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Nightmares #3
Afterlife of Alanna Miller
Five years ago, Nathan's world came crashing down. The witness protection program stole the woman he loved and now he's lost everything - including hope that she's still alive. His security job is a daily reminder of the girl he failed to protect, dragging him deeper into despair.
Forced to assume the identity of a dead girl, Caitlin struggles to rise from the ruins of the life she lost. A career change summons her home, but Perth isn't the safe haven it seems. Someone is hunting her - one of her kidnappers, a long-lost relative or another terrorist with an axe to grind?
When nightmares from their past threaten to engulf Nathan and Caitlin, can a broken hero and a girl living another woman's afterlife finally fight their way free?
A tiny taste of what's in store:
"I know something you won't miss about Melbourne," Jo said as she peered through the window.
The packing tape made a tortured sound as I used it to seal another box. "What? The ever-changing weather?" I scrawled BOOKS across the top of the box with my marker, then decided to label the sides, too.
"No. The commute to uni. Squeezed into a packed train carriage with all those crazed commuters, forcing yourself not to freak out at the sheer number of strangers touching you...I've seen your face on the train. It's like you're trying not to scream."
I smiled wanly. Trying not to stab someone, actually. Five years and my skin still crawled if anyone touched me. Maybe I should have become a nun, not a doctor. No, I wouldn't be allowed to carry a knife everywhere if I were a nun. Plus, there was the matter of having killed people..."I'll be able to walk to work now. I told you that apartment next to the hospital was a good investment."
She stuck her tongue out. "I'm an accountant, not an investment adviser. But I still think you should've rented it out this year, before you moved in. Six months' rent is a lot of money to throw away..."
It wasn't about the money. It was about having my own space, brand new, that no one else had lived in or done things in. A place without a past so I could create my own future there. Of course I picked Perth. After so much time away, I wanted to go home. With a new name, a new career and a whole new life...but it was home. Someone else's afterlife...haunting the place where I'd nearly died. It was fitting. Every time I looked at St Elsie's Hospital next door, I'd remember my time there as a patient and hopefully have more sympathy for my patients. Or go to pieces and be admitted to the psychiatric ward.
No, I told myself. I was prepared to go back and face any demons that I hadn't slaughtered in the past. Given they were probably on their last legs after their last encounter with me, it'd be an act of mercy to put them out of their misery. Euthanasia, even, though that wasn't legal in Western Australia.
A blurry hand waved before my eyes. "Hello? Are you even listening to me?"
I shook my head. "Sorry, Jo. I should have been."
"I hope you introduce me to him soon, because any man who can make you daydream that deeply has to be drool-worthy. I want to know his name, his bank balance and how many times in a night."
Nightmares Trilogy:
This is the final book in the Nightmares Trilogy, which includes:
Nightmares of Caitlin Lockyer (#1)) Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller (#2) Afterlife of Alanna Miller (#3)
Forced to assume the identity of a dead girl, Caitlin struggles to rise from the ruins of the life she lost. A career change summons her home, but Perth isn't the safe haven it seems. Someone is hunting her - one of her kidnappers, a long-lost relative or another terrorist with an axe to grind?
When nightmares from their past threaten to engulf Nathan and Caitlin, can a broken hero and a girl living another woman's afterlife finally fight their way free?
A tiny taste of what's in store:
"I know something you won't miss about Melbourne," Jo said as she peered through the window.
The packing tape made a tortured sound as I used it to seal another box. "What? The ever-changing weather?" I scrawled BOOKS across the top of the box with my marker, then decided to label the sides, too.
"No. The commute to uni. Squeezed into a packed train carriage with all those crazed commuters, forcing yourself not to freak out at the sheer number of strangers touching you...I've seen your face on the train. It's like you're trying not to scream."
I smiled wanly. Trying not to stab someone, actually. Five years and my skin still crawled if anyone touched me. Maybe I should have become a nun, not a doctor. No, I wouldn't be allowed to carry a knife everywhere if I were a nun. Plus, there was the matter of having killed people..."I'll be able to walk to work now. I told you that apartment next to the hospital was a good investment."
She stuck her tongue out. "I'm an accountant, not an investment adviser. But I still think you should've rented it out this year, before you moved in. Six months' rent is a lot of money to throw away..."
It wasn't about the money. It was about having my own space, brand new, that no one else had lived in or done things in. A place without a past so I could create my own future there. Of course I picked Perth. After so much time away, I wanted to go home. With a new name, a new career and a whole new life...but it was home. Someone else's afterlife...haunting the place where I'd nearly died. It was fitting. Every time I looked at St Elsie's Hospital next door, I'd remember my time there as a patient and hopefully have more sympathy for my patients. Or go to pieces and be admitted to the psychiatric ward.
No, I told myself. I was prepared to go back and face any demons that I hadn't slaughtered in the past. Given they were probably on their last legs after their last encounter with me, it'd be an act of mercy to put them out of their misery. Euthanasia, even, though that wasn't legal in Western Australia.
A blurry hand waved before my eyes. "Hello? Are you even listening to me?"
I shook my head. "Sorry, Jo. I should have been."
"I hope you introduce me to him soon, because any man who can make you daydream that deeply has to be drool-worthy. I want to know his name, his bank balance and how many times in a night."
Nightmares Trilogy:
This is the final book in the Nightmares Trilogy, which includes:
Nightmares of Caitlin Lockyer (#1)) Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller (#2) Afterlife of Alanna Miller (#3)
350 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 15, 2015
24 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Demelza Carlton
933 books3,879 followersUSA Today Bestselling Author Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish.
She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray-drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.
Sensationalist spin? No - Demelza tends to take a camera with her so she can capture and share the moment later; shipwrecks, sharks and all.
Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.
The Ocean's Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by the Nightmares trilogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn't leave her alone.
She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray-drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.
Sensationalist spin? No - Demelza tends to take a camera with her so she can capture and share the moment later; shipwrecks, sharks and all.
Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.
The Ocean's Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by the Nightmares trilogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn't leave her alone.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 31, 2015
I read this, the third book in the Nightmares series, without having read the first or second. Surprisingly I coped just fine with the storyline and the pace. There was enough of a reference to everything that went on before to get me through and had I read the previous books, I wouldn’t have felt irritated by backstory. It was just right.
The style of writing is incredibly succinct and the descriptions sometimes took my breath away. By the end of the novel I felt so heavily invested in the characters of Nathan and Caitlin, I needed to see things work out. There’s some very hard hitting issues dealt with in the novel and I don’t think the author needs to make any apology for that. I found the storyline very real and poignant. Many authors have jumped on the bandwagon of writing about women kept hostage, but this novel predates many of the cases I’ve heard of in the last ten years so it is wholly original.
Book three deals with the ‘afterwards’, the part that many authors/filmmakers and media aren’t interested in. How do these people put their lives back together again? Nobody asks that question or even remotely gives it any thought once the hype has died down. These people go back to normal lives, don’t they? Of course they don’t.
For anyone who read the first two books, they need to read this one. The title ‘Afterlife’ is a play on words and it would be a spoiler for me to say why. But one of the reasons why the title is so fitting, is that it is their afterlife - as in life after everything has settled and they’re the only ones with a vested interest in making everything right.
The plot twist at the end is sinister and gripping because it reveals the ‘why’ which many people in real situations never get to understand. I loved both characters. They were gritty and determined, whilst understandably damaged and trying to forge a life for themselves out of misery. Looking back, I feel most sympathy for Nathan. There’s nothing weak or incapable about him but nobody talks about the male victims of abuse. It’s like breast cancer in men, it happens but we don’t know how to handle it or what to say. I felt fully emotionally invested in this novel and that’s down to the skill of the author. I put off reading it for a while because as a victim of abuse, I was scared. Having finished, I only feel sad that there’s no more pages left in which I can savour the sense of hope and restitution I found in this novel. There is life after. There is an afterlife. It’s one of the most deeply meaningful books I’ve read in a long while and I wish I could give it 20*. Because I would.
The style of writing is incredibly succinct and the descriptions sometimes took my breath away. By the end of the novel I felt so heavily invested in the characters of Nathan and Caitlin, I needed to see things work out. There’s some very hard hitting issues dealt with in the novel and I don’t think the author needs to make any apology for that. I found the storyline very real and poignant. Many authors have jumped on the bandwagon of writing about women kept hostage, but this novel predates many of the cases I’ve heard of in the last ten years so it is wholly original.
