"I don't know what I believe about death anymore. For a long time, I could see the logic of your beliefs even though I clung to the idea of God like a child with a teddy bear. But I don't know how to face death like that.
So I have a plan. If I die and if there IS life after death, I'm so coming back to haunt you. I mean full-on 'our house was built on an Indian burial ground' type of haunting."
-from one of Natalie's posthumous letters to Luke
Wow! This one had me fooled at the beginning but turned out to be a real PAGE-TURNER! It has been a while since I had a whole afternoon to sit and read and this was the perfect book for such a day.
The story begins with Luke Richardson and his children returning home from final services for his wife, Natalie, who has died of cancer. Soon after, he begins mysteriously receiving letters from Natalie, in her own handwriting. My first impression was "far-fetched" and "schmaltzy." My curiosity kept me going, thank goodness, because when oldest son Will finds some of his mother's personal papers, it becomes apparent that Natalie had a secret past. The more Luke tries to trace the clues, the more puzzling her history becomes. Just when the reader thinks she knows what's going on, the plot takes another turn.
It was an interesting coincidence that Munchausen syndrome by proxy has a part in the novel and was also a theme in the "Law and Order: SVU" I watched on the same day. What a strange mental illness!
I definitely rate When I'm Gone a 5 for sheer entertainment. Ms. Bleeker devised a very clever and intricate plot. I'll certainly look for another by her.
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