A really powerful story from the author of the Lamplighters. I loved her first book but I have to say that I enjoyed this one even more.

Birdie wakes up to discover that Jimmy, the man imprisoned for her beloved sister's murder has been released from prison, and she sets out on a journey of revenge, to kill the man who devastated her life.

the novel is gripping from the start as we discover the truth about the events surrounding Jimmy's crime and the impact it had on him and those around him.

Utterly brilliant storytelling. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

After a promising start which engages the reader immediately, the story loses momentum due to its timeline and perspective leaps. I found the characters of both Birdie and James difficult to empathise with and the revelation about James’ accomplice predictable. An accomplished but slightly uninspiring novel

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

The Sunshine Man absolutely needs an ITV mini series adaptation. Stonex writes with so much character and empathy. While the claustrophobic atmosphere of The Lighthouse may have been more evocative, The Sunshine Man is eerie and haunting in a way that will keep you turning the pages and equally as engrossed as her debut.

Birdie has been waiting for this day for a long time, nearly two decades. In January 1989, Birdie took her children to her mother-in-law's and drove to the nearest coach station. She gets to London in time to see Jimmy Maguire exit Wormwood Scrubs prison. Birdie has waited for this, as she has a gun in her purse and anger in her heart. Jimmy Maguire had killed Birdie's teenage sister twenty years ago, and now Birdie is going to kill him.

But Jimmy claims it was not he, he was there, but it was Floyd, his friend, who had killed her. But no one believes him. Now he has come out of prison into a world he does not know or understand, and it is going to take its toll.

This book is told from Biridie and Jimmy's perspectives, both past and present. It is a story of loyalty, family, grief, tragedy, and redemption. It is haunting and sad, but beautiful also—a great mystery thriller.

It took me a REALLY long time to get into this book. Many times I nearly gave up but I loved The lamplighters so I kept the faith. Glad I did as I got really into it by the end.
Birdie / Bridget has been waiting for many years for the man that was convicted of her sisters murder to be released…. To go and kill him. And this book starts with the release of James McGuire and Birdie on his tail,

A bleak book which starts well but I am not a favourite of differing perspectives and (many) timeline shifts.

At times I just did not know what was going but remained keen to learn more about Birdie and Jimmy. Sadly, I didn't.

Thanks to Net Galley and Pan Macmillan/Picador for the chance to read and review.

This is pretty unusual in its style. Beautifully written and atmospheric.
The characters are finely drawn and believable. You felt the author had first hand experience of the situation that the lead character was involved in.
A good read, I enjoyed it .

I adored Lamplighters and this had such a great premise but I gave up at 35%. It just felt like it was going nowhere and I was really not eager to pick it back up.

Stonex's writing is undoubtedly exquisite, but this was a struggle.

Emma Stonex’s first novel The Lamplighters put a new spin on a true story. Her follow up, The Sunshine Man, is not quite based on a true story but is based on real places and real events. As with her first book she captures the atmosphere and the people to bring these places and events to tragically life.
The Sunshine Man opens in 1989. Bridie wakes up one morning and makes her preparations to kill a man. That man, Jimmy Maguire, was sent to prison eighteen years before for killing her sister and is being released that day. Despite her marriage and two children, Bridie is determined to leave and kill Jimmy in revenge. She takes a gun, leaves a note and sets out to find Jimmy. Meanwhile, Jimmy, who claimed the murder was the work of his friend Floyd, is met from the prison by a grown daughter who he hardly knows who drives him around the country to see his family and visit old haunts.
Stonex is doing a lot in this novel. Through her two main characters she charts a pair of hardscabble, tough childhoods in a depressed part of the UK. Bridie was abandoned by her mother and raised by her grandmother, while Jimmy was part of a poor family with a bad reputation, always hassled by police and almost forced into a life of crime. But Stonex also explores Jimmy’s time in prison, and in particular, the work at HM Prison Grendon, an experimental psychiatric prison established to treat mentally ill patients. And then there are the overarching humanistic considerations of revenge, dealing with grief and tragedy, forgiveness and redemption all baked in.
While there is tragedy baked into the premise of this book, it is also in many ways optimistic. Stonex is ultimately interested in the way we can overcome our pasts, and in doing so, change and move into the future. Taken all together, The Sunshine Man is another resonant, atmospheric novel with plenty for readers to think about.

After an intriguing first chapter and a promising start, this went downhill as soon as the first Jimmy chapter came along with the ridiculously censored swearing. It’s realistic that the character would swear, but to redact/censor it makes no sense to me. It took me out of the story and just annoyed me. It felt patronising towards the reader. The language and style of his chapters was hard going even without this, and I found I didn’t care what was happening.

Sadly, after giving it a go and getting to 31% this was a rare DNF for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to this early. Review has been posted on Waterstones and Goodreads.

Loved the Lamplighters and couldn’t wait to read this and I was not disappointed in the least!

A must read!

A new author for me.
Eighteen years waiting for revenge.
A superb story with a few twists along the way.
Thanks for the ARC.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan, the author and NetGalley for my digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

‘The week I shot a man clean through the head began like any other . . .’

'The Sunshine Man'
Emma Stonex

Surely no one can read that opening line and not want to read the rest of this book!

If you are a fan of multi-perspective storytelling and shifting timelines, then this is the book for you. If however you prefer a fast paced psychological drama or gripping thriller, then you should avoid this title. The shifts in perspective and time, between the present and the past, could feel disjointed to some readers but I for one love novels with this kind of fragmented structure.

The subject matter is quite heavy - murder and sexual assault - if these are triggers for you, I suggest you don't read this book.

Shown from the viewpoints of both Birdie and Jimmy, the story unfolds through fragmented recollections and shifting perspectives reflecting how trauma distorts perception and how victims may struggle to articulate or even fully comprehend what happened to them.

The chapters flip between their own remembered pasts. At various points you get to see the same situations from both points of view. The shifts in time are used to good effect to mirror how memory and trauma actually work - non-linear, elusive, and sometimes contradictory.

Stonex doesn’t tell us everything—and maybe that’s the point. What do we owe to memory, and what do we choose to forget? This is not a book that shouts. It whispers. And in that whisper lies its strength.

I will definitely be reading her debut novel 'The Lamplighters'.

#TheSunshineMan #EmmaStonex #SexualAssault #Murder #Grief #Trauma #Secrets

I nearly gave up on this book a few chapters in, but I am so glad I didn't as I ended up really enjoying it. In 1989 Birdie hears the news that she has been waiting for. Jimmy Maguire, the man who murdered her sister, is being released from prison. And Birdie has a gun and she's going to kill him. What follows is a story in 2 time frames, going back over the lives of these characters. I found it to be incredibly moving and I recommend it as a great read.
Thanks to Netgalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

A difficult read in some ways if only because the lives of many of the characters have been so bleak. These are people crying out to be pushed off an inevitable trajectory that would have them making poor and miserable decisions impacting themselves and those around them. The cross-country chase at the end and its conclusion more than make up for this as forgiveness, redemption and hope begin to shine.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a slow burn but well paced.

In 1970 Providence was killed and 20 years later her killer has been released. Birdie, Providence’s sister, is determined that he receives the justice she feels he deserves.

The book jumps between the events leading up to the killing and the time after his release.

I didn’t like how swear words were replaced with a line, even in dialogue, as it made the writing a bit disjointed.

It starts with a bang - the day I shot a man - and then retreats to a dull plod. I kept wanting something to happen, or there to be a bit of excitement - but there was a slow, dreary creep towards the damp squib of a finale. I did finish it but it is instantly forgettable.

After picking up The Lamplighters on a whim, I have to admit I'm a little disappointed by The Sunshine Man. I still enjoyed it, I want to be clear, but it wasn't as good as its predecessor. Part of that requires a little discussion of spoilers, namely towards the ending. I'll try be as vague as possible. Mostly, it's about the fact that this isn't really a mystery. Okay, that's on me for expecting it to be, I guess. That is, the perpetrator of the crime and the reasoning why is exactly as its stated at the very start. This is more a book about the aftermath, once said perpetrator has been released from jail, and the victim's sister's journey to something approaching peace. In fact, the only reveal (inasmuch as you can call it that) was that the perpetrator was mentally ill. YMMV on that, but I thought it was saying more about the lack of support available to him, the assumptions made by his community, and the devastating consequences of it all, than anything like demonisation. Anyway, an enjoyable enough read nonetheless.

DNF at 10%

Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me. I found the writing style a bit too descriptive for my taste, with a lot of detail that didn’t feel essential to the story. The timeline also shifts between chapters, but without a clear indication at the start, which made it hard to follow and pulled me out of the flow. I can see this working well for readers who enjoy rich, atmospheric writing and nonlinear narratives, but sadly, I couldn’t connect with it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity.

Following on the heels of The Lamplighters was never going to be an easy feat but, I think, The Sunshine Man is a worthy contender. A very different book set in the 80s, Birdie gets the call she's been waiting for. Jimmy Macguire, the man who killed her sister, is being released from prison. This sets in motion her quest for revenge. But, as tense and gripping as this is, it is more the story of their previous lives and how they got to where they are now.

Neither of these characters had an easy time growing up. Birdie was dropped at her grandmother's house to be raised without a mother and Jimmy was the odd one in a family of ne'er do wells. Life was not kind to either but then Birdie's mum drops off another baby to be raised by Gamma. Providence grows to be a wonderful little girl and one both Birdie and Jimmy love above all others. Though she doesn't have the power to make them like each other.

This is a powerful story and one that is hard to read at times. The narration is taken in turns between Birdie and Jimmy and there's plenty to make one think about life and making the most of the few opportunities made available. I was touched by this and felt empathy for both characters. It's not clear cut as to who is right and who is wrong. There's more nuance and shades of gray. As the tension builds and Birdie draws nearer to her vengeance, I felt real trepidation and and concern for them both. It was handled exceptionally well with a delicate touch. Great drama, excellent pace and tension, fully fleshed out characters the reader feels they know. A tough book but a rewarding one.