This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

I enjoyed this book but did find myself struggling to connect with the characters.

I found the writing style and dialogue a little clunky which pulled me out of the story as I read.

I’m not sure if it is just the wrong time to read this one but I would read another from the author again.

Most people like to read the books of a series in the correct order. I normally do too, but sometimes life forces you to do other things than immersing yourself in a good book. This means that I have read book 1 and 3 and now it was time to see what happens in book 2.

I really enjoyed the 2 books I read before, but I did not like detective Beck this time. I don’t know what happened to him are was it me?

There was a lot going on in this part and when a killer is caught I am always wondering what has triggered them to act the way they did now, because often it’s connected to something that has happened many years ago. I did not see this here or did I miss it?

There were a lot of descriptions about the scenery too and of course they sometimes are very important to paint the picture. I don’t know whether so many details were needed?

I had the feeling I could not connect everything that went on and I found it a bit confusing.

I am convinced that many readers will be over the moon with this book. I am sorry to say it was not one for me. 3 stars.

Thank you

This is a creepy and dark page turner of a thriller. I was gripped from the first page. Cannot recommend highly enough!

This was a thrilling read from the beginning to the very end. Can't wait to read some more by this talented auhtor. Recommended.

This is the second book in the Finnegan Beck series, about a troubled alcoholic detective, set in a small town in Galway, Ireland. The first, Where She Lies, was a solid four star read for me, but this one took me a lot longer to get into, although it did improve in the second half. While not terribly original, the author has created an interesting main character and the mystery did have me intrigued enough to stay up late finishing it.

This one was super interesting and twisted! I really enjoyed it and I know the story will stay with me for a long time.

DS Finn Beck is a detective with a lot of complex issues, one being that he is a recovering alcoholic. The plot started out really well with a murder and a child missing, but then the story started to go back 50 years to another sub-plot about a child that is missing. I must admit that I started to get confused the more the story went on. There were other sub-plots going on and I felt it muddied the water abit. The plot overall was good but I lost interest and was tempted to give up on the book a couple of times.

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and Netgalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for a unbiased review of these works

A lot pf promise but slightly confusing sub plots let the read down for me

This book was just 'OK' for me. The storyline was interesting, but not enough to keep me coming back - which is why it took me much longer than usual to finish it. One big thing that really annoyed me was the constant use of random capitalization. I don't know if that's just me, but I found that completely off putting! The 'twist' wasn't that big of a reveal to me (which is always a disappointment). The characters weren't very deep or particularly likeable.

This was an interesting book but the sub plots made it a little confusing at times. I'm sure others would love this book.

I really wasn't excited by this book. It seemed to have a lot of promise but I found it a bit long winded and drawn out and the end when it came was a bit of an anti climax. I don't think I would bother to read anything more by this author.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This is the second book in the series although I have not read the first book this can easily be read as a stand alone book. Beck is a detective in Ireland he must investigate the murder of a woman and the disappearance of her baby. The book also goes had another story set in 1954, when another baby disappeared the connection comes later. I thought the book got off to a really good start but did find it dropped off a little in the middle. It's for fan's of crime books.

DS Finn Beck is back .. still in the small Irish town to which he was banished from Dublin. He has put in for a transfer back to Dublin since his name was cleared. But first he has a case to solve.

A young mother is found brutally slain lying in her car on a remote road. What's even worse is the child's car seat in the back ... but no baby. Has the baby been left with someone ..or has someone taken the child? Was the mother the primary target? .. or just a way to get to the child?

This girl child is not the first one to go missing in this particular area. Fifty years ago another child disappeared and whose body was never found.

Beck is anxious to get back to Dublin, but he's afraid if he leaves now, there's a chance that everyone will quit looking for the child ... just like they did before.

DS Beck is a man with issues ... he needs anger management and he's an alcoholic, having just recently started attending AA meetings. He's really a good man at heart and wants nothing more than justice for victims of crime.

This is a well written story, going back and forth between the present day missing child and the one from decades before. Taking place in Ireland, the author makes use of old Irish folklore and really interesting small village residents. There's plenty of action, plenty of suspects with suspense that begins on the very first page.

Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

The Child Before is the second book in the Finnegan Beck series, set in Ireland. The first, Where She Lies, was a really well-written mystery with a tough as nails detective and an intriguing mystery.

Detective Inspector Finnegan Beck’s latest case involves the murder of a woman in her car, on a remote lane leading to the long-abandoned Irish village of Kelly’s Forge. The woman’s young child has also gone missing. Now it’s up to Beck to solve the mystery. There are other subplots as well, which showed a lot of promise in the initial chapters.

The Child Before opens with alternating chapters between the present and the second narrative involving the disappearance of a baby from the isolated Kelly's Forge, some 60 years prior in 1954. The subplot about the past mystery did add a layer of intrigue but it was abandoned midway and never really played any major role in the story.

On the bright side, the main story was riveting. There are several probable suspects in the beginning and the story does well to keep you guessing. On the downside, there is a lot going on in this story, with random new characters being introduced and several other subplots that don’t really go anywhere. The narrative feels disjointed as the focus keeps shifting to either of the subplots which don’t further the main story. It was hard to guess the killer's identity but he was never a prime suspect anyways. The story does leave you with a lot of unanswered questions, especially the prologue.

Beck is not an ideal hero - but his rebellious character is the highlight of the book for me. He's rude, alcoholic and has his personal demons to deal with but in the end, he gets the job done. His supporting cast is not that well fleshed out, feeling one-dimensional in the end.

Having enjoyed the first novel in this series, Where She Lies, I was eager to read the second book. Sadly, it was not better than the first part. However, as a standalone, the plot & premise of this book is good and DI Beck is still a great character. I strongly recommend the readers to read the series right from the start.

Many thanks to the publishers Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC.

A brutal murder, a true detective and a happy end. This is an interesting thriller with more or less likeble characters. Great read.
Thank you Netgalley for this book.

The Child Before is the second book in the Detective Finn Beck mystery series by Michael Scanlon. Released 5th June 2019 from Hatchette on their Bookouture imprint, it's 357 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

I've enjoyed this series immensely. It opens with abruptly with the horrific (off page) murder of a young mother and her baby's disappearance. The author has a masterful control of dramatic tension throughout and I wound up reading it in one setting. Mr. Scanlon's technical expertise as a writer is impressive but it's the flawed and real characters which are the beating heart of this book. I don't think I'd really enjoy working with Beck, he's a loose cannon, alcoholic, flawed, with a tendency toward violence that's just barely under control. The secondary characters, his colleagues, especially Claire (a gay married coworker having a lot of personal issues in this book), are sensitively rendered with compassion and nuance. Although it's the second book in the series, the author is expert enough to impart the necessary back-story without spoon feeding; it works well as a standalone.

The sense of place is palpable. When reading, I could hear the accents and see the places in my mind so clearly. I love well written mysteries which are steeped in their settings. This one resonates.

This is a gritty procedural/thriller and as such has rough language and mature themes. There are potentially triggering themes of domestic violence, infertility, suicide, substance abuse, child abduction, and obviously violent death. All of them are appropriately represented in context, not glorified. The denouement includes several disparate subplots and has a satisfying climax and resolution.

This book would make a superlative choice for a mystery/crime bookclub, summer read, etc. I would recommend it to fans of Michael Connelly, Val McDermid, Deborah Crombie, and that crew.

Beautifully written, this series has made it onto my auto-follow list. Can't wait to see what comes next.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this book.
Unfortunately I, like others had high hopes for this book and it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
This was the first book I have read by this author.
The book goes between present and past tense when another child went missing. I liked the character of Beck and his troubled past.
The story is descriptive and the small chapters make for easy reading. However there is a main plot and too many sub plots, and it becomes confusing.
Not the best book I have read this year.

This was an exciting story. The chapters are on the shorter side which is great if you are reading during a break or lunch. The story flips between the past and present and is easy to follow when it does. Claire and Beck are written well and are like able characters.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this Arc.
I found this one tough going. It was very slow to get going and didn't really pick up until three quarters of the way through.
If ancient and present crimes against children mixed in with murder are your thing then go ahead.