Ghosted: a love story

Ghosted: a love story

By Jenn Ashworth

Scepter, 2022. 288 pages. 

Fiction

One ordinary morning, Laurie's husband Mark vanishes, leaving behind his phone and wallet. For weeks, she tells no one, carrying on her job as a cleaner at the local university, visiting her tricky, dementia-suffering father and holing up in her tower-block flat with a bottle to hand. When she finally reports Mark as missing, the police are suspicious. Why did she take so long? Wasn't she worried? It turns out there are many more mysteries in Laurie's account of events, though not just because she glosses over the facts. At the time, she couldn't explain much of her behavior herself. But as she looks back on the ensuing wreckage - the friendships broken, the wild accusations she made, the one-night stand - she can see more clearly what lay behind it. And if it's not too late, she can see how she might repair the damage and, most of all, forgive herself.

I loved this story, told first-person from Laurie's point of view. Even though her thoughts and actions are sometimes nonsensical and horrible, she's easy to relate to, and you want things to work out for her. The slow reveals of Laurie and Mark's lives are surprising, sometimes heartbreaking, and perfectly paced. I appreciated how Ashworth created flawed and frustrating characters that make you want to examine and question your own thoughts and actions.

If you like Ghosted: a love story, you might also like: 

Lost: a novel

By Joy Fielding

Atria books, 2003. 372 pages

Fiction

Cindy Carver has always had an explosive relationship with her first-born daughter, Julia, now a self-centered twentysomething aspiring actress. When Cindy and her philandering entertainment-lawyer husband divorced almost a decade ago, Julia chose to live with him. But recently she has moved back in with Cindy, her father's new wife having insisted that their posh home wasn't big enough for everyone. After arguing with the entire household on the morning of an important movie audition, Julia fails to return home. She may be difficult, but she wouldn't put her family through the agony of wondering where she is, would she? With the case splashed all over the media, Cindy can't help but suspect everyone in her daughter's disappearance. But as the days go by, she learns a lot about her family, especially Julia, and realizes that her life and relationships will never be the same.

Ghosted: a novel

By Rosie Walsh

Viking, 2018. 337 pages

Fiction

When Sarah meets Eddie, they connect instantly and fall in love. To Sarah, it seems as though her life has finally begun. And it's mutual: It's as though Eddie has been waiting for her, too. Sarah has never been so certain of anything. So when Eddie leaves for a long-booked vacation and promises to call from the airport, she has no cause to doubt him. But he doesn't call. Sarah's friends tell her to forget about him, but she can't. She knows something's happened--there must be an explanation. Minutes, days, weeks go by as Sarah becomes increasingly worried. But then she discovers she's right. There is a reason for Eddie's disappearance, and it's the one thing they didn't share with each other: the truth.