Before Dawn by Laura Murphy – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an ebook I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free e-copy of the book Before Dawn by Laura Murphy to review. You may find out more about the author on her website.

Here is the book blurb.

Feisty New Yorker, Max, falls for her mysterious coworker, Tommy, who is fourteen years her senior. Wanting to please him and meet his beauty standards she conflictingly conceals her natural hair from him and avoids tanning so her skin doesn’t get too dark. Max tightly holds onto their forbidden romance while trying to figure out who she is and her place in a world she doesn’t always fit in. Too caught up with her feelings she becomes oblivious to the consequences of her actions. As tragedy strikes Max has to face her own worst enemy, herself.

The prologue drew me straight into this book, just a few intense pages with a cliff-hanger question at the end, so no choice but to dive straight into the main tale, where we are introduced to the main character, 23 year old adopted Max, who has been having a secret affair with a married man, Tommy on and off for 6 years, although she had no idea he was married for the first 2 years of their relationship.

As the reader I really hated Tommy, which made me feel more empathy towards Max, particularly as early in the story, she has to come to terms with the death of a family member. But her family and best friend Larissa buoy her up, as yet more lands on her plate.

Meanwhile whenever Max is at her lowest, the same stranger Smith seems to turn up. And who is the other stranger in the park?

A complex story which deals with relationships, mental health, racism and bias. Plenty of twists in this tale.

And as an aside, Max is really into expensive branded clothing. I had no idea what red bottom shoes were, but a quick search on Wikipedia revealed them to be the trademark of fashion designer Christian Louboutin.

Before Dawn is available on Amazon in kindle and paperback formats. A good read.

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