Published By: Avon
Pages: 448
Released On: 05/06/2025
HE RUNS INTO THE FLAMES A HERO. HE EMERGES FROM THE ASHES A SUSPECT.
Steve thought he had left his troubled past behind. Living a quiet life with his wife and children, everything changes the night he rescues a baby from a burning house, becoming an unexpected national hero.
But as the spotlight shines brighter, so does the scrutiny, and a shocking accusation is made – that Steve is the man responsible for an unsolved murder in Beachbrook years prior.
As DS Willmott investigates the truth, Steve pleads his innocence. But as Steve’s world unravels, he faces a terrifying truth: the past isn’t done with him yet. And when everything he loves is at risk, he’ll be forced to make an impossible choice.
After all, even heroes hide secrets of their own.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This review isn’t going to be as long as others because it’s hard to fully review it without spoilers and you need to go into this blind I think.
How do you follow up one of the best books ever written? By writing another “best book ever written”, of course.
GD Wright’s previous book, After the Storm, had me in absolute floods of tears and I wasn’t sure I could cope with another of his heart-breaking stories.
This wasn’t as haunting as After the Storm…well, no, that’s not exactly true. It’s haunting but in a different way. It’s more a psychological haunting than physical in my opinion.
Wright knows how to pull at the heartstrings, to break hearts as well as warm them.
Yes there’s a plot, of course there is and it’s a cracker. But for me, this is all about the characters. Wright’s ability to create very real and flawed characters, fully of depth and humanity, sadness, anger, resentment, fear, but also love and hope, is second to none.
Steve is one of the best characters I’ve read. Not always a goodie but not always a baddie, he’s a hero but is he also a villain or a victim? He’s so layered with such depth, and regardless of what he may or may not have done, you are on his side throughout.
I read it in one sitting, keeping me awake late at night as I just couldn’t bear to put it down before I’d finished it all.
It asks a number of moral questions: does one deed overtake another? If you save a life, does that absolve you of when you took a life? Can a villain ever become a hero?
What I love about this book, and the previous one, is that whilst they’re independent stories and can be read as standalone, there is the running character of DS Willmott, which shows a sense of community and I’m looking forward to the next installment.
It does touch on a number of very difficult topics, such as death, murder, grief, injury, abuse, child loss, relationship problems, drugs, drink etc.
It’s a book of two halves. The first focusses more on the physical – the fire, the lives saved and lost – and the second more of the psychological, which gives us a good balance. We get sucked in to this harrowing story with a gut punch, and then we’re on this journey with the characters and we start to ask questions about ourselves, what would we do.
Books By Your Bedside 