Before the Swallows Come Back

Perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, and Sal by Mik Kitson, with its celebration of the natural world, its misunderstood central characters living on the outside of society's norms, their survival in the wilderness, and the ultimate fight for justice.

What people are saying

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is a truly lovely book, full of heart. It's a gripping and moving plot about two young people separately affected by devastating life-changes which uproot them and force them to learn self-reliance. All this against a backdrop of the most beautiful, lyrical description of the natural world of woodlands and streams, and good people. All of this brings them together and helps to heal them.

Reading Before the Swallows Come Back feels like forest bathing on a stiflingly hot day, or being borne up in the gloss and buoyancy of a river running clean and clear. This is total immersion in the natural world. All this as background to a storyline that's epic in scale and characters rendered so intensely that hours go by before you realise you really should pull yourself out of their world and back into your own. What a mesmerising treat! This is total immersion in the natural world. An absolutely heart-filling and lyrical novel. Fiona Curnow has crafted an immense story, and an incredibly rich one. Carol McKay

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It is impossible to avoid falling under the spell of Before the Swallows Come Back. K Bookish Life

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I absolutely LOVED this book. I was mesmerised by all the beautiful and vivid descriptions. I was rooting for the two main characters: they were quite innocent (and slightly naive) young people who lived on the outskirts of society, a bit different from the others. A beautifully written book with lyrical and poetic passages. Monika Reads

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It's very rare that I would reread a book but this is one I can imagine doing so. I adored this book! It was lyrically beautiful with its lush descriptions of nature but it was the characters that make it stand out. Books By Bindu

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ As an animal lover, I found the relationship Tommy had with his animal family beautiful... Andrew Lees

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was a story that really moved me. From the get-go I was so devoted to the main characters and their journey through hell and back and the hardships they had to endure!!…I absolutely loved it. It's so beautifully written and I was completely invested in it! It felt like I was there, in Scotland, amongst the countryside and surrounded by nature!! Perfect escapism!! Jade Nomura

Before the Swallows Come Back is a story of love, found family, and redemption that will break your heart and have it soaring time and time again as you sit on the edge of your seat desperately hoping.

Tommy struggles with people, with communicating, preferring solitude, drifting off with nature. He is protected by his Tinker family who keep to the old ways. A life of quiet seclusion under canvas is all he knows.

Charlotte cares for her sickly father. She meets Tommy by the riverside and an unexpected friendship develops. Over the years it becomes something more, something crucial to both of them. But when tragedy strikes each family they are torn apart.

Charlotte is sent far away.

Tommy might have done something very bad