Talking to the Dead a novel by Bonnie Grove

After discovering I posted this review elsewhere and not in my blog...here is a review repost. :)

Summary from the back cover: Twentysomething Kate Davis can't seem to get this grieving-widow thing down. She's supposed to pput on a brave face and get on with her life, right? Instead she's camped out on her living-room floor, unwashed, unkempt, and unable to sleep--because her husband, Kevin, keeps talking to her.

Is she losing her mind?

Kate's attempts to find the source of the voice she hears are both humorous and humiliating, as she turns first to an "eclectically spiritual" counselor, then to a shrink with a bad toupee, a mean-spirited exorcist, and finally group therapy. There she meets Jack, the warmhearted, unconventional pastor of a ramshackle church, and at last the voice subsides. But when she stumbles upon a secret Kevin was keeping, Kate's fragile hold on the present threatens to implode under the weight of the past...and Kevin begins to shout.

Will the voice ever stop? Kate must confront her grief to find the grace to go on in this tender, quirky story about second chances.

Do check out the author's website: Bonnie Grove

More juice here: Check out the trailer!




My Review: Stunned, stunning, stuntabulous! Okay. The last was absolutely not a word, but Talking to the Dead a novel by Bonnie Grove is simply the kind of book that takes you places you never have been to before. Following Kate as she suffers the grief of her husband Kevin's death at such a young age is mesmerizing. Certainly, Kate's first response of quiet withdrawal makes perfect sense. How do you move on when the love of your life has died? But also how do you move on when there are pieces of your life that are also missing? Lastly, what do you do when you hear the voice of your dead husband clearly speaking to you?

The ride is amazing. I seriously did not know what direction Kate's story was going to take. Every detail and chapter led me closer to the conclusion, but I certainly was not sure of what that conclusion was. I LOVED THAT! I cannot tell you how often I have read a book and have completely figured out the ending. This doesn't always take away from a story, but it is sure nice to really be taken along for an adventurous ride. A ride that was sad, happy, frightening, thought provoking, and fully moving.

This is a book I thoroughly enjoyed with fresh characters from an author whose work I will now highly anticipate.