I’ve ‘known’ the fantastic G. D. (Gary) Wright for a number of years vicariously, but it was my very great pleasure to meet him in person recently. I was thrilled to have been sent a surprise copy of his new book, After the Storm, in return for an honest review. My huge thanks to Laura Sherlock for sending it to me. It’s my pleasure to share my review of After the Storm today.

After the Storm was published by Harper Collins imprint Avon, on 1st August 2024, and is available for purchase through the links here.

After the Storm

TWO CHILDREN WENT INTO THE SEA.

When local couple Andrew and Sophie take their daughter and her friend to the beach on a stormy day, they are momentarily distracted leading both children to get washed out to sea. Andrew dives in, but comes back ashore with only one child – his own daughter, Maria. Joe, the son of his best friend and local police officer, Chris, has drowned. But it was just a tragic accident…wasn’t it?

ONLY ONE CAME OUT ALIVE.

As Sergeant Mike Adams and DS Sue Willmott investigate what really happened in the water that afternoon, the ripple effects of the tragedy tear the community apart. The detectives must discover the truth before their colleague – bereaved and desperate father, Chris – takes the investigation into his own hands…

BUT WHO IS TO BLAME?

My Review of After the Storm

Maria’s parents Andrew and Sophie look after little Joe for Linda and Chris. 

After the Storm is a dramatic, fast paced and emotional story that illustrates to perfection how one split second can affect future lives irrevocably. With a terrifying prologue that captivates the reader immediately, this is a book that doesn’t let up.

There’s an immediacy – a real time element – to the writing so that it feels as if the reader is seeing the action first hand, giving added impact. It doesn’t seem like reading, more like bearing witness to actual events through an authorial style that I found totally compelling. Descriptions are vivid and evocative and the power of the sea in particular is wonderfully depicted.

However, there’s considerable depth in amongst the exciting action too. Written with a sense of compassion and a sensitive understanding of police procedure and the kinds of situations officers can find themselves in, After the Storm feels authentic and realistic as well as exciting to read. It makes the reader appreciate just what officers go through in the line of duty. 

The drama of the storm feels all the more heightened coming after the early domesticity in the book. We see ordinary, loving, frazzled parents who could easily be anyone of us, and suddenly they are plunged into the most dreadful nightmare, so that by the time of the storm we feel we know Linda, Chris, Andrew and Sophie intimately and, consequently, we are all the more invested in the outcomes of the story. This means that After the Storm has skilful and profound emotional impact.

The characters are layered and drawn with a kind of tender empathy – even when they are at their worst. I’m not usually a fan of children in fiction, but both Joe and Maria seemed completely realistic. I loved the way Joe is a catalyst for so much action even though he’s barely physically present in the story. This is because of the depth of human understanding G.D. Wright weaves into his narrative through the adults’ reactions. I thought the balance of focus on Chris and Andrew against the police procedural element of the story was brilliant. Whilst I think there is enormous scope to develop Sergeant Mike Adams and DS Sue Williams in any future books, what is so affecting here is the impact of crime on individuals. We see with absolute clarity how events can escalate and how ordinary people can have their lives turned upside down. After the Storm is like a pebble dropped into a pool as consequences and reactions ripple out through the lives of the characters. 

The themes of the story that include grief, mental health, family, friendship, professionalism and loyalty, underpinning a fast, high action narrative, mean that After the Storm has an aspect relevant to any reader, giving the book an impressive universality and a surprising emotional depth.

I thought After the Storm was an excellent read. It has drama and entertainment, but above all else it has sensitivity and humanity. I cared about the people between its pages and am thinking about them still. It’s a super book and not to be missed from an author destined to be a real star.

About G. D. Wright

Gary Wright joined Kent Police at the age of 18 and worked in a variety of uniformed roles. At the age of 29, and completely out of the blue, he suffered two cardiac arrests that led to the diagnosis of a life limiting and incurable disease of the heart. Following the implant of an internal defibrillator in his heart, he was unable to continue policing and retired at the age of 30.

He bought a coffee shop in Ramsgate Harbour, and spent years looking out over the sea and dreaming up stories. He now writes full time, committing those very stories to paper.

After the Storm is Gary’s 2024 debut and will be followed in 2025 by Into the Fire.

For further information, visit Gary’s website, follow him on Twitter/X @GDWrightWrites, or find him on Instagram and Facebook.