I am so thrilled to say I am on the Under The Bridge by Jack Byrne book tour on behalf of The Write Reads. Thanks to The Write Reads and Jack Aboyne for a copy of the book for me to take part today.
2004 – The discovery of a skeleton in the Liverpool docklands unearths long buried secrets. Reporter, Anne McCarthy, is keen to prove herself and dives into the case with abandon where she finds Michael, an old Irish caretaker who knows far more than he’s letting on and may have a connection to the body.
Meanwhile, Vinny Doyle, is starting a postgrad degree, researching Liverpool’s immigrant history and a burgeoning Scouse identity. But Vinny has been neglecting his own family history and stranger Michael might know about his father’s disappearance in the 70s.
1955 – Escaping violence in Ireland and fresh off the boat, Michael falls in with Wicklow boys Jack Power and Paddy Doyle, who smuggle contraband through the docks putting them at odds with unions while they rally the dock workers against the rackets and the strikebreakers. A story of corruption, secret police, and sectarianism slowly unravels. But will the truth out?
As the conflict heightens, Michael questions the life sprawling out ahead of him. In the present, Anne races to solve the mystery, but is she prepared for what she’ll find?
Under The Bridge is a book that’s such an interesting read. It’s a murder mystery set in Liverpool that also delves into the history of it, too. I must say, I learned a lot about Liverpool while reading this. I have to say, I love history, and I don’t live too far away from Liverpool (Oldham). This is another book that has been educated at the same time as being entertained.
The story is told from different timelines, with Annie, a reporter who is on the hunt for the identity of a skeleton, uncovered on a building site at the Docks in Liverpool, 2004. She finds her investigations upset certain people who want the past to stay exactly that…the past. Her friend Vinny is working on the social history of Irish immigration into Liverpool after the war, worries that the skeleton will uncover secrets that are really too close for comfort.
In the 1950s, we see Michael fresh of the boat after escaping violence in Ireland. He falls in with Jack Power and Paddy Doyle, the Wicklow Boys. They smuggle all types of illegal stuff using the docks. The unions, rally the workers against rackets and the strikebreakers, so obviously aren’t overly keen on the Wicklow Boys at all.
Jack Byrne brings a story that deals with terrorism, the unions and their politics, petty crime, and the social struggles along with the racial ones, too. It is so well researched and well written, too. The fact that the story does flow and kept me engaged all the way to the end shows he hasn’t just put together a pile of facts.
I found the characters relatable and well-rounded. Annie is a woman who is determined to get to the bottom of everything, no matter what. Every single character plays their own unique part to create a real, gritty, and immersive book.
A murder mystery that is the beginning of a series and one that I am looking forward to reading more of.
Buy Links
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Under-Bridge-Book-Liverpool-Mystery/dp/1838343008
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56244227
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 
Fab review!
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