Author: Amanda Prowse

Published: July 2020 by Lake Union Publishing

Category: Contemporary Fiction, Family Drama, Book Review

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When her loving, free-spirited grandmother Primrose passes away, Victoria is bereft, yet resilient—she has survived tragedy before. But even her strength is tested when a mysterious woman attends Prim’s funeral and claims to be the mother Victoria thought was dead.

The Day She Came Back is a compelling story of three generations of women—Prim, Sarah and Victoria—woven into a tale of secrets uncovered, loss, grief and forgiveness. Victoria has been brought up by her beautiful, glamorous grandmother, Prim. Her parents had been drug addicts and died when she was a baby and her grandfather passed away several years ago. Prim’s daughter Sarah, Victoria’s mother, had been her only child. Now it was just Victoria and Prim living in Rosebank, a large house on the outskirts of Epsom in Surrey. She has no other relatives and hadn’t been a popular girl at school, but she has a lovely best friend in Daksha.

Now eighteen, Victoria and Daks were making plans to travel for twelve months or until the money ran out but their plans are curtailed when Prim passes away suddenly. Victoria is devastated by her loss and Daks and her family are there to help as much as they can. Victoria has another huge shock when an unknown woman attends Prim’s funeral and claims to be the mother Victoria believes had died all those years ago. Victoria is utterly bewildered…and angry. How could Prim have lied for so long? And why had her mother never been in touch?

‘I’m not sure I do have a desire for it to be true!’ She shook her head defiantly, if not convincingly. ‘I think I hope it’s not true, but then if there’s the smallest chance I could get to meet my mum…’ She held her head in her hands briefly. ‘I would hate to see me get hurt too, but what if the hurt comes because I find out that Prim has been lying to me my whole life? What then?’ The thought was enough to make her tears bloom.

Amanda Prowse is an author who can give voice to her characters’ intense and raw emotions and draw the reader into those feelings. Victoria’s confusion, pain and anger, and the resulting uncharacteristic and irresponsible behaviour, is understandable even as it does more harm than good.

The Day She Came Back is peopled with well defined characters, I particularly liked Daks and Gerald, who prove to be true friends and ones to treasure. Victoria’s process of grieving and coming to terms with events while missing Prim and coping with the seesawing emotions and feelings of betrayal and rejection towards both Prim and Sarah are very realistic and handled with understanding. A very moving, and ultimately satisfying, story.

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