The Man Who Didn't Call by Rosie Walsh
This novel has both romance and mystery going on. Just when you think you have something figured out, the plot moves in a different direction.
The book starts with what seems to be a letter from someone who hasn't seen the person addressed to for nineteen years. It then moves to a different setting, labelled Day Seven. The numbered day refers to the time two people Sarah and Eddie who found each other by chance when they were both out for a walk and who have spent those days together, falling in love with each other. The narrator here is Sarah and she reflects not only on Eddie and the time spent with him, but also on time spent with her younger sister Hannah, who she misses a lot. They've spent these days at Eddie's home a house and woodworking shop in the Gloucestershire countryside. Eddie makes his living as a woodworker, following an interest he had even when young, and one that he resumed after abandoning a college degree. Eddie is about to leave for a planned vacation getaway with friends, but has promised to call Sarah from the airport and reunite with her when he's back.
Sarah is divorced. She'd left home a couple decades ago, and has only come back for an annual visit more recently. She lives in California where she and her former husband founded a charity that uses Clown Doctors, specially trained people that use their humour and communication skills to connect to kids in hospitals and hospices.
The third chapter jumps ahead a couple of weeks, where Sarah is with her close friends Jo and Tommy, along with Jo's son Rudi, travelling to Tommy's old school where he will be giving a presentation. He needs support as several of his old bullies will also be there, and he is very nervous. Sarah is hung up on her own issues though, the primary one being that Eddie has completely ghosted her after leaving for his vacation. He has given no explanation and hasn't responded to any of her communication attempts. She is both worried about him and emotionally upset. I really enjoyed Rudi's takes on the adult world happening around him. He is an observant and intelligent child.
As the novel gradually unveils the reason for Eddie's silence, and how Sarah copes, or doesn't cope with this knowledge, we are also given more of the letters that the book started with, showing that something happened those nineteen years before that left the letter writer profoundly saddened.
I enjoyed the twists and turns, and the gradual unveilings that moved the plot forward. A captivating read.
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