An astonishing first novel about love and belief, and the difficulty of letting go
Thirty-something Midwesterner Mark Fife believes he has moved on from the accidental death of his young son and the subsequent break-up of his marriage. He's successful, he's in love again and he believes he's mastered his own memories. But then he's contacted by a strange woman who tells him she's living in his old house, the house where Brendan died, and she's convinced it's haunted by Brendan's ghost.
Mark doesn't believe in ghosts, but his distressed ex-wife does, and Mark so much wants to help her. So much so that he begins to doubt his own beliefs and motives. And as he flirts with the idea of trying to contact his son, he begins to endanger the relationships that matter now in his life, with his fiancee Allison and his tough and sceptical father.
You Came Back is a wonderfully affecting read about the nature of belief and bereavement, about old loves and new loves, and the hardships involved in letting go.