The Returned by Jason Mott

Title: The Returned
Author: Jason Mott
ISBN: 9781743560525
Publisher: Harlequin Mira
Published: September 2013

Synopsis:

Harold and Lucille Hargrave's lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they've settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time ... Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep—flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.


All over the world people's loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it's a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he's their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.

My Thoughts:

Imagine having your loved ones return from the dead, returned to the world exactly the way they were before they died. Imagine the joy, the confusion, the turmoil and the questions. The Returned is a unique and emotional read. It follows the experiences of the Hargrave family and the small town of Arcadia, as they try to make sense of the 'miracle' that seems to be happening all over the world.

The plot progressed rather slowly especially through the first half of the book, it picked up in pace toward the end of the book Although the the ending seemed unresolved to me. There were too many unanswered questions for my liking, I almost felt cheated.

The Returned is the type of book that will make you question yourself, and the decisions you make and it will certainly keep you thinking long after you have put it down. I definitely recommend this as a book for book clubs as there are many questions and opportunities for discussion.

Thanks to Harlequin Australia for the ARC.