The Aftermath cover art

The Aftermath

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Aftermath

By: Rhidian Brook
Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

The downloadable, digital audiobook edition of Rhidian Brook’s powerful new thriller The Aftermath, read by the actor Leighton Pugh.

Hamburg, 1946: Thousands remain displaced in what is now the British Occupied Zone. Charged with overseeing the rebuilding of this devastated city and the de-Nazification of its defeated people, Colonel Lewis Morgan has requisitioned a fine house on the banks of the Elbe, where he will be joined by his grieving wife, Rachael, and only remaining son, Edmund. But rather than force its owners, a German widower and his traumatised daughter, to leave their home, Lewis insists that the two families live together.

In this charged and claustrophobic atmosphere all must confront their true selves as enmity and grief give way to passion and betrayal. The Aftermath is a stunning novel about our fiercest loyalties, our deepest desires, and the transforming power of forgiveness.

©2013 Rhidian Brook (P)2013 Penguin Audio Historical Fiction Banking

Listeners also enjoyed...

 White Feathers cover art
Grey Bees cover art
The Red Notebook cover art
Mornings in Jenin cover art
A Kind of Freedom cover art
We Hope for Better Things cover art
The Paris Assignment cover art
Beneath a Scarlet Sky cover art
The Soldier’s Girl cover art
The Lines We Leave Behind cover art
The Secret Letter cover art
Where the Sky Begins cover art
The Road Beyond Ruin cover art
A Fire Sparkling cover art
The Outcast Girls cover art
The Wildflower Path cover art
All stars
Most relevant
Really enjoyed this book. Great literary fiction set during a difficult, little explored period in history. Atmospheric descriptive writing and good characterisation, with excellent narration. I couldn't stop listening.

Couldn't stop listening

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An excellent narrator telling an extraordinary war time story set in a much loved city.

Glad I followed up a listener's favourable review

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I picked this up on 2 for 1 Audiobook offer. I had never heard of this book or author before but glad I now do.
It is a story told in the post Second World War Germany and the role of the different allied groups i.e. the British, French, Russians in forming the 'new' Germany. It is the story of a British family who come to Germany to share a home with a German family.
It is interesting to see the way of life at the time and the lives of the ragged begging German children and the currency they use to barter and get vouchers i.e. Cigarettes. If you have Cigarettes it seems you can get anything!
Its interesting how the Germans had to go through this 'cleansing' process to prove they were not affiliated with Hitler. Without this certificate of authenticity they could not work travel or 'live' basically.
The British family are grieving for the loss of their eldest son who was killed by a German bomb in England.
While initially the mother Rachel finds it very difficult to be under the same roof with the Germans that gradually changes and Rachel moves from a grieving mother to one who is starting to live again. Her husband Lewis is shown as just a really good guy throughout perhaps too good to be true in some instances. He does not seem to have grieved for his lost son and finds it difficult to relax with his family. The story maintains the interest of the reader throughout and I felt connected with the characters. I felt the narrative helped and brought it all together.
Overall a very interesting read. I would recommend it.

Democracy up close and personal

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Don't get me wrong it has to be half decent or I ditch but it was too lame for me story wise. Never discovered characters I can't imagine what the film will be like Suspect Kiera will trounce about looking beautiful bit like Atonement but less story.

Only Three

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I wish this book had been longer, it felt as if huge chunks had been lopped out of it and that the missing bits would have made the story even more enjoyable, adding to the understanding of the characters/events ... for me, the most memorable moment was the opening of the suitcase, so moving, I'm sure I will never forget it ...
There are other books about life (especially for a British child) in post-war Germany eg Len Deighton's Bernard Sampson series, but Rhidian Brook's story seemed so authentic that I wondered if it had been based on reminiscences as well as research ...
The narration was brilliant.

A really thought-provoking story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews