Mike Maroney’s novel The Day Before is a dark dystopian novel set in a world eerily similar to the present day, with one crucial difference: a law has been passed in some American states ruling abortion as murder – with absolutely no exceptions. The story follows LeeAnn Jackson, a former veteran now working as a cop in an increasingly corrupt system. When LeeAnn is assigned to investigate the assault of a young girl, her doubts in the system finally grow too strong to ignore. She is launched into a case that uncovers darkness rooted in every corner – from the government, to the church, to her own line of work. LeeAnn is in a world where even those closest to you can be complicit in a system built against you; she must learn quickly who she can trust, or face becoming yet another victim.
I found that the dystopian worldbuilding in The Day Before is very strong, reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale. The plot is intricate and well set up; this is an ambitious story to pull off, discussing a massive range of current topics and political themes. LeeAnn’s husband is slowly becoming corrupted by ‘manosphere’ podcasts, her local politicians deal in AI-generated images, and the new police chief is an inexperienced social media star.
The characters are very unique, with their own distinct voices and strong relationships. LeeAnn’s character is wonderfully complex, and I loved how strong her convictions were. From the get-go, LeeAnn refuses to subscribe to the ideas being spread around her. While in the beginning she is very passively disapproving, it was great to watch the transition from thinking to herself, “that’s not right,” and not doing anything about it, to actually taking action. LeeAnn’s faith is tested with every new chapter – faith in her religion, her line of work, her role in the system, and herself – and it raises the question of what it takes to be pushed to speak up and fight.
The main problem I had with The Day Before was not with its well-crafted story or themes, but its formatting style. LeeAnn’s thoughts to herself aren’t labelled distinctly, so there’s an odd mix of first-person and-third person perspective that is really jarring. I found myself distracted at several points in the novel by the sudden switches in perspective, often within the same paragraph.
Overall, The Day Before is a political thriller with a powerful message that is only slightly hindered by its formatting style. Mike Maroney has executed the world-building very well, and has a clear skill when it comes to storytelling. The thing that’s most frightening about the concept of The Day Before is that this isn’t a far-fetched scenario or a dystopian future; for many people, particularly in the United States, The Day Before is dangerously close to their current reality. This book serves as a call to action, a warning, and a reminder to hold out hope that these systems can be beaten back as a collective effort.
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