Afterwards a novel
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15
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Average rating4
"From the author of the acclaimed bestseller Sister comes a gripping, thrilling story of a mother who will do anything to protect her child. The school was on fire, and Grace's last memory is of trying to reach her daughter, Jenny, trapped inside the inferno. While their burned bodies are frantically cared for by doctors, Grace and Jenny awaken in the hospital in a strange in-between state. When they learn that someone purposefully set the fire, and Jenny may still be in grave danger from someone who wants her dead, Grace realizes she may be the only one who can discover who might be responsible. The police are looking at Adam, Jenny's younger brother, who is struck mute by the horror he witnessed and can't defend himself when he is accused of the arson.
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I wanted to like it because the premise was unique but the story bobbed instead of flowed. I skipped the middle when my patience ran out.
“I did the whole making muffins for bake sales and going on trips and being there for homework and inviting friends around. All of that. But I didn't know how to do what was important.”
Grace Covy, mother of two and part-time writer for her local newspaper, races to rescue her daughter when a fire engulfs the posh private school they attend on Sports Day. Upon arriving at the hospital, Grace and Jenny, both badly injured in the fire, are outside their bodies, able to communicate with only each other. The situation becomes even more dire when the police close the case but Grace realizes they've collared the wrong suspect...and the real arsonist still wants Jenny dead.
A unique kind of mystery, this book took off full-bore from the start and never relented in terms of pace and emotional punch. Lupton's writing is superb, and as a former screenwriter she knows how to write a cliffhanger, leaving you unable to leave off after “just one more chapter.” The characters are wonderfully drawn and fully fleshed out, not cookie-cutter as it would have been so easy to do. While part of the ending was a bit predictable, the whodunit portion of the mystery kept me guessing right up to the end.
