This is an incredibly heart wrenching book. It's very well written but worth warning that it's bleak and emotionally hard going in terms of subject matter. No spoilers.
An accomplished debut.

Absolutely brilliant! This is a really well written book. I couldn't put it down.
Lots of twists and turns throughout. Can't say too much as I wouldn't want to spoil it! Reccomend this one.

Andrew and Sophie take their daughter and her best friend. Joe to the beach, the weather starts to turn bad, and distracted by an aggressive dog,, they don't immediately notice that the children have gone into the sea and immediately got into difficulty. Andrew throws himself in, but only one child comes out alive. Chris, the dead boy's father is a copper so his colleagues are keen to investigate the death. and also keep an eye on him when his grief seems to be getting out of hand.. They think there is something fishy about Andrew's story but can't prove it wasn't an accident. This drives Chris mad and we are set up for a Revengers Tragedy. It is a good plot and an engrossing story but the prose is clunky and over-full of police jargon.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for my copy of After The Storm by G D Wright.
I feel like I’ve been through the washer and hung out to dry.
This has to be the book of the Year. Heart wrenching and raw, this book really has it all.
You’ve entrusted your most precious possession your son, to your best friends Andrew and Sophie as you have many times before but this time he doesn’t come back. Five minutes is all it takes for you life to change forever
But what happens next. Don’t miss this absolutely brilliant book.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for this eARC.

Considering this is a debut novel I think After The Storm is a beautifully written, heart wrenching and poignant read that will stay with me for a good while after finishing it. It is about the loss of a child - and the emotions, feelings and thoughts two families face after a tragic event. The author deals with grief, bereavement and mental health issues very eloquently, sensitively and with much care. I really like Mike and Sue, the two police officers who investigate and support Chris and Linda in the aftermath of their young sons death. This is a read that really got to me, the writing certainly touched on my emotions and I had so much empathy for Chris and Linda and could resonate with their feelings and how they were coping. I love how the chapters are told through different characters and their perspectives, and think this complements the story and gives it so much more depth. I won't say this is an easy read because it isn't although it is a very absorbing and compelling one. I think the author is spot on with his writing describing grief, bereavement and the effect and consequences it has on individuals. I'd recommend this read and hope to see more of Mike and Sue in future books.

4 stars

This book wades headstrong into the trauma and grief felt by two families when an accident at the beach changes everything.
The characters are empathetically written and the difficult subject matter is treated sensitively.

This is a heart wrenching debut novel. Andrew and Sophie often look after Joe, the 6 year old son of Chris and Linda, while they are busy working as a police officer and a paramedic. On a wet, blustery day Andrew and Sophie take Joe and their daughter Maria to the beach to play with a kite, they venture into the sea and get into difficulties Andrew goes in to rescue them but can only save 1 child. The repercussions that follow affect the whole town and brings tragedy further for one set of parents.
The writing in this book is so strong and powerful, its raw emotion brought me to tears on more than one occasion.
There are some very difficult subjects covered in the novel which could be a trigger. Grief and loss feature predominantly.
I'm grateful to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read this advanced copy, my opinions are my own and not expected

This book had me gripped from the beginning, and if this really is a debut then well done to the author. The descriptions and emotions portrayed were wonderful, but oh so sad. I was on the verge of tears several times. The only thing I didn’t like was the (very) overuse of tag lines and use of names where ‘he’ or ‘she’ should have been used. How many times do we have to hear ‘DS Willmott replied/said/asked/thought/sighed’? In many cases the tag line could have been left out, or at least changed to ‘she’ instead of her full title. I spotted many examples of this, eg ‘… Andrew whispered. Andrew stretched …’. Use ‘he’!!!! I don’t mean to sound negative because I’m not. I really enjoyed the book even though it so very, very, sad, and with a bit of editing this could have been a 5 star review. Good luck for the next one, and thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the early copy.

When a couple take their friend's son Joe and their own daughter Maria for an outing on the beach, the children are unexpectedly swept out to sea. Although the man manages to rescue his own daughter, the other child is lost to the water.

The tragedy hits the community hard - Joe's father Chris being the local police officer - and perhaps inevitably, sides are taken in the matter. As police officers Adams and Wilmott race to find out what exactly happened here, deeper questions begin to emerge.

This is a gripping story replete with undercurrents, and will please anyone who enjoys a suspenseful murder story that is also a satisfying police procedural.

After The Storm is a good police procedural with a highly emotional edge. A tragic drowning leaves a two families shattered and the novel follows the aftermath. Without spoilers, it's deeply emotional with some very difficult themes.

The novel is well written, if a little overlong. The middle section drags a bit, with repeated internal dialogues from the point of view of different characters. More "show don't tell" could have seen this cut.

The ending comes quickly, as the bereaved father's fragile mental state deteriorates. The pace is high leading to the final scenes. Overall, After The Storm is a good read with a simple plot and some excellent character development.

Thank you to Netgalley & Harper Collins for the Arc.
This book grabbed my attention from the first chapter and never really let go. I'm still thinking about it now.
It wasn't at all what I thought it would be but in a good way. The direction that the story took surprised me.
The novel pulled on my heart strings a lot and definitely left me feeling very confused as to which family I should feel the most empathy for.
I love reading debut novels, I've read some really great ones over the years. This is definitely one of them. I'd highly recommend you read it.

