After the Storm

A Giuseppe Bianchi Mystery, Book 2

By: Isabella Muir

Narrated by: Charles Johnston

Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

"A riveting mystery, packed with intrigue, atmosphere and vintage charm. Escapism at its purest." (Helen Cox, romance, adventure and escape fiction writer, and author of nonfiction titles, courses, and masterclasses on all aspects of creative writing)

"A charming character-driver crime story, full of mystery, intrigue and period detail." (Tom Bromley, author, editor of fiction and nonfiction titles and director of fiction for the Professional Writing Academy,
the founding director of the Salisbury Literary Festival)

"A dashing Italian detective. A very English mystery. What more could you want?" (Christoffer Petersen, author of Greenland crime novels and Arctic thrillers)

©2020 Isabella Muir (P)2021 Isabella Muir

Great Characters!

I've read and reviewed Isabella Muir's work before, but I did not read the previous book in this particular series, and I'm happy to report that it works well as a stand-alone if you also find yourself accidentally reading book 2 before book 1. As always, Muir's characters are relatable, well fleshed out, and invitingly open. When these characters interact, you're part of the conversation. When these characters sit alone with their thoughts, you are the imaginary person they're talking things through with. There's absolutely no disconnect, and you'll be completely enthralled with this cast all the way through.

With that said, even though my review followers will know I'm a sucker for a great character-driven book, this didn't quite make a 5-star impression on me. The reason is pacing. This is a crime/mystery, and although somebody is dead in the first few minutes/pages, I took note at about 45 minutes into the audiobook that our main sleuth didn't suspect foul play yet. If you like a long, slow tease in your mysteries, this is the book for you! If not, you'll still enjoy it, but it won't be your new favourite.

The culture shock of Italian vs English customs these characters are constantly encountering throughout the book feels very well done and not at all tropy. (Fictional Italians far from home tend to end up being charicatures of Italian stereotypes, but Muir's Italian travellers and ex-pats aren't.) I definitely applaud the handling of different cultures without leaning on stereotypes!

Charles Johnston's performance as narrator is top-notch and a pleasure to listen to. I typically listen to audiobooks at 2x speed these days, and this book was very easy to understand at that speed. Johnston easily distinguishes characters and handles the different accents very well, without resorting to any annoyingly extreme pitch shifting or forced voices.

Overall I think After the Storm is a solid slower paced mystery with great characters, and I would recommend it to readers of the genre without hesitation.

I was invited to listen to After the Storm through Audible as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with Rachel's Random Resources. Thank you to all involved in affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.