After All These Years is told from the first-person point of view. This is a common method in many novels of mystery and suspense, enabling the reader to follow along, seeing clues and experiencing dangers as the sleuth encounters them. Unlike some toughguy heroes of the detective genre, Rosie tells us about her feelings right out: "I couldn't stand being in a dead man's trench coat another minute."

Along with her occasional reveries, this gives the reader more information about her (and about the background to events) than a flat, distant camera like point of view would.