shrink
  • 2019-04-05

Beautiful understanding and articulation of the female human condition

Dahl explores addiction, narcissism, love, abuse and the metaphysics of the parental bond in this exquisitely narrated novel. Marnò’s performance was as always wonderful to and the actor that read the part of the little boy was painfully marvelous. This is the suspense genre at its best—there were no innocent bystanders or straw men in this novel.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Aggie S.
  • 2018-10-30

All around fantastic

The Story was great. The performances were great. All around a great listen.
I definitely recommend this one.

1 person found this helpful

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  • MikeyP
  • 2018-09-21

Truly superior narration of a wonderful story.

The story had me hooked right away. The narration, particularly for the child, was really wonderful.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2018-09-17

I listened twice

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story was hard to follow at times because it skipped back and forth in time and one character lied often, but that made it interesting as well. Alex Dahl’s writing is good. I look forward to her next book.

1 person found this helpful