This was an Auto approval for me but it looks like one I'll be right into always interesting to see what a auto approval has to offer ... FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW

This is one of my top reads so far for 2024. It's a harrowing story but amazingly well told. I cried in parts and was glued to the page to see what was going to happen. I loved that we get chapters from each of the main characters and the author did a fantastic job of keeping the reader inside the character's head. Very up close and personal and this was really prevalent in the chapters from Linda.

This is a tragic story about family and loss and it delves deep into the emotional impact on all of the main characters. Without giving away any spoilers, I want to say the topics covered are done sensitively but real and the author did a great job with this. It is a page-turner that is set to take you on an emotional rollercoaster and definitely one that will have an impact and stay with you long after you close the book.

A very emotional read that deals with some incredibly difficult situations but one that has empathy and compassion for all the well crafted characters. The author obviously loves the sea as his descriptive language when it comes to any scenes set around the water is absolute perfection. This isn’t one of your run of the mill police procedural or crime thrillers, it’s much more of a crime drama set around believable characters that you can truly appreciate especially in their reactions to their emotions. A tough read for some but the author understood the whole point perfectly by putting in trigger warnings at the back but saying that there were some spoilers if you did read them. I’ve never seen this done before and thought it was very thoughtful.

An absolutely brilliant debut novel. It’s not for the faint-hearted but wow, it’s gripping!

Two families - Andrew, Sophie, and Maria, and Chris, Linda, and Joe – are best friends. Chris is a police officer and Linda a paramedic so, when their shifts clash, Andrew and Sophie look after Joe. One wet, stormy day, the children beg and cajole Andrew and Sophie to take them to the beach, against their better judgement. Joe and Maria are desperate to go in the sea, but they are told that they can only go in the ‘little sea’ which is a natural paddling pool.

Andrew was rescued from the sea as a child and it still terrifies him, so he’s keeping a very watchful eye on the children. Sophie is pregnant and, suddenly, an off-lead dog comes racing along and jumps on her. Scared for his wife and their unborn child, Andrew takes his eye off Joe and Maria for a split second so that he can manhandle the wayward dog off Sophie. When he turns back, the children have vanished – into the sea.

Lots of unexpected twists and turns kept me hooked, and I read this in record time. I hope that this will be the start of a ‘Beachbrook’ series and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

This story deals with death, bereavement, suicide, mental illness and violence.
Andrew and Sophie take their daughter and her friend to the beach on a day when the sea becomes very rough and stormy. After a moment's loss of concentration, the children disappear into the water and only their daughter, Maria survives. How the bereaved parents react and how Sophie and Andrew cope as the police investigate whether a crime has been committed tears the two families apart.
This book was quite an emotional roller coaster read for me. I was initially very annoyed by how weak Andrew appeared where his daughter was concerned - I wanted to scream at him that he was making a rod for his own back and what was going to happen when she got to be a teenager, but the story quickly moves on from that and becomes tied up with the actions and reactions of the four parents. Who knows how far a bereaved parent will go or what people will do to protect their family.
The tension ramps up as the story progresses. The characters are emotionally stretched, and the text becomes quite harrowing. I enjoyed the characters and found them all well written and realistic (apart from Andrew at the beginning perhaps). Each chapter is written from the point of view of a different person which keeps the reader in the loop as to how each is feeling and dealing with things.
The book is described as a police procedural, but I felt the emotional content was stronger than the crime side of the story. The police point of view was interesting and shows a different side of police work with the emphasis on those in uniform rather than CID.
I'm not sure I actually enjoyed the book, but the story will stay with me for a while. Descriptions such the gut-wrenching panic which a parent experiences when they look round for a child that suddenly isn't where they are supposed to be are particularly well done.
With thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins Publishers for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

Maria and Joe are best friends, six years old and lovers of the beach. On the day of a storm Maria’s parents take them both to the beach whilst they are taking care of Joe for their best friends. Tragedy strikes and the children are swept into the sea while adult attention is momentarily pulled elsewhere. Maria is saved, Joe dies. The police investigate but it is deemed an accident. Joe’s dad is hungry for justice and the lengths he goes too are quite shocking. A sad and depressing story in many ways but one that holds the reader in spite of that.

Wow. Such a great book. Very good debut.
So many twists and turns plus I love the characters. Can't wait for more books by this author

This book was quite a mixture for me. Overall I enjoyed it and the ending was really fast paced. It portrayed very well from so many characters perspective how death is dealt with, evoking a number of emotions as families dealt with the death of a child alongside its mother. It also portrayed very well the depths a grieved parent will go to in order to seek revenge, alongside a father's drive to protect his own family, come what may. This book pulled me in and had me down many rabbit holes as to how it would end.

Highly recommend reading, although potentially may benefit from a trigger warning at the beginning for readers.

This book is a difficult read, especially for anyone with children. There were places where I literally couldn’t read because of the tears in my eyes, it’s that powerful. It follows two close families, each with one child, and the guilt that one set of parents, police officer Chris and paramedic Linda, feel as they leave their son with their friends, Andrew and Sophie, when they have to work.

This tells of the guilt that parents feel when a child dies, how ‘what if’ and ‘if only’ are questions they ask themselves constantly. It explores the depth of that grief and the different ways it’s dealt with. The Police officers, Mike Adams and Sue Willmott, have a really difficult job trying to find out what happened, whilst trying to support their colleague through the grieving process. For Chris, he needs to know what really happened and who he could blame, and will do literally anything to find out, whatever it takes. A powerful book, I can’t say I enjoyed it but I certainly needed to read it.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.