The Last Good Summer started out really well. It starts with a flashback chapter and then a present-day chapter straight after. Those chapters had me intrigued, and there were a lot of questions I needed the answers to.

I enjoyed the characters and was enjoying where the story seemed to be going. That was until the story started unravelling.

I felt that the past and present events didn't link up as much as I'd have liked them to and when we found out the 'who done it' I felt like it was kind of a cop out..

That being said, the premise was good and I enjoyed the writing barring one or two things here and there that may have been edited out in the finished product and I would read from the author again.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

In the summer of 1986 Fionn Power comes to stay with the McGee family and thus started a chain of events that would change Belle McGee's life forever. This book is told is dual timelines switching between the summer of 1986 and present day. This book handles the murder of Fionn Power and the environmental disaster happening in Derry Ireland. At times this book was very slow moving which made it hard to read at certain parts. I loved the ending because it had a twist i definitely didn't expect. I would recommend this to a friend because of the amount of information on illegal dumping and environmental disasters in this book, I however probably would not read it again. I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review! Thank you Net Galley for this advanced reader copy!

Belle McGee is an award winning journalist based in Dublin. She is from Donegal but keeps her distance due to a traumatic event in her childhood she is running from. When an old friend is brutally murdered she returns home for the funeral and discovers a story worth investigating.

The story is told across two timelines, the Belle in the past is a bratty unlikeable child but the adult Belle in the present is successful, intelligent & quite likeable. She struggles with her childhood throughout the story.

The story itself is very interesting, it touches on the troubles in Northern Ireland but not too much. The tension builds nicely the whole way through.

If I had one criticism I think it ended very abruptly but it did give me food for thought. It’s worth a read.

The Last Good Summer by J.J. Green is a story of corruption and murder in Ireland. This is a dual-timeline novel, which is becoming a favorite genre. It takes place in Donegal in 1986 and in present-day Dublin.

Belle McGhee is thirteen in 1986 and in the summer of that year, Fionn Power comes to stay in the McGhee household. Belle and her sister Rose are told that he will be staying with them for a time.

Present day, Belle, or McGhee as she prefers to be called is an award-winning journalist in Dublin. She comes home due to the death of her friend Fionn when in Dublin she thought she saw Fionn by her window only to learn that he had been murdered.

While home she becomes embroiled in what Fionn was up to, he was investigating the illegal dumping of chemicals, and he had all the information about what he was investigating, so McGhee was able to follow in his footsteps if you will. In her continuing investigation, she finds corruption along the way. Was this why he was murdered?

As her investigation not only into Fionn's murder but also into an environmental scandal that would cause harm to the people that live around the dump spots, she meets a causing of Fionn, a relationship ensues but McGhee does not want to get close to him, she has a lot of baggage as a child, she did something that she is ashamed of and if her family found out, well let's just say there would be repercussions.

This is a story that covers some of "the troubles" in Northern Ireland in the 80s, the aftermath of the IRA, but also covers corruption in the local government. A well-written debut of a novel that caught my attention because I am a huge fan of anything Irish. I really enjoyed this story and I hope to read more by this Irish author!

I liked this well enough. It was a great example of how messy the teenage years can be and how teens can't keep secrets, as well as a great book on fighting the powers that be, if they are poisoning people.
It was very scary and sad.

Thank you for this ARC.

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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Finished ✔️ The Last Summer by J.J. Green and it was absolutely amazing!! 😍🤩
5 ⭐️’s
Kindle Unlimited: No
Completely gripping dual timeline novel
Takes about Derry, Ireland 🇮🇪
Takes place in Ireland in 1986
Loved that the chapters alternated between two time periods
Gasped when I finished some of the chapters
The plot was engrossing and amazing
Beautifully written
Brilliantly told story
Yes, I’d recommend
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In 1986, Belle's family welcome in a stranger, Fionn to live in the house. She and her sister though aren't allowed to tell anyone about it. Years later, Belle is shocked to see Fionn in her house at night, and even more shocked when she gets a call from her sister that Fionn was actually murdered that morning. Going back home for his funeral, she starts looking into his death. Uncovering an environmental scandal, she also has to reckon with her past.

I think was a slow burn of a book. It was good overall but it definitely builds on itself! I got shades of Erin Brockovich with more mystery elements thrown in.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing story!! Very well written. The characters were very well written. I could connect with them very well. I couldn’t put this book down. I always needed to know what happened next. I will definitely be recommending this book. I loved it so much!!