Blog Tour: Review of After The Storm by Isabella Muir

I was after something very different from my usual police procedural, gritty, serial killer reads when I was offered the chance to participate in the After The Storm Blog Tour. Thanks to the author and Rachel's Random Resources for the chance. 

The fact that the reading of the novel coincided with the torrential rain and wind of a wet March in 2021 added to my enjoyment of the book and I'm so glad I opted to read it. 

Here's the blurb ...After The Storm

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.

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.

Purchase Links

UK –  https://www.amazon.co.uk/After-Storm-Giuseppe-Bianchi-mystery-ebook/dp/B08P534Y2K 

US -  https://www.amazon.com/After-Storm-Giuseppe-Bianchi-mystery-ebook/dp/B08P534Y2K

My Thoughts

After the storm is a delightful mix of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers. I found myself drawn to the main character, Italian, ex detective Giuseppe Bianchi who is visiting his cousins family near Eastbourne. Bianchi reminds me of Hercule Poirot and this lent a comfortable, familiar feel to the novel. Bianchi is a thinker and an observer and his unlikely partnership with his niece Christina, is a delight to behold. 

I enjoyed the family dynamics that played out in the flat above the Cafe Bella  where Bianchi lodges with his cousin,his wife, their daughter, their grandson and Max the Beagle. 

Set in 1964 (a year after I was born) we are transported into the world of wirelesses, Olivetti typewriters, Mods and Rockers, Cilla and The Beatles and I found myself wondering how I would cope with typing my book reviews on a typewriter, never mind writing a novel ...

What intrigued me was the fact that many of the issues in 1964 are so similar to the issues of 2021 - storm damage, inadequate housing, domestic abuse, propaganda for a general election, distrust of politicians, media looking for stories, economic deprivation ... 

Isabella Muir is a dab hand at weaving in a series of small human mysteries that really kept me engaged with the novel. What is Edward Swain's mystery confession about? What is the mystery Bianchi left behind in Rome? What transpired between Christina and her boyfriend Tony? What is Danny Forrest's back story and so many more. I found myself reading far past my bedtime to find the answers to these intriguing and pressing questions. 

But, what really kept me hooked was the human elements of the story - the stories of  a lonely elderly man, a family with secrets, a young man's responsibilities, historic secrets, guilt, blame, broken relationships and more. 

After The Storm has heart and that's what draws you in and keeps you turning the pages. 

Delightful, thoroughly enjoyable, gently probing read that was just the tonic for the current situation we find ourselves in. 

Author Bio

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.

Follow the rest of the tour here: