I received the digital copy of this book from the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange with review.

The story begins with a narrator who seems to be the “victim” of what Archie did to him. He writes his “story” in a sequence of letters at the encouragement of Dan Collier who we eventually discover is an attorney who works for a Restorative Justice Project. The program serves as a mediation for joining victims with offenders in an effort to provide a resolution for both parties. The story alternates between these letters and the story which eventually ties into the letters.

The story explains Archie who is a 19 year old who grew up with a “weirdo” mother. He didn’t know his father who was never around but misses his grandfather, Brookie, who mostly raised him. He learned to read and write, played football and learned to take care of himself. Unfortunately, his life changed when his grandfather died, he was left living with an unfit mother and was forced to worked for BJ who would beat his mother.

Marcus Huxley-Browne was an influential man who was very cruel to his wife who is aware of his illegal business practices but threatened into silence. Eventually, he was arrested prompting her to escape with her daughter and mother to a secret location. Although, how safe can anyone feel when hiding from such dangerous people?

They change their names and attempt to resume a “normal” life. Rebecca changes her name to Claudia Winters who is a 36 year old widower whose husband Joel died. She is taking her daughter Cara who now becomes Jasmine and an experienced violin player. They live with Marcy Llewelyn who becomes the mother of “Claudia”.

Even though several months have passed since they left their old lives behind them, they are aware that people are still looking for them. The police were digging up the yard at the Kensington house and who knows what they will discover. They lived in fear given the criminal activity of Marcus and his sister Eugena who managed to elude conviction. Through some complicated connections their safety is eventually exploited.

Where does the Restorative Justice Project Fit into this equation? Do people have the ability to change if given a second chance? Are people products of their environment, resorting to crime for survival? Is forgiveness possible after someone experiences the unspeakable of offenses? Does it take courage to do the right thing or is it more complicated?
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This book took me on a journey. And by that I mean it started off strong, lost its way for awhile, but thankfully got back on track and turned into a thought-provoking read. Not a perfect reading experience but nonetheless it was still worthwhile.

I've been debating about whether to provide a decent synopsis or a vague one and I've decided less is more. A women flees from an abusive marriage and skips town with her mother and teenage daughter. She's afraid her husband will track them down so the three of them will be living under new identities. However, the threat of being discovered still weighs heavily on their minds. Restorative justice is a topic that is explored in this novel but don't read too much into my brief synopsis and assume you understand how it factors into the story.

The opening chapters were tension filled because you want to make sure the women can escape the horrible man. Once they get settled in their new town that's when I thought there were some problems with the writing. The transitions to the other characters in the town were a bit weak and confusing at first. The letter portions of the book were done in a slightly better way. For awhile I felt like I was being told about these close connections between characters rather than being shown. It felt like the story wasn't focused for an extended period of time to which I contemplated giving up on the book.

Once the restorative justice part of the story is firmly established that's what helped in bringing back my interest in the characters. It made me start thinking about what I would do in each character's shoes. Another aspect of the story I found fascinating was seeing the justice system play out in a UK setting rather than the United States which is where I live. Being able to compare and contrast the two systems was an extra reason I found this book to be an interesting read.

Thank you to William Morrow for sending me an advance copy of this book as part of the #WMTastemakers program. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion. ( )

Forgive Me by Susan Lewis is a highly recommended domestic drama that ultimately examines the power of forgiveness.

Claudia Winters along with her daughter Jasmine are escaping her abusive husband Marcus after he is on trial and begins serving a prison sentence. Her mother Marcy joins the two as all three move to a small coastal town in Northern England and live under their new names. Claudia lives under a constant fear that her husband will send someone to find her and harm her and her family. As the three begin to settle into their new town and make a good group of friends, Claudia still feels apprehensive that she is being watched. And then someone horrible does happen...

Archie Colbrook is in prison awaiting trial and spends his time writing letters to the victim of his crime for his Restorative Justice Counselor. He knows he is guilty and doesn't deserve forgiveness, but he also knows he didn't intentionally set out to cause a person harm. Even when the victim chooses to read his letters, he doesn't expect any forgiveness or a meeting.

These two different story lines unfold in alternate chapters and ultimately the two plots come together and showcase the power of forgiveness, even when it doesn't seem possible. The message is a good one, but the plot is a little less than believable. Setting that aside, it is an enjoyable novel and does provide insight into the Restorative Justice program. It also has an undercurrent of the support and love that can be found within a family and among a close group of friends. It starts out feeling like a thriller, but that is deceptive as it is decidedly a family/domestic drama, however a novel with a theme of forgiveness is always a positive thing.

Some characters are more realistic, believable, and likeable than others. That will quickly be determined and sorted out by the reader. The recovery of one of the characters is definitely heart-wrenching and you will pursue this plot thread closely and wish for a good outcome. The ending is predictable, but ultimately this is a feel-good novel with drama thrown in to keep you engrossed in the story and the outcome.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2021/01/forgive-me.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3769316033 ( )