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A review by eiencafe
The Child Before by Michael Scanlon
3.0
I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In Kelly’s Forge, a tiny abandoned Irish village, a cyclist finds the body of a young woman. The detective in charge of the case, Beck, from the neighboring town, sees a child seat in the woman’s car but no child. Has the child been kidnapped? Or was she killed like her mother? What happened to her?
The detective’s name sounds so strange to me, every time I read it I’m expecting a woman. I like the idea of the story, I like the fact that a little girl disappears, the fact that she is connected to an old case that has not been properly investigated and how they connect. I didn’t notice that this book was the second volume. Otherwise I wouldn’t have read it. Not because I didn’t like it, but simply because I read in chronological order. But I must say that I had no problem reading it even though it is very likely there are references to the first book that I did not fully understand.
I liked the story even though I don’t find it 5-star, but as I said, the case is interesting. And for the first time, I found a policeman from the UK or Ireland carrying a gun! And apparently they are not really used there because Beck’s boss explicitly says that it is not standard to carry the gun… I don’t understand them and why…
I like the style of the author, short and linear chapters. I like the beginning with a chapter in the present and one in the past. I would have liked this format to be in the whole book but I understand that it was impossible.
I don’t know if I’ll read anything more of this author, but only for the simple fact that there are too many authors out there that I want to read and this didn’t give me that “woosh” factor that makes me buy all the books in a series. But I recommend it anyway, it is a very smooth book that reads quickly (don’t look at my start and end dates, I haven’t read every day).
https://eiencafe.com/the-child-before/
https://eiencafe.com/it/the-child-before/
In Kelly’s Forge, a tiny abandoned Irish village, a cyclist finds the body of a young woman. The detective in charge of the case, Beck, from the neighboring town, sees a child seat in the woman’s car but no child. Has the child been kidnapped? Or was she killed like her mother? What happened to her?
The detective’s name sounds so strange to me, every time I read it I’m expecting a woman. I like the idea of the story, I like the fact that a little girl disappears, the fact that she is connected to an old case that has not been properly investigated and how they connect. I didn’t notice that this book was the second volume. Otherwise I wouldn’t have read it. Not because I didn’t like it, but simply because I read in chronological order. But I must say that I had no problem reading it even though it is very likely there are references to the first book that I did not fully understand.
I liked the story even though I don’t find it 5-star, but as I said, the case is interesting. And for the first time, I found a policeman from the UK or Ireland carrying a gun! And apparently they are not really used there because Beck’s boss explicitly says that it is not standard to carry the gun… I don’t understand them and why…
I like the style of the author, short and linear chapters. I like the beginning with a chapter in the present and one in the past. I would have liked this format to be in the whole book but I understand that it was impossible.
I don’t know if I’ll read anything more of this author, but only for the simple fact that there are too many authors out there that I want to read and this didn’t give me that “woosh” factor that makes me buy all the books in a series. But I recommend it anyway, it is a very smooth book that reads quickly (don’t look at my start and end dates, I haven’t read every day).
https://eiencafe.com/the-child-before/
https://eiencafe.com/it/the-child-before/