Book three deals with the ‘afterwards’, the part that many authors/filmmakers and media aren’t interested in. How do these people put their lives back together again? Nobody asks that question or even remotely gives it any thought once the hype has died down. These people go back to normal lives, don’t they? Of course they don’t.
For anyone who read the first two books, they need to read this one. The title ‘Afterlife’ is a play on words and it would be a spoiler for me to say why. But one of the reasons why the title is so fitting, is that it is their afterlife - as in life after everything has settled and they’re the only ones with a vested interest in making everything right.
The plot twist at the end is sinister and gripping because it reveals the ‘why’ which many people in real situations never get to understand. I loved both characters. They were gritty and determined, whilst understandably damaged and trying to forge a life for themselves out of misery. Looking back, I feel most sympathy for Nathan. There’s nothing weak or incapable about him but nobody talks about the male victims of abuse. It’s like breast cancer in men, it happens but we don’t know how to handle it or what to say. I felt fully emotionally invested in this novel and that’s down to the skill of the author. I put off reading it for a while because as a victim of abuse, I was scared. Having finished, I only feel sad that there’s no more pages left in which I can savour the sense of hope and restitution I found in this novel. There is life after. There is an afterlife. It’s one of the most deeply meaningful books I’ve read in a long while and I wish I could give it 20*. Because I would.
April 15, 2017
What happened after Caitlin sends to defence program and changes her life to forget all dreadful past full of pain and hurt. 5 years after she comes back to her hometown, where ghosts of the past creeping around the places and new tragedy take place.
I absolutely loved first 2 books of Nightmares trilogy and I loved this book too. Read it in one day, like a fresh gulp of water. This book is romance and only romance, yes, with dark edges but beautiful nonetheless. What I like the most about this book it's the wholesomeness. This book like Universe of Demelza Carlton connects all her series in one world. Here you can find Mr. and Mrs. Fisher from Ocean's Gift, Mel and Luce from Mel goes to Hell, Jason and his own billionaire-rockstar series. And it connects so perfectly almost like Marvel Universe.
I absolutely loved first 2 books of Nightmares trilogy and I loved this book too. Read it in one day, like a fresh gulp of water. This book is romance and only romance, yes, with dark edges but beautiful nonetheless. What I like the most about this book it's the wholesomeness. This book like Universe of Demelza Carlton connects all her series in one world. Here you can find Mr. and Mrs. Fisher from Ocean's Gift, Mel and Luce from Mel goes to Hell, Jason and his own billionaire-rockstar series. And it connects so perfectly almost like Marvel Universe.
February 19, 2015
I'm so in love with this series! I love the characters and I love the storyline and they're not perfect and sometimes their strong and weak and the whole story just goes along perfectly I'm really happy with how it ended. But I really can't believe it's over :( I'm really glad I bought the whole series that way whenever I want to read the books I can go back to Nathan and Caitlin. It's definitely much better if you read the first two books before this one but still you can read it stand alone if you wanted but you understand so much more and you understand what they go through together emotionally physically. its just a great read I would read it over and over again such beautiful work.
January 19, 2015
A great ending to this psychologically frightening trilogy. The AFTERLIFE OF ALANNA MILLER is every bit the page turner of the first two books of this series. This story, which delves into dark reaches of the human psyche, is expertly unfolded by Ms. Carlton like a perfectly tuned rose, albeit a dark one. To say more would risk giving away the delicate twists and turns of this fast-paced plot. It's best to pick this one up when you have ample time to read, because you won't be able to put it down.
November 1, 2018
This, third book in the series, was finally a cohesive non-confusing story. I enjoyed it for various reasons but mainly because it pulled all the story together and while not every question was answered, most were. This did not need to be three long books but in hindsight I can see the reasoning for it.
If you like dark, confusing and horrifying situations then this book is for you.
If you like dark, confusing and horrifying situations then this book is for you.
October 29, 2018
Final installment by Carlton. I really enjoyed this trilogy. Creepy, and disgusting in the tale. The writing was superb and the story line realistic and twisted. The idea that such sick people truly can and go exist in polite society; seriously disturbing and scary.
