The Returned by Jason Mott

 

I don't know how this child, this second Jacob, came to be. But honestly, I don't care. He's given us something we never thought we could have again: a chance to remember what love is. A chance to forgive ourselves. A chance to find out if we are still the people we were when we were a pair of young parents hoping and praying that nothing bad would ever happen to our child. A chance to love without fear. A chance to forgive ourselves.

All over the world people are returning from the dead, not as blood thirsty zombies but exactly the same as they were before they died.
The main story is set in the American small southern town of Arcadia and focuses on elderly couple Harold and Lucille Hargrave. Their only child, eight year old Jacob, drowned over forty years ago and now he's back.
This isn't a scary book as you might expect but more a look into how society would react and cope in this extreme situation, so many of the dead are coming back that they're put into camps and guarded by soldiers. It's slow paced and gently written, in fact I loved the authors writing style. It makes you think about what you would say and how you would feel if you had the opportunity to see and speak to a deceased loved one again, I'll admit to having a little cry towards the end and I don't cry easily at books.
In between the chapters there are also short sections telling the story of others who've returned which gave you an idea of what was happening elsewhere in the world.

If you're looking for a creepy book similar to the French TV series The Returned (which I love) then you may be disappointed, but if you want a well written, easy read that is thought provoking then you should enjoy this novel.

Rating: 4 out of 5