In a sleepy town in County Cork, an early morning bus with eight people on board falls into the road. Literally. Nearby underground carparks have, it seemed, weakened the road’s substructure and the weight of the bus simply breaks the road open, like a big hole in a frozen lake. Local journalist Nina is called to the scene, where her ex-husband Tim is the firefighter in charge of the delicate and lengthy rescue operation. The bus driver Richie and a local woman, Aline, born in Lebanon but reared in Ireland, are rescued pretty quickly but others remain trapped on the bus and the nearby river is rising. So is the tension, the rapidly gathering crowd of disaster tourists, the fingers of blame in the local Planning Department and the grief of Nina and Tim who previously shared the loss of a baby daughter, the bereavement having blown their marriage apart.
For a debut novel, this is remarkable stuff and I can’t understand why there’s not been more pot-banging and general fuss around its publication in September. I must emphasize that this is not a disaster novel, this is no Airport or Towering Inferno although the tension is palpable and sustained. The author herself described it best in a recent feature in The Examiner when she said: “This isn’t a rescue thriller. The crash is the background for a multi-perspective character driven novel.”
Her multi-perspective novel is scathing at times and the slice of her pen is far-reaching, piercing for instance the ineptitude and corruption of national and local government figures, the foolish platitudes of the typical wheel-on grief-and-trauma therapist brigade, the sly, quiet and peculiarly Irish brand of xenophobia in our midst, the utter state of the nation. At times it makes for bleak and uncomfortable reading. Romantic Ireland is surely dead and gone, leaving behind the likes of Crazy May, who’s lost her home and her mind, left to fumble in the greasy streets in hunger and ignominy (my apologies to Yeats).
But for all its darkness, this novel expresses, in myriad infinitesimal ways, the endurance of the human spirit and its ability to transcend and survive. There’s a second novel due out from Gráinne Murphy in 2021 and I’ll be watching out for it.

Sadly this book was not a good fit for me - I found that the many different perspectives made it difficult to get emotionally invested in any of the characters. After struggling to the 50% mark and still not enjoying the journey I decided to DNF.

This debut novel from Grainne Murphy details the events surrounding a bus toppling into a sink hole in a rural Irish town. The book features individual chapters from the point of view of 5 main characters; Nina (a journalist covering the event) Tim (firefighter and Nina's ex husband), Richie (the bus driver) Alina (one of the rescued passengers) and Lucy (a passenger awaiting rescue). Each one of these characters is shown to be suffering their own type of personal tragedy, in particular that of Nina and Tim, whose only child Aisling died as a baby. The author also explores universal themes such as loneliness, grief, racism, family and prejudice. The characters were credible and drawn from real life. It is also praiseworthy for some beautiful descriptive language which reveals the challenges, humanity and sadness of the everyday life

While there was great potential for this plot device, I felt there was something missing from this novel, which I am finding it hard to put my finger on. There was a disassociation between the characters and the drama of the event itself which was not fully developed. Overall this novel left me cold, and I really wanted to like it. Perhaps this has a lot to do with the times we live in, where it seems harder than normal to read stories of grief? I wish the author well with her novel. 2 stars from me.

Many thanks to @netgalley and @legendpress for this ARC in return for my honest review.

I want to thank Netgalley and Legend Press for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

What I found really surprising about this book is that I expected it to revolve around the tragedy, but it actually encompassed so much more. This book perfectly described different kinds of grief in different kinds of people, with everyone dealing with that grief in their own unique way. Even two people whose grief has the same source approach it so differently. The characters were definitely the strong point of this novel because each time while reading their perspectives the narration felt utterly unique. Chapeau, Murphy!

Even though I did not mind the focus on more than the accident, the accident itself sometimes became a little bit too much on the background in my opinion. I would have liked to read more narratives from the people inside the bus, but that was, unfortunately, a rather small aspect compared to the people on the outside. Sometimes I was even wondering how the people on the bus were faring, even though the book revolved around the rescue.

I would have given this book 4 stars if more attention was paid to other characters in the book than Tim and Nina. For example, I would have liked to have a direct perspective of one of the parents (maybe from Orla). In my opinion, too much attention was given to Nina and Tim. Their story was definitely intriguing but became a bit repetitive at some point.

To sum up, I enjoyed this book with its great prose on characters with different kinds of grief and beautiful sentences and observations. Despite this, I would have liked it better with some more updates in the crash and a better division of narratives.

There is much to admire in this novel an account of a bus crash and its myriad impacts, told from different perspectives but the measured tone of the prose and switching between narrators left me feeling a little blank.
It is a concept has been executed skilffully before in Geoff Ryman's award winning novel 253 and the excellent The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks - one of my favourite novels, so the author has set themselves firmly in terrritory that is both rich and well trodden.
I think it is an excellent title for a book club or reading group, as there are important topics (racism, governance and corruption, faith, grief) likely to evoke strong feelings and the contrasting points of view will make for a lively discussion.

Where the edge is by Grainne Murphy is a subtle narrative of relationships, grief and beliefs. Nina's first on scene report since her return to work is the site of a bus crash. The road has collapsed and a bus has fallen through; A rescue mission has saved the driver and a single passenger but the bus has fallen further and due to safety of the rescue team and neighbouring buildings the remaining passengers have to wait. In the time it takes to clear the remaining passengers from the wreckage Nina talks to the rescued parties, the families of those still stuck and her estranged husband, the lead for the rescue mission.
This is an emotional read of harrowing tales from multiple narrators, with difficult subject matter discussed fairly and without apology. The subject of how religion can help and hinder in times of grief and how strangers can bring strength or complete lack of empathy. The characters are a great cross section of an Irish town, well described although not all likable.
A great read, I am looking forward to Grainne's next novel.
Thanks to Legend Press and NetGalley for the ARC

More a humane human study but still a page turner. The small town, Irish setting really worked, and the characters beautifully fleshed out.

Where the Edge Is by Grainne Murphy is an emotional and unique take on a tragedy that happens after a bus accident on a rural road in Ireland.

The synopsis for this novel does not do the deep and rich story and justice in my personal opinion.

There are many characters here from the passengers on the bus, Nina a journalist covering the accident, the rescuers and the families anxiously waiting to see their loved ones again. Even with all of these characters the narrative is never lost.

This novel does mainly focus around Nina, who herself is living with loss after the death her 11-month-old daughter. Nina’s ex-husband also happens to be the fire liaison officer. This is not some stereotypical romance novel in the slightest which I am grateful for as it easily could have turned into one.

The bus driver and a passenger manage to escape but the rest of the passengers are not so lucky, so they begin to talk trying to pass time until they are rescued. But there are so many questions, will they get rescued? Is it safe enough? Are their families ok?

This book is not fast paced, but it doesn’t need to be, it follows a natural and human conversation, just how I would imagine it is in a real accident when trying to rescue everyone safely. It’s a character driven novel that follows trauma, loss, grief and survival which I think grips you in.

I think this is a great and unusual read, I do wish there had been more emphasis on the bus and the characters inside but overall, I think Murphy did a great job on this novel.

Where the Edge is was an excellent, excellent read. I enjoyed the multiple narrators and the intermingling of storylines. I appreciated the way the author integrated multiple experiences of trauma and highlighted the many, many ways trauma and grief can impact an individual's life, and how public responses to trauma can exacerbate the feelings of survivors, induce guilt, or introduce additional problems into the trauma response. I appreciated the characters and the visuals throughout the book and definitely enjoyed my reading experience.

I struggled to really get into this book. It's told from so many different perspectives, that I would get into one character's view and then it would go on to someone else and then not return to the other characters so it was difficult to really get lost in this book. It was an interesting concept, but sadly it didn't really work for me.

What seemed to be a tale of fate, events occurring at the wrong or right times, and luck, turned into a deep character and life study through the eyes of Nina, mainly.
She was the reporter talking to the families of a bus "accident" that wasn't really an accident as the road opened up underneath it.
Some survived, some didn't. 2 escaped almost unscathed and had mixed reactions from the public - were they heroes, were they lucky, should they have tried to save others.
There were part of this I really enjoyed and found myself thinking deeply on them.
Other parts were too off the path and verbiose for me actually taking away from the events and characters themselves.
It is a fine line between a plot that inspires thought and reflection, vs a plot that inspires you to skim over parts to get back to the lines causing reflection.
Thankful for the ARC - an interesting read for this year.

I loved this book. I thought the narrative framing device used was intriguing and it kept me invested in the stories. I will recommend this with my friends!

This was an interesting take on a very powerful situation.

Plot: a couple comes to terms with the loss of their child and marriage as a result whilst working on an accident involving a bus and the loss of all passengers except 3 of them. The lady is a reporter and the man works with the fire department and it is set in Ireland.

