I’m thrilled to be bringing you my review for Across The Water by Jack Byrne for Random Things Tours. Thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours and Jack Byrne for my gifted copy of the book.
RETURN OF A NATIVE SON
Following the events of Under the Bridge, Vinny and Anne travel to Ireland in search of Vinny’s father, Paddy, who mysteriously disappeared not long after returning to his homeland in 1974.
We piece Paddy’s story together as he returns to Wicklow to lie low after a killing in Liverpool. DI Barlow of Special Branch wants to use him to disrupt an IRA gun route. Facing danger on every side he struggles to fit in. A devastating experience in Dublin forces him to re-evaluate his life and seek a better future.
A story of emigration and return in three narratives that span recent history in Ireland and the UK.
Across The Water is the second book in the Liverpool Mystery series. I read and reviewed the first book and loved it. I was looking forward to this book. A book that could be read on its own, as there is enough information in this book to make it so you know exactly what’s what and even whose who.
Again the story is told over dual timelines. 2010 and 1974. We see Vinny in 2010 attempting to find out more about his father as he wasn’t around when he was young. He feels he now needs to try to find the answers to his questions. The 1974 timeline is the story of Vinny, Paddy’s father.
Vinny and Anne travel to Wicklow, Ireland to retrace his father’s footsteps. When the locals discover who Vinny’s dad was Vinny soon realises the Irish never forget and the past is never far away in their eyes. As Vinny does his best to get to the truth of his dad’s brutal death, Anne makes a friend out of Paddy’s former lover Maude. She also finds the old lady is the victim of exploitation. This doubles the danger for Vinny and Anne, will they make it home with everything against them?
Again, the history, even if it is the 1970s, is riveting for me. Ireland is always going to be an enthralling subject. I grew up with the IRA bombs, the Irish troubles, people like Bobby Sands hunger striking. I am always hungry for more and Jack Byrne brings it. The characters are developing really well, even though I thought they were spot in in the first book, it’s even better to learn more about Vinny and his past.
Jack Bryne recreated Ireland for me so well. I haven’t been but I could picture Wicklow and the locals with their reaction when they found out whose Vinny’s dad was. I always feel so much more part of the story if I can clearly picture the setting.
Another better of a book for the Liverpool Mystery series. They are just getting better as the books are published, with characters you care for, settings you can actually see and mysteries to be solved. This is a series that I will be following for as long as Jack Byrne writes the books
From The Author
“I was born and raised in Speke Liverpool, (Paul McCartney lived in the street behind us for a while) although my parents first lived ‘Under The Bridge’ in Garston, and all my family goes back to Wicklow in Ireland.
The Liverpool Mystery Series will be four novels. Under The Bridge is the first. I am writing Fire Next time now, and The Wicklow Boys will follow next year. You can find The One Road prequel a collection of short stories on Amazon.”
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 