Book Description
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.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Last Good Summer' by J. J Green.
Read and reviewed for Rachel's Random Resources Tours, NetGalley, J. J. Green and The Book Guild.
Publication date 24th January 2023.
This is J.J Green's debut novel.
I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching gorgeous cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title.I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being The Book Guild. I have yet to read a book published by The Book Guild that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of 46 chapters. The chapters are short in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Donegal, so if Derry and Dublin, Ireland 🇮🇪 , UK 🇬🇧. I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times. I have in fact been to Ireland several times and love it there so am looking forward to "visiting" again.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Belle Mcghee. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
Love, love, LOVED this incredibly fast paced, addictive thriller that is absolutely packed with secrets, love, twists and lies!!
This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that really set the scene and put you in the storyline. The cover and synopsis suit the book perfectly.
The storyline was captivating and addictive from the first page until the last and I was completely invested in it. It was absolutely rammed full of lies, secrets, regrets, tension, love, corruption, romance, twists, suspense and everything you could ask for in a page turning gripping thriller. I just could not put this book down and finished it in one sitting. I loved how J.J Green managed to weave the past and present storylines so cleverly together that it drip feeds the reader information enough information to help them try and work out what's happened and happening themselves without giving anything away too easily. The storyline is also sadly realistic in regards to the environment, pollution and waste aspects and shows how much damage is being done to this planet. It also wouldn't surprise me that what happens in the book on that topic happens in areas around the world. I was absolutely mind blown when I discovered that this was her first album which I only found out when I was writing this review!! The amazing way that this book is written and the fantastic storyline is of the same level you would get from an author who has been writing for years so a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS. J. J on an absolutely explosive debut!! If this is how good your first book is I cannot wait to see what you create next!!! During the book there are so many butterfly affects which goes to show how one small action can have such a large ripple affect which could continue for years. This book was extremely fast paced with something constantly happening to keep you addicted. Every time I kept telling myself one more chapter the one I was in ended at a point where there was no way I could stop reading so I absolutely devoured it in one sitting!! It was absolutely ram packed with mystery, secrets, jealousy, tension, suspense and absolutely everything you could ask for in a gripping and moody thriller. I was constantly guessing and questioning myself about who was behind what and when everything was revealed I was absolutely shocked and had been completely wrong about everything!! This is not an easy feat considering how many books I read a year so a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS J. J !!! J. J's evocative writing drags you deep into the storyline from the first sentence to the very last and will keep you up until the very last word! THAT ladies and gentleman is a true sign of an absolute must read. I absolutely loved the ending which was definitely an unexpected twist, not only finding out who did what but the mind blowing and unexpected ending!. I also love the fact that it wasn't all roses at the end and it didn't end as I expected it would in regards to Belle and Dermot which I thought made it even more realistic! I would absolutely LOVE to see this turned into a movie and would wait up all night to get tickets to watch it!! An absolute must read!!
I hope your busy writing your next book J. J as I just cannot wait to see what bombshell twist and explosive storyline you have up your sleeve for us next!!!!
It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.
Do not start this book until you have cleared your schedules as you will not be able to put it down!!
The characters have a mix of personalities and are all strong and realistic. My feelings on Rose changed throughout the book. During the '1986 chapters I found her to be quite childish at times but I also felt sorry for her at others. However, as an adult I did feel sorry for her as she was punishing herself for what she did as a child. One of the things that I loved about her thoggh is how strong and independent she was, as a female reader coming across strong female protagonists is always a bonus for me. No matter what was thrown at her she refused to back down until she had discovered the truth regardless of whose toes she stepped on. It was intriguing to see her relationship with her sister Maeveen changed and developed throughout the storyline. They were constantly arguing as children and Belle was jealous of Marveen's relationship with Fionn. As adults they were still bickering but you could see that they also cared for another. Maeveen also annoyed me at times with how she was overly dramatic about certain events at dinner in front of her husband Cillian about Fionn and it made me feel awkward for and sorry for Cillian. I wasn't sure how I felt about Dermot when I first met him and wasn't sure whether to trust him but as the storyline continued he did start growing on me. There were several occasions where Dermot and some of the other characters made me laugh especially with the Beavis and Butthead nicknames. I loved this addition as, although it is a crime thriller, it is nice to lighten the storyline with some humour. I won't say anything else as I don't want to spoil it for future readers. However, regardless of whether you love or hate these characters each of them played their parts perfectly to make this the addictive storyline that it is!!
Congratulations J.J Green on an absolutely huge success!! Welcome to my favourite author list and I cannot wait to see what you have up your sleeve next. This has got to be one of the best debut books I have ever read so well done and here's to your next success 🥂!!
Overall an absolutely unputdownable, action packed, intriguing thriller ram packed with secrets, murder, corruption, lies and everything you could ask for in an addictive page turner!!
Genres covered in this book include Crime Thriller, Literature & and Fiction, Crime Fiction, Irish Crime, Mystery, Thriller amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Mark Edwards, Cathryn Grant, Teresa Driscoll, Freida McFadden, Daniel Hurst, K. L. Slater, Mark Edwards and anyone looking for a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout!!
321 pages.
This book is just £3.99 to purchase on kindle and £9.49 in paperback (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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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.
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