One Moment, One Morning

One of my favourite pastimes is to read. I love the feeling when I become hooked on a story and every time I read, I disappear into the life of the main character, almost as though I was a bystander in the storyline, watching everything happen. I hear the characters accents, I can see their homes and lives as though I was living it myself (please tell me I'm not the only one who does this?!)

The book I read recently that really struck a chord with me was One Moment, One Morning written by Sarah Rayner.

The story is about a man called Simon, who has a heart attack and dies on a busy, packed train to London one Monday morning (don't worry I'm not breaking the storyline, it does tell you this on the reverse of the book!) the story follows three characters; two of which were passengers on the train. The first is Simon's wife Karen, who is wracked with guilt that she did not do enough for him. The second character is Lou, who happened to be people watching the couple as the event unfolded. The third character is Anna (who is Karen's best friend) she happens, coincidentally, to share a taxi with Lou shortly after the train stops to allow the ambulance to collect Simon and Karen. Lou overhears the phone call that Anna receives from Karen, informing her of the death of Simon, and realising that they are all affected by the outcome of that morning, a friendship is formed between the three women. As the story develops we learn about their lives and how they're coping and dealing with issues in their life such as loss, grief, alcohol abuse, sexuality and relationships.

I found this book hard to put down, I liked the characters and couldn't wait to find out more about them and their backgrounds.
I liked the way the friendships developed and how support from friends proves to be a big factor in how we deal with life. The story comes across as moving and heart-warming and although I have not read anything previously from Sarah Rayner, I will definitely be looking to purchase one of her books again. A definite must read !

I would love to hear any recommendations if you have discovered any new books recently.