Hi everyone! Super excited to write this review for The Last Good Summer by J.J. Green!
Book Blurb:
The Last Good Summer
In the summer of 1986, Belle McGee is thirteen. The arrival of Fionn Power at her family home sets in motion a tragic chain of events.
Now a forty-something investigative journalist living in Dublin, Belle returns home one night to find Fionn standing in the hallway before inexplicably vanishing. Unsettled, Belle immediately phones her sister, who tells her that Fionn was found dead that very morning.
In her journey to find answers, Belle exposes corruption and scandal and is forced to stop running from the shameful truth of 1986.
My Review:
Well to start, I love a good dual timeline, especially when it’s past to present! I feel like it was written in a way that I was never confused or lost during the dual timeline. The reader founds out details when needed and in a way that it is kind of sprinkled into the narration and not in your face. The reader is left to peace things together, or to come to the realization themselves.
Also, we love a good strong female lead. She was written in a way that made her so strong, smart, and just a great main character. I loved following her on her investigation, especially as things started to unravel!
Something that is also really important to note is that one timeline is 1986 and the other is present day. J.J. Green is able to bounce between the two timelines so well, and really emphasis the differences in the world between the two timelines so it is apparent to the reader and also so much more realistic for the reader.
I wouldn’t necessarily categorize this book as a thriller per say, but it definitely left me guessing, had some turns I wasn’t expecting, and was an all-around great read. I definitely recommend this book to anyone needing a little suspense, anyone that wants a fast read, anyone that loves when consequences catches up to people, and also even if you love cold cases (in a sense).
Author Bio:
J. J. Green is an Irish writer who hails from Donegal and lives in Derry. She’s had a passion for writing fiction from childhood and has honed her creative writing skills throughout her adult life. As a social and environmental activist, she also writes non-fiction in the form of political essays that mainly focus on economic and environmental injustice. The Last Good Summer is her debut novel.
Links:
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Good-Summer-J-Green/dp/1915352711/
US – https://www.amazon.com/Last-Good-Summer-J-Green/dp/1915352711/
Read It and Weep with MGD 