When a violent storm blasts England’s south coast, it’s up to retired Italian detective Giuseppe Bianchi to sift through the devastation and piece together the tragic events left behind in the storm’s wake.
My Review
I’m a huge bookworm with some visual problems, so audiobooks have become one of my favorite ways to read. I’m always excited when I’m offered an audiobook in exchange for a review.
After the Storm is the second book in a series featuring Giuseppe Bianchi. a retired Italian detective living in England. Although this book is a sequel, I had no difficulty following the narrative. I enjoyed Giuseppe as a character so much that I now would like to go back and read the first book about him in the series.
Near the beginning of the book, Giuseppe makes friends with another man named Edward Swain. They enjoy long walks along the shore together and chat about everything from their childhood to music. But then Giuseppe’s new friend dies under mysterious circumstances. Everyone else is inclined to think it was just a terrible accident, but Giuseppe is certain that there is something very suspicious about the way Edward died.
A Charming Italian Detective: I found Giuseppe’s continental charm to be very endearing. He likes well prepared cuisine, enjoys opera, and struggles to adapt to the harsh English climate. He also has a keen sense for when something is amiss. This makes him a great detective–even if he is supposed to be retired.
A great setting: One of the most unique aspects of this book was the way it captured the era of the 1960’s in England. It was lots of fun to hear about a world in which people could still make a living as a typewriter salesmen and when newspapers weren’t written on computers.
A wonderful narrator for an engaging cast of characters: Isabella Muir crafts a great cast of characters and makes them come to life. I became very invested in the personal drama going on in Giuseppe’s family. The narrator, Charles Johnston, does a fabulous job bringing the characters to life. Johnston’s narration adds depth and personality to all the characters. I especially enjoyed the way he captured the Italian flavor of Giuseppe’s voice.
Isabella Muir crafts an engaging mystery in the style of Agatha Christie. After the Storm is dark and brooding– but not too dark. It is not overly graphic or gory.I recommend this book for others fans of nonviolent classic mysteries.
Synopsis from the Back Cover:
Giuseppe Bianchi’s brief visit to Bexhill-on-Sea has become an extended stay. He is loath to return to his home in Rome because of the haunting images that made him leave in the first place.
During his morning walks along the seafront with Beagle, Max, he meets Edward Swain, who becomes Giuseppe’s walking companion. They form a friendship of sorts and find they have a similar outlook on life.
But the devastating events of a single night lead Giuseppe to question the truth about Edward Swain. Teaming up with young journalist Christina Rossi – his cousin’s daughter – Giuseppe learns about the brutal reality lurking behind the day-to-day life of families in the local community. And as the story unravels Giuseppe is reminded how anger and revenge can lead to the most dreadful of crimes.
After the Storm is the second novel in the Giuseppe Bianchi mystery series – the much-awaited sequel to Crossing the Line.
Grab your copy today, and enjoy the intrigue of traditional English mystery, cleverly combined with a continental twist.
Get your copy! – http://viewbook.at/Afterthestormaudio
Note: I would like to thank Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Please be sure to stop by the other blogs on this digital book tour!
About the Author
Isabella is never happier than when she is immersing herself in the sights, sounds and experiences of the 1960s. Researching all aspects of family life back then formed the perfect launch pad for her works of fiction. Isabella rediscovered her love of writing fiction during two happy years working on and completing her MA in Professional Writing and since then she has gone on to publish six novels, three novellas and two short story collections.
Her latest novel, After the Storm, is the second novel in a new series of Sussex Crimes, featuring retired Italian detective, Giuseppe Bianchi who is escaping from tragedy in Rome, only to arrive in the quiet seaside town of Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, to come face-to-face with it once more.
Her first Sussex Crime Mystery series features young librarian and amateur sleuth, Janie Juke. Set in the late 1960s, in the fictional seaside town of Tamarisk Bay, we meet Janie, who looks after the mobile library. She is an avid lover of Agatha Christie stories – in particular Hercule Poirot. Janie uses all she has learned from the Queen of Crime to help solve crimes and mysteries. As well as three novels, there are three novellas in the series, which explore some of the back story to the Tamarisk Bay characters.
Isabella’s standalone novel, The Forgotten Children, deals with the emotive subject of the child migrants who were sent to Australia – again focusing on family life in the 1960s, when the child migrant policy was still in force.
Rev. Rebecca Writes 
Great review. Right now I’m reading Harry Potter.
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