YOU WERE THERE TOO – Colleen Oakley
Berkley
ISBN: 9781984806468
January 2020
Fiction

Pennsylvania – Present Day

Mia is an artist married to Harrison, a surgeon. They have just moved from Philadelphia to the small town of Hope Springs, PA, and Mia is trying to get one of the art galleries in town to show her work. But her modern paintings don't seem inspire any of the gallery owners. Harrison is supportive; however, he has a busy practice at the local hospital, and Mia is feeling unsettled and unproductive. On top of that, she just had her second miscarriage.

Settling into her new house, Mia decides to resurrect the failing garden where the tomato plants are dying. She goes to the local garden store, gets help from one of the employees who sends her to the grocery store for Epsom salts, and, as she's heading out the door, there he is! The “he” is the very man she has seen in her dreams for years. He appears in various scenarios, but it's always the same guy. Stunned, Mia shakes it off and leaves.

When Mia has another miscarriage, she notices a change in Harrison. He has not spoken to her much about an eight-year-old boy who died during a routine surgery Harrison performed. But now it becomes apparent that the most recent miscarriage has triggered something in Harrison's mind. As they sit in the OB/GYN office to discuss the future, though, there is that guy again, the man in her dreams. Ironically, he is with a woman whose life Harrison saved. His name is Oliver, he is a freelance writer, and he seems to know Mia too.

YOU WERE THERE TOO is a really intriguing and very different story. Mia and Oliver set out to discover how and why they know each other. Mia is skeptical about what a psychic tells her, but her dreams seem to be telling her something. As Harrison withdraws emotionally, Mia is even more determined to find answers, even if the final result is not what she wants.

A shocking conclusion left me drained, which told me just how beautifully written this tale is. Start the year off with YOU WERE THERE TOO, you won't regret it.

Jani Brooks