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.

Wow this was an absolutely incredible read. It literally started with a bang and carried on that way from start to finish. It has definitely made my top three books of 2024. The writing quality is top notch. I loved it.

A well written book which kept me involved in the storyline. Plenty going on with the characters which I thoroughly enjoyed from the very first page.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for this ARC which I can recommend.

AFTER THE STORM GD WRIGHT

The story starts 35 years before the storm and gives the perfect foundation as to what I was about to unfold and read.
Then went on to explain what happened the day before..... And had the perfect ending in the epilogue
I was really drawn into the story as the writing was so real and I felt that GD Wright had actually lived the story of all the different characters Andrew, Sophie, Chris, Linda DS Sue Willmott, Sargent Mike Adams and the children Maria and Joe. There was one tiny area that I thought was a bit far-fetched and could do with improving which was in the hospital near the ending I am sure it could happen but not to her in any circumstances. I am so pleased I have found a new author I enjoy that is not afraid to write about real life events and make it feel real Thank you Gary

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.. It was a good read, although quite harrowing at times, showing how so many different types of people from all backgrounds deal with a tragedy. This book will stay with me for a long time.