Triggers: Depression, loss, pain, divorce

Opinion: I would give this book 3 stars. It honestly has the potential to be such a poignant read especially from the viewpoint of a grieving family under all circumstances. I like how it delved into Nina's unfelt pain and how much she tried to avoid feeling the loss of her child. I also like how the writer showed the kind of damage that buried grief can cause on relationships. It was heart wrenching to see how loss can affect different individuals and the way in which they cope with it. It's not always easy to deal with loss and come out the other side okay. My main issues with the book have to do with the length and the annoying repetition of ideas or scenes in the writing. Honestly this would be best as a shorter book without repeating scenes of how the death of Aisling occurred. I also wish there was more character development of the individuals involved in the bus crash, like I would have like to know more about Alina and her mother and husband's family and how they reacted to her leaving for a trip to Lebanon. I would have also liked to know more about Orla's parents and sisters grief, as well as Lucy and Kieran's relationship.

The supporting characters were interesting to read about, I just wish the writer could have extended their storyline to give a much more rounded understanding or perspective on grief. It would have also enhanced the storyline and given a better comparison to how Nina and Tim handled their loss.

Unique, interesting and deep.

Whilst this was not what I expected it was still a very interesting exploration of trauma and grief. The description to me suggested there was more of a mystery at play and I guess in a way there is the way different people experience grief and trauma is a bit of a mystery.

This is outside of my typical choice of book but I enjoyed it.

This wasn't exactly what I expected from the synopsis which I do think influenced my reaction. It is wonderfully written but a bit heavier than I was initially anticipating. Had I been expecting a literary exploration of grief and trauma this would have probably been a five star, but for what I felt was advertised- more thriller-esque- it was quite dark.

The synopsis for this book isn't exactly what I expected from the book, which in turn I think caused me not to enjoy this to its full potential. The synopsis portrays a tension-filled environment after a bus disappears into a sinkhole.

The book actually takes on heavy subjects such as life, death, relationships and religion/race. Which is everything I didn't expect and ultimately lacked the tension I thought it would bring. Unfortunately it just felt a bit too much for me and at around 30% I parked the book for another time. In a way, this shows just how powerful the book is, and the impact that it did have on me (probably the right one, but with me not in the right headspace had to put it down). The themes of grief and trauma seemed very raw and real throughout which is a credit to the author but maybe I just picked this book up at the wrong time. I struggled to identify with the characters and although I do love a book that concentrates on more than one character in the way this did with a multi-character point of view, I felt that the book did jump around a little too much which made it hard to read as it didn't have a lot of depth and a solid plotline. I do feel that a better synopsis could explain the book a bit better which may have given me a better overview before starting.

In WHERE THE EDGE IS, Gráinne Murphy tells the story of what happens when complete strangers are thrown together when an unthinkable tragedy plummets a bus partway down a sinkhole during an an everyday, none-too-exciting morning. While individuals celebrate the chance that kept them out of the bus and others frantically work toward rescue and being saved, a temporary extended family develops between key characters. Each character is nuanced and complex, so while I enjoyed the shifts in narratives between the key characters, I especially enjoyed being in certain minds and hearts including the troubled newswoman struggling to keep it together while grieving her own tragedies and losses. I was surprised by how quickly I settled back in my chair and let the story unfurl beautifully written and perfectly paced by a masterful writer. A compelling and pleasurable story. I received an advance copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

I thought I was going to love WHERE THE EDGE Is. I anticipated that it would be a literary thriller. However, the thriller part is not really present. This is a contemplative literary novel, almost more like linked short stories. While each chapter is beautifully written, there are a lot of characters to keep up with, which makes it difficult to feel strongly about any particular one.

I especially enjoyed Nina's perspective and how her own personal grief intersected with the story of the bus crash, which she's covering in her job as a journalist.

Despite how it difficult it is to develop true feelings for the large cast of characters, I did find the book to be written with thoughtful depth and warmth.

Recommended for fans of literary short stories.

It is a normal morning in Cork and people are going about their daily business. Going to school, to work, the shops. Then a sinkhole opens up and a bus disappears down the hole. It becomes very far from a normal day.
The problem I had with this book was that it didn't go in the direction I wanted it to. It just means that the book's focus wasn't what I expected or wanted. I anticipated that the bulk of the story would centre around the people on the bus; their backstories, their families and the actual rescue mission. Although this did form a part of the story the real focus was on the reporter Nina and her emotional struggles both past and present. Hers was a story that could have been written with many other backgrounds. I wanted to hear about the people on the bus and the rescue mission. I wanted to know what happened to these people and their families in much more detail.
This doesn't make it a bad book. In fact it was a well written book with some great characters. I just wanted to know more about those other characters and less about Nina.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

An excellent novel, very well written with a style that draws you in from the very start.

Whilst centred on one major event, much of the actual story is based on the lives of the individuals involved.

Recommended.