Only Henry is dead. He died two months earlier, leaving a huge hole in Grace's life and in her heart. But then Henry turns up to fix the boiler one evening, and Grace can't decide if she's hallucinating or has suddenly developed psychic powers. Grace isn't going mad - the man in front of her is not Henry at all, but someone else who looks uncannily like him. The hole in Grace's heart grows ever larger.
Grace becomes captivated by this stranger, Andy - to her, he is Henry, and yet he is not. Reminded of everything she once had, can Grace recreate that lost love with Andy, resurrecting Henry in the process, or does loving Andy mean letting go of Henry?
***
Grace took out her notebook and began to tut.
***
(@CorvusBooks, 3 May 2018, 432 pages, ebook, borrowed from @AmazonKindle #PrimeReading)
***
***
I need to cuddle a teddy after reading this. I'm emotionally wrecked. This is the kind of book that squeezes your heart until it pops or punches a hole straight through it. I knew the book was going to get to me within a few pages when Henry dies, in a horrific, all too believable accident. This book had me right at the moment Henry's scarf catches on the spokes of his bicycle wheels. My heart was in my throat. This book goes to some pretty dark places when Grace is almost consumed by her grief for Henry, her consuming memories, his last moments on earth and hints and what might have been. I wasn't sure what to expect when his twin brother Andy enters the picture. This could have gone two ways. The worst outcome would have been for Grace to replace Henry with Andy almost as if he didn't die. Thankfully, the author didn't choose to do this. Grace is drawn to him, at first because he's Henry's twin and eventually just because of himself. He helps her start to heal and it's good to share Henry's memories with someone. This is a beautiful book.
