This is the story of two families, Andrew, Sophie, daughter Maria and their good friends Chris, Linda and son Joe. Andrew and Sophie often look after Joe when his parents shifts clash. One such day Joe is due to stay, it happens to be a very wet and windy one . Maria is a very determined child and however much Andrew wonders at the wisdom of her demand to go to the beach, he agrees. On arrival the children quickly change into wet suits, desperate to go in the sea. Nothing they say will make Andrew agree and they are told they should only play in a natural pool that forms above the sea line. Andrew suffered a traumatic rescue from the sea when he was a child so hes always keeping an eye on them. When a loose dog jumps at Sophie he rushes to her aid. However it only takes a second for their whole lives to change. When he turns back, Maria and Joe have disappeared from view, taken by the sea! This is an extraordinary debut novel. Powerful and emotional. A tale of loyalty , families and the lengths a father will go to, in order to protect his family. A brilliant read I would recommend easily.

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.

5 stars is not enough for this absolutely fantastic debut novel. Definitely the best debut I have ever read and one of my favourite books this year. This will really get you thinking just how far you would go to protect your family and how you would cope with grief. It's awful to think that the events of the book could very well play out in real life, a truly heartbreaking story.  I sympathised with all of the characters in different ways and as a parent myself could really relate to the feelings of protecting a child at all costs and wanting revenge.  It feels wrong to say I thoroughly enjoyed such a sad and distressing story but G D Wright is an incredible writer and really has the talent of pulling the reader into the story. The fast paced tone and overlying feeling of fear yet also hope kept me engrossed. I cannot wait to read more from this author, I just wish the next book was being released sooner. 

For a debut novel After the storm by G. D Wright has blown me away. This is a beautifully written, heart wrenching story that I read in a space of 24 hours I couldn’t put it down. Andre and Sophia take their daughter Maria to the beach with her friend Joey whose parents are working. Joey’s dad is a Policeman and his mother a Paramedic. The two children want to fly a kite on a stormy day. The sea is rough, and the waves are climbing high. The two children are near the little pool enjoying themselves when Andrew gets distracted. When a man’s walking his dog nearby jumps on his pregnant wife Sophia. He goes to Maria’s aide and whilst distracted the two children get swayed out to sea. Andrew Jumps into sea to rescue them both but only Maria survives. But the tragedy and Andrews actions has repercussions from Chris who blames Andrew for Joey’s death. Andrew is trying to protect his family and he will go any lengths to do it. But Chris wants to find out the truth. This is a very moving story of death grief, and suicide and you can feel the emotions come off the pages. This is a brilliant read, and I can’t wait to see what else this author has up his sleeve in his future books. 5 stars from me.

A devastatingly tragic story, that gripped me from the very start and I really struggled to put it down and sleep! It is harrowing and heartbreaking, but it is so brilliantly written, it reads like a compulsive thriller, which to a degree, it is, as well as being a very character and community driven story. I just can’t say enough about how brilliant this book is, even though it was also very triggering for me, as I was caught in a rip ride when I was in my early 20’s and, like Andrew, I’m very lucky to still be here. Utterly terrifying. The unimaginable pain that a family goes through at the loss of their child and the repercussions to everyone involved is heart wrenching.