Blog Tour Review: Before The Storm by Jack Byrne

Hey everyone!
Today is my stop on the blog tour for Before The Storm by Jack Byrne, and I am excited to be sharing my review with you all.

A massive thank you to @The_WriteReads for allowing me to be a part of the tour.

Title: Before The Storm
Author: Jack Byrne
Release Date: 18th May 2023
Genre: Historical Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Age: Adult
Page Count: 314
Buy It Here (affiliate link): Amazon UK

Book Blurb:

YOUTHFUL PROMISES SHAPE LETHAL OUTCOMES

Historian Vinny Connolly tries to escape the bitter memories of his childhood in a tough neighbourhood. But a secret from the past, involving a pocket watch, an old man’s death, and childhood friends, threatens to unravel his present.

When one of those friends, Sammo, dies in mysterious circumstances, Vinny, his wife Helen, and his ex-partner Anne McCarthy race against time to uncover the truth.

A hit and run incident, text messages, and a murdered pet, all warn Vinny away from the investigation. A series of letters hold the key to Sammo’s life, and the secret to unlock the mystery of his death. Facing unexpected obstacles and police opposition Anne tries to overcome an accidental death verdict.

Set against the backdrop of a post-Brexit UK, this is a gripping tale of immigration, friendship, the power of secrets to shape our lives, and the value of resistance to authority.

My Review:

Before The Storm begins with a crime scene. A suspected overdoes, but something isn’t quite making sense. Alongside this we have Helen who is receiving text messages simply telling her to ‘stay away’, and while reading the most recent message is ran off the road resulting in her crashing her car. We then move to our 3rd POV, which is that of Helen’s husband Vinny who is now dealing with the news and aftermath of Helen’s accident.

We do get multiple POV throughout the book, but the majority of the time we remain with Vinny. We go back and forth between present day, and the events of Vinny’s childhood in 1981, and the events back then clearly have a connection with what is happening in the present day, but can Vinny connect the dots? Immediately you could tell that there was so much more to this story than first meets the eye, which really entices you, and I throughly enjoyed the way that Vinny, Helen, and Anne came together to uncover the truth.

Within the chapters from the past, you get a real sense of what it was like to live in Liverpool during that time, and a feel of the struggles and difficulty that people faced. It was clearly a very hard time, and people did whatever they had to to get by. In the present day chapters, we are shown how that period of time has impacted and influenced that very same area and people today, but also how it has grown. It also shows how politics has changed over the years but has so many similarities too, and how Brexit could throw people straight back to the struggles they faced in 1981. I loved learning the history, and found it extremely interesting, and it’s written in a way that works beautifully with the storyline.

There are some horrible characters in this book, Macca and his son Gary in particular are nasty pieces of work. There are also some truly lovely characters, and some that I feel deeply sorry for. Sammo’s story is absolutely devastating, and he didn’t deserve what happened to him at all. It made me desperate for the others to get justice for him.

The way that the story comes together and concludes is super satisfying, and the perfect example of how the truth will always come out, regardless of how hard you try to cover your tracks. Personally, I couldn’t have asked for a better ending for this story.

Overall, this was such an interesting storyline, bursting at the seams with mystery, danger, history, and suspense. I really enjoyed how real and raw it felt, and the author growing up in the area that the book is set clearly plays a big part in that. A very enjoyable read which I would definitely recommend.

I give Before The Storm a 4 star rating!

About The Author:

“I was born and raised in Speke Liverpool, although my parents first lived ‘Under The Bridge’ in Garston, my father was born Wicklow in Ireland, and my mum in King St Garston.

The Liverpool Mystery series are three novels; Under The Bridge, Across The Water and Before the Storm. These books trace 100 years in the ebb and flow of lives between Liverpool and Ireland.

Preceding all of these is The One Road, a novella and a collection of shorter pieces featuring many of the characters that appear in the later books.”

YOU CAN FIND JACK HERE:
Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, GoodReads

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