Book review: Come Back to Me by Sara Foster

Come Back to Me by Sara Foster is a release or reprint of her 2010 debut novel. I’ve read several of Foster’s books but discovered her after this was published. The events here come about thanks to a bizarre act of fate and what ensues could potentially be a second chance, and a time to do the right thing this time around… or it could be time to realise past decisions weren’t necessarily the wrong ones.

About this book

When Mark introduces his date, Julia, to Chloe and her husband at a London restaurant, it's obvious that something is very, very wrong. Alex and Julia pretend not to know one another, but the shocked expressions on their faces tell another story.

As the mystery of Julia's identity unravels, a terrible tragedy from ten years ago gradually comes to light.

While Chloe struggles with a secret of her own, Alex has to decide whether he should take Julia back to Australia to try to lay the past to rest, when doing so will risk all he has with the wife he loves.

And Julia must decide whether to finally confront Alex with the whole truth about what happened back then.

My thoughts

This unfolds in 2009 (which I guess is the time Foster wrote this book) but we also venture briefly back to 1999 and the threshold of the new millennium. Again Foster calls on both her knowledge of England (where she was born and raised) and Australia, where she now lives.

There are several complicated relationships on offer here. Chloe and Alex are married; but Chloe and a work colleague Mark, were once dating; although when we learn a bit more about their past relationship, it was kinda over before it began in reality. Mark comes across as a bit of a pompous prick though digs-in later in the novel and we get a better idea of who he could potentially be. This opens with the disastrous double-date. It’s obvious that Mark’s date (Julia) and Alex know each other and the fact that Julia does a runner says it all. I did find it a bit unrealistic that Chloe patiently waits days to ask Alex about his past relationship with Julia though perhaps she just didn’t want to know.

It’s during our brief visit to Australia in 1999 that we learn what happened to Julia (who wasn’t called Julia then) while she was backpacking with boyfriend Alex. It upended their lives and their relationship but Alex has regrets and decides to step-up this time, travelling back to Australia with his former girlfriend to confront their past and perhaps seek closure.

As well as romantic relationships Foster examines those between parents and adult children. Mark feels judged by his father, a previous partner in the law firm where he’s working. Chloe feels a strong sense of responsibility for her mother, who takes her for granted. There’s also a sense of fear… fear of doing the wrong thing, of letting loved ones down, of being disappointed, instead remaining stuck in some sort of limbo.

Come Back to Me by Sara Foster will be published in late April by Blackstone Publishing.

I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.