4.5 stars rounded up.
Imagine, if you will, you have just lost your child. She drowned on your watch. You marriage is now crumbling. There's no amount of help you can get that could possible make you feel better. Alison doesn't have to imagine this, she is living it. Her daughter Amalie drowned aged six and even her husband and step-son are powerless to ease her pain; the two of them grieving too.
But there is light in her tunnel. Some small solace to ease her pain even if just a little bit. Amalie's organs were donated on her death. Others live cos she died. And then Alison learns something about donated organs and, finally with something productive to do, looks into this further. Aided by her step-son, she finds the recipient of Amalie's heart. Her baby's heart still alive and beating in another child. Imagine what you'd do with this information...
Oh my, this was heart-breaking. I really felt for Alison and certain other members of the cast (who I can't go into too much detail here for fear of spoilers) with what they went through. But, in among all the pain there were some heart-warming moments which lightened the mood a bit and kept the book balanced rather than going too dark.
Having never had children myself, it's hard to put myself in Alison's position. But the way the author wrote the book made it easy to believe in what she was doing. Pacing was good, a relatively slow start, setting the scene and characters for what was to come, and then as the tension ramped up, it didn't stop until right at the end. And that end. when it came was perfect.
All in all, a great follow-up to The Boy at the Door, this author's debut which I read last year. Looking forward to seeing what she serves up next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.