Book Review - After You

After You A Novel by Julie Buxbaum

When Ellie learns that her best friend, Lucy, has been murdered in Notting Hill, she is devastated. Not only was she murdered in broad daylight, but also in front of her eight year old daughter, Sophie. Ellie immediately leaves her husband and home in Boston and flies to London. Because of the traumatizing experience of seeing her mother killed, Sophie has stopped talking. Ellie feels an intense need to be there for the little girl and her father. Knowing that she and Sophie both share a love of reading, Ellie begins to read the book 'The Secret Garden', hoping that it will somehow comfort Sophie. As the two become engrossed in the story, Sophie begins to open up little by little.

While Ellie continues her stay in London, she adds to the problems that were already present in her own marriage. And, after discovering some secrets about Lucy, she begins to question everything in her life - her marriage, her past, and her future. When an unexpected surprise occurs, Ellie is not sure which way to turn. Does she return to Boston, to her husband and her old life? Or, does she stay in London and take care of Sophie?

This was a great book. Being a mother and having a lifelong best friend, I could certainly relate to both Ellie and Lucy on many points.