I actually came across this book whilst attending a short story event at the Manchester Blackwell's store (one of my favourite bookshops in Manchester by the way). I have to say it was definitely the front cover that got my attention because the artwork is truly beautiful but also the blurb had me hooked, and what I love most about indie bookshops is that you can find absolute gems in there like this one that you've not come across on social media and they leave you completely shocked. So as soon as I bought it, I had to read it!

Basically, the book starts on one ordinary morning, when Laurie's husband Mark vanishes, leaving behind his phone and wallet. For weeks, she tells no one, carrying on her job as a cleaner at the local university, visiting her tricky, dementia-suffering father and holing up in her tower-block flat with a bottle to hand. When she finally reports Mark as missing, the police are suspicious. Why did she take so long? Wasn't she worried about his whereabouts?

It turns out there are many more mysteries in Laurie's account of events, though not just because she glosses over the facts. At the time, she couldn't explain much of her behaviour herself. But as she looks back on the ensuing wreckage—the friendships broken, the wild accusations she made, the one-night stand—she can see more clearly what lay behind it. And if it's not too late, she can see how she might repair the damage and, most of all, forgive herself.

So firstly, what an incredible story. I absolutely LOVED the main character, Laurie. I don't know what's wrong with me but I always tend to really enjoy books with a complicated, non-trustworthy narrator and Laurie is just that. I really feel like this book came to me when I needed it the most. Without getting too personal, the story is very similar in some ways to a personal experience and I think that is probably why I felt as one with the protagonist Laurie. My heart broke when her heart broke. I got angry when she got angry and I felt sad when she felt sad. So although I thought the story was excellent, I think for me, reading this book was a very personal experience because it hit me right where it was hurting.

But less about me and more about the book. The book is set in Northern UK and it was actually so refreshing to recognise the places where the main character was going, having spent most of my life reading about places in London that I had no idea about. I also thought it was incredible that through Laurie, the author explores so many different topics such as grief, poverty and child/parent relationships. I think in her confusion and unreliable narration, we get these little glimpses of a woman trying to keep her life together when the structures around her are just falling apart one by one.

So when I finished the novel, I was also confused. Is it a love story? A thriller? A ghost story? Who knows but it's truly excellent and one that should be added onto your TBR list straightaway and equally one I have no doubt you’ll race through.

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