Forgive Me

by Susan Lewis

Paperback, 2020

Rating

½ (5 ratings; 3.8)

Genres

Fiction

Publication

HarperCollins (2020), 416 pages

Description

Archie Colbrook spends his time writing letters. Letters to the stranger to whom he committed terrible harm. Archie knows he doesn't deserve forgiveness. Yes, he didn't mean to hurt anyone. But does that matter? He still did it. Claudia Winters hopes to feel safe for the first time in years, it's her chance for a new beginning. But Claudia knows that the past won't stay hidden for long - and she can't help but feel that it's all about to catch up with her...

User reviews

LibraryThing member fastforward

This book took me on a journey. And by that I mean it started off strong, lost its way for awhile, but thankfully got back on track and turned into a thought-provoking read. Not a perfect reading experience but nonetheless it was still worthwhile.

I've been debating about whether to provide a decent

synopsis or a vague one and I've decided less is more. A women flees from an abusive marriage and skips town with her mother and teenage daughter. She's afraid her husband will track them down so the three of them will be living under new identities. However, the threat of being discovered still weighs heavily on their minds. Restorative justice is a topic that is explored in this novel but don't read too much into my brief synopsis and assume you understand how it factors into the story.

The opening chapters were tension filled because you want to make sure the women can escape the horrible man. Once they get settled in their new town that's when I thought there were some problems with the writing. The transitions to the other characters in the town were a bit weak and confusing at first. The letter portions of the book were done in a slightly better way. For awhile I felt like I was being told about these close connections between characters rather than being shown. It felt like the story wasn't focused for an extended period of time to which I contemplated giving up on the book.

Once the restorative justice part of the story is firmly established that's what helped in bringing back my interest in the characters. It made me start thinking about what I would do in each character's shoes. Another aspect of the story I found fascinating was seeing the justice system play out in a UK setting rather than the United States which is where I live. Being able to compare and contrast the two systems was an extra reason I found this book to be an interesting read.

Thank you to William Morrow for sending me an advance copy of this book as part of the #WMTastemakers program. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.

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LibraryThing member marquis784

I received the digital copy of this book from the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange with review.

The story begins with a narrator who seems to be the “victim” of what Archie did to him. He writes his “story” in a sequence of letters at the encouragement of Dan Collier who we eventually

discover is an attorney who works for a Restorative Justice Project. The program serves as a mediation for joining victims with offenders in an effort to provide a resolution for both parties. The story alternates between these letters and the story which eventually ties into the letters.

The story explains Archie who is a 19 year old who grew up with a “weirdo” mother. He didn’t know his father who was never around but misses his grandfather, Brookie, who mostly raised him. He learned to read and write, played football and learned to take care of himself. Unfortunately, his life changed when his grandfather died, he was left living with an unfit mother and was forced to worked for BJ who would beat his mother.

Marcus Huxley-Browne was an influential man who was very cruel to his wife who is aware of his illegal business practices but threatened into silence. Eventually, he was arrested prompting her to escape with her daughter and mother to a secret location. Although, how safe can anyone feel when hiding from such dangerous people?

They change their names and attempt to resume a “normal” life. Rebecca changes her name to Claudia Winters who is a 36 year old widower whose husband Joel died. She is taking her daughter Cara who now becomes Jasmine and an experienced violin player. They live with Marcy Llewelyn who becomes the mother of “Claudia”.

Even though several months have passed since they left their old lives behind them, they are aware that people are still looking for them. The police were digging up the yard at the Kensington house and who knows what they will discover. They lived in fear given the criminal activity of Marcus and his sister Eugena who managed to elude conviction. Through some complicated connections their safety is eventually exploited.

Where does the Restorative Justice Project Fit into this equation? Do people have the ability to change if given a second chance? Are people products of their environment, resorting to crime for survival? Is forgiveness possible after someone experiences the unspeakable of offenses? Does it take courage to do the right thing or is it more complicated?

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