Book: You Were Here

Author: Gian Sardar

Genre: Fiction/Historical/Thriller

Summary: Death, accidental and early, has always been Abby Walters’s preoccupation. She’s thirty-three and eager to settle down with her commitment-shy boyfriend when an old recurring dream returns: a paralyzing nightmare of being buried alive, the taste of dirt in her mouth suffocating and real. But this time the dream reveals a name: Claire Ballantine, a woman from her family’s past. Looking for answers, and to stop the nightmares, Abby returns home to Minnesota for the first time in fourteen years, where she reconnects with her high school crush, Aiden, now a detective on the trail of a violent criminal. When Abby tries on her grandmother’s diamond ring, which she always dreamed would be hers, she discovers a cryptic note hidden beneath the ring box’s velvet lining. What secret was her grandmother hiding? Could this be the key to what’s haunting Abby? In 1948, young Eva Marten can’t believe her luck when she meets William, a handsome businessman who sees that she’s more than her meager farm-town roots. Their passionate love affair is only the beginning - or at least it will be, Eva knows, once he leaves his distant, upper-class wife, Claire. Eva’s love for William and determination to follow her heart sweeps them both off their feet, pushing Eva and Claire to a chilling confrontation. An ill-fated love triangle in the past. A horrifying crime in the present. Mesmerizing twists and a long-buried secret that may finally rise to light. You Were Here weaves together two worlds separated by decades, unveiling just how much lurks beneath the surface of our lives. -Putnam, 2017.

I really enjoyed reading this book. And that is exactly what I did. Anything else that went on around me, (seriously?), I was absorbed and mesmerized. I loved everything about this book, well, except for a certain ending. I knew early on who was really in the nursing home, but it still did not deter me.

Abby's dreams had me stumped. Was it that she was seeing something in her future or something she had erased from her memory in the past? Not only was that mystery going on, but Abby having lived with a man for four years was wondering "is that all there is"? Meeting up with her old boyfriend put another plot twist into the story, however, for those who care, there were no sex scenes that I remember. If there were they were not detailed.

There was also several other stories going on in this book. I won't spoil them for you, but I will tell you the author did a great job going back and forth between all the stories. I was never confused and able to follow easily which provided even more additional entertainment.

Huge thanks to Penguin Group Putnam for approving me for this wonderful story and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.