The Returned by Jason Mott

This is a book that will haunt you with possibilities long after you finish the last words.  The dead have started to return to the world of the living.  They are ready to pick up their lives from the moment when they passed.  At first, they don't even realise they were, or is that are, dead.

The living, the true living - those who haven't died- don't know what to make of this change.  Are these really their departed loved ones or just shadows of them.

As I read this novel, I was struck cold by the possibility of this happening.  As much as I love those who have passed from my life, how could I want and ill person to live again in such a state, how could I welcome back a person who I have lived longer without that I did with.  Is this a miracle sought by many, or is it something else entirely.  These and many other questions confront the people and society as a whole in The Returned.

As much as I wanted to rush through this story to find out what happened, I had to keep putting it down to consider my feelings about the event and how I would react.  Would I accept this situation as a miracle and  be patient and let it play out, or would I be spurred to some sort of action. Author Jason Mott has handled this topic with a restrained hand. He gives just enough information to move the plot forward, without revealing too much.

A most thought provoking read.  I have been somewhat haunted by these questions since I first read this book and I still have no answers.  This would make a good Book Club selection.

Cover image courtesy Harlequin Mira Books.