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A review by gillianw
Back to You by Chris Scully
4.0
Reviewed for Just Love
4 stars
Compelling and atmospheric, Back To You is the kind of mystery that unfolds slowly but still manages to capture you in and draw you along as it uncovers a decades old disappearance that still haunts the inhabitants of small town in British Columbia, Canada.
After 20 years away, Alex Buchanan is reluctantly returning to his hometown to assist his sister Janet in their father’s dying days. Estranged from his dad and increasingly unsatisfied with the kind of writing he’s been doing at the magazine he works for, Alex is convinced by his editor that this might be a good opportunity to chronicle a father/son reunion. But Alex has more than work and his father’s imminent death on his mind. His thoughts revolve around is former best friend, Benji and what he might be up to these days.
In hindsight, I suppose I could have Googled him, or found him on Facebook like any other long-lost friend, but I was already in motion, driving the extra hour east purely by instinct, as if Benji were my true north and I the needle on the compass.
The relationship between Alex and Ben is deliberately understated in this book, but I feel that’s how it should be. In reality, this is more about coming to terms with the past, whether it be a parent-child relationship that soured over time, or the impact a tragic event can have on people and how they are forced to deal with the fallout.
Back To You not only takes a look at what it takes for two grown men to forgive past transgressions, but how to move forward from a event so dire it impacted two families forever, both of them haunted in different ways about the disappearance of a 17 year old girl and what it might mean for all of them if the mystery is solved.
I loved the somewhat dream-like atmosphere of this book and appreciated the moody weather-driven setting, if only because I have driven through many of the places mentioned. The Highway of Tears is all too real, as are the many unsolved murders and disappearances of too many women that occurred over that particular stretch of road for more than 40 years.
All in all, I thought this was an excellent story by a new-to-me author. I can assure you, this won’t be my last book by Chris Scully and I hope to pick up more of her books in the near future.
I received an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.
4 stars
Compelling and atmospheric, Back To You is the kind of mystery that unfolds slowly but still manages to capture you in and draw you along as it uncovers a decades old disappearance that still haunts the inhabitants of small town in British Columbia, Canada.
After 20 years away, Alex Buchanan is reluctantly returning to his hometown to assist his sister Janet in their father’s dying days. Estranged from his dad and increasingly unsatisfied with the kind of writing he’s been doing at the magazine he works for, Alex is convinced by his editor that this might be a good opportunity to chronicle a father/son reunion. But Alex has more than work and his father’s imminent death on his mind. His thoughts revolve around is former best friend, Benji and what he might be up to these days.
In hindsight, I suppose I could have Googled him, or found him on Facebook like any other long-lost friend, but I was already in motion, driving the extra hour east purely by instinct, as if Benji were my true north and I the needle on the compass.
The relationship between Alex and Ben is deliberately understated in this book, but I feel that’s how it should be. In reality, this is more about coming to terms with the past, whether it be a parent-child relationship that soured over time, or the impact a tragic event can have on people and how they are forced to deal with the fallout.
Back To You not only takes a look at what it takes for two grown men to forgive past transgressions, but how to move forward from a event so dire it impacted two families forever, both of them haunted in different ways about the disappearance of a 17 year old girl and what it might mean for all of them if the mystery is solved.
I loved the somewhat dream-like atmosphere of this book and appreciated the moody weather-driven setting, if only because I have driven through many of the places mentioned. The Highway of Tears is all too real, as are the many unsolved murders and disappearances of too many women that occurred over that particular stretch of road for more than 40 years.
All in all, I thought this was an excellent story by a new-to-me author. I can assure you, this won’t be my last book by Chris Scully and I hope to pick up more of her books in the near future.
I received an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.