February 26, 2025
Repetitive. Drawn out. Waste of reading time
May 14, 2016
In THE AFTERLIFE OF ALANNA MILLER, the finale of the Nightmares Trilogy, author Demelza Carlton has written an emotionally gripping and cathartic novel of psychological suspense and very real jeopardy. Two people, both victims of trauma and tragedy, struggle to move on with their lives. One has seemingly conquered her demons through determination and forgiveness; the other is emotionally crippled and drowning in guilt, unable to forgive himself or his tormenters.
Caitlin Lockyer has changed her name to Alana Miller, an intentional, slightly differently spelled homage to the doomed Alanna of the title. She has become a doctor and seems to have recovered from the physical and emotional wounds of her years-earlier kidnapping, captivity, and escape. Lately, though, she senses pursuit and fears the past is returning to do worse than haunt her. And she can never forget Nathan Miller, the man she loves and whom she considers her saviour, though he may have forgotten her.
"Saviour" is the last thing Nathan considers himself to be. In fact, he blames himself for all that befell both Caitlin and his tragic sister Alanna. Helping Caitlin now is the least he can do, though he knows he will never be absolved of his sins, nor will he ever have the right to act upon his hopeless love for her. His guilt all but crushes him.
There is a great deal of emotional and psychological complexity in THE AFTERLIFE..., and Ms. Carlton is highly adept at keeping readers on the roller coaster right along with her troubled characters. She is also very skillful in using sex – some of it explicit – to mirror Nathan's and Caitlin's physical and emotional experiences, from the cold and frightening depth of sexual victimization to the heights of passionate love. Ms. Carlton can write a jolly erotic romp with the best of them, but the sexual content in THE AFTERLIFE... is not extraneous. It is rather a vivid expression of the characters' emotional lives.
For me, the only glitch in the novel was the frequent shifts in point of view. (Both Nathan and Caitlin tell their stories in alternating, first-person narratives.) It was often confusing to me when the narration switched. I would have liked simple notations of "Nathan" or "Caitlin" before each new section of narration. As it was, it was sometimes several sentences into the section before I realized there was a new "I" telling the story. Overall, though, this is a gripping, deftly-written novel and a true page-turner!
Caitlin Lockyer has changed her name to Alana Miller, an intentional, slightly differently spelled homage to the doomed Alanna of the title. She has become a doctor and seems to have recovered from the physical and emotional wounds of her years-earlier kidnapping, captivity, and escape. Lately, though, she senses pursuit and fears the past is returning to do worse than haunt her. And she can never forget Nathan Miller, the man she loves and whom she considers her saviour, though he may have forgotten her.
"Saviour" is the last thing Nathan considers himself to be. In fact, he blames himself for all that befell both Caitlin and his tragic sister Alanna. Helping Caitlin now is the least he can do, though he knows he will never be absolved of his sins, nor will he ever have the right to act upon his hopeless love for her. His guilt all but crushes him.
There is a great deal of emotional and psychological complexity in THE AFTERLIFE..., and Ms. Carlton is highly adept at keeping readers on the roller coaster right along with her troubled characters. She is also very skillful in using sex – some of it explicit – to mirror Nathan's and Caitlin's physical and emotional experiences, from the cold and frightening depth of sexual victimization to the heights of passionate love. Ms. Carlton can write a jolly erotic romp with the best of them, but the sexual content in THE AFTERLIFE... is not extraneous. It is rather a vivid expression of the characters' emotional lives.
For me, the only glitch in the novel was the frequent shifts in point of view. (Both Nathan and Caitlin tell their stories in alternating, first-person narratives.) It was often confusing to me when the narration switched. I would have liked simple notations of "Nathan" or "Caitlin" before each new section of narration. As it was, it was sometimes several sentences into the section before I realized there was a new "I" telling the story. Overall, though, this is a gripping, deftly-written novel and a true page-turner!
February 26, 2021
This was my favourite of the trilogy, things finally come together, truth comes out. Still Nathan and Caitlyn had to fight their inner demons and not without pain and distrust.
August 30, 2022
This was a good ending to a good series. I had read the first 2 parts so this was my first take on the audio version. I wasn’t expecting the accents, so it took a bit to get used to. I enjoyed this whole series.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews