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A review by aplace_inthesun
The Child Before by Michael Scanlon
4.0
The first six chapters for The Child Before alternate between the current narrative and the historical narrative. The historical narrative is by a young boy who sees his mother taken away by the local constabulary following the disappearance of her baby, the boy’s sister. Covered in blood the police believe she has killed her. And the identity of the lad when he grows up? What becomes of him?
The current narrative tells the story of Detective Finnegan Beck, a police officer who has been ‘relocated’ (demoted ) to Cross Beg from Dublin, and struggles with alcohol and his past experiences. Beck’s latest case involves the murder of Samantha Power and the disappearance of her infant daughter, Roisin.
Scanlon weaves a story with some colourful characters - Claire, Beck’s partner who has relationship issues of her own, Inspector O’Reilly who is not fussed with Beck, Vicky Beck’s potential love interest/journalist, and the bevy of characters who might be the main suspects in Samantha’s murder - Marcus Crabby (strange supermarket owner), Billy Hamilton (violent ex boyfriend and Roisin’s father), and Edward Roche, her current partner. There is also Mikey, Samantha’s brother who has spent time in Australia so he MUST have returned calling everyone mate and using slang (wink).
As the murder investigation gains momentum Beck discovers everyone has some secrets of their own and they are woven in to the storyline, sometimes a bit loosely for my liking. Towards the end of the book things all start to come together but some of the characters are still a little two-dimensional to be totally convincing. Beck is likeable however and Claire shows promise as a repeat character as well.
Unlike some books where the reader is left to ask what happened to each character, this book provides an epilogue that ties everything up neatly.
I enjoy most crime novels and thrillers. I liked this one but can’t say I loved it. I will read the prior Beck novel Where She Lies. I’ll be interested to see if it would be helpful to read the books together or whether they are ok as stand alone.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced electronic copy of this book. I rate this 3.5 stars.
I think people who love crime, mystery and thrillers will enjoy this book.
Cross posting this review Netgalley and will appear on my blog (Instagram) aplace_inthesun prior to publish day.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the free advanced electronic copy of this book. I appreciate the opportunity to review this book.
The current narrative tells the story of Detective Finnegan Beck, a police officer who has been ‘relocated’ (demoted ) to Cross Beg from Dublin, and struggles with alcohol and his past experiences. Beck’s latest case involves the murder of Samantha Power and the disappearance of her infant daughter, Roisin.
Scanlon weaves a story with some colourful characters - Claire, Beck’s partner who has relationship issues of her own, Inspector O’Reilly who is not fussed with Beck, Vicky Beck’s potential love interest/journalist, and the bevy of characters who might be the main suspects in Samantha’s murder - Marcus Crabby (strange supermarket owner), Billy Hamilton (violent ex boyfriend and Roisin’s father), and Edward Roche, her current partner. There is also Mikey, Samantha’s brother who has spent time in Australia so he MUST have returned calling everyone mate and using slang (wink).
As the murder investigation gains momentum Beck discovers everyone has some secrets of their own and they are woven in to the storyline, sometimes a bit loosely for my liking. Towards the end of the book things all start to come together but some of the characters are still a little two-dimensional to be totally convincing. Beck is likeable however and Claire shows promise as a repeat character as well.
Unlike some books where the reader is left to ask what happened to each character, this book provides an epilogue that ties everything up neatly.
I enjoy most crime novels and thrillers. I liked this one but can’t say I loved it. I will read the prior Beck novel Where She Lies. I’ll be interested to see if it would be helpful to read the books together or whether they are ok as stand alone.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced electronic copy of this book. I rate this 3.5 stars.
I think people who love crime, mystery and thrillers will enjoy this book.
Cross posting this review Netgalley and will appear on my blog (Instagram) aplace_inthesun prior to publish day.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the free advanced electronic copy of this book. I appreciate the opportunity to review this book.