Forgive Me By Susan Lewis

”Forgive me’ is the latest book by Susan Lewis.

This is Claudia Winters’s last chance for a fresh start. Changing her name and leaving her old life behind, she has fled to the small town of Kesterly with her mother and daughter. Here, she hopes they can be safe for the first time in years. But the past can’t stay hidden forever. And even as Claudia makes new friends and builds a new life, she can’t help feeling it’s all about to catch up with her… Until one disastrous night changes everything forever.

This was the first book that I’ve read by Susan and it was a fantastic introduction to the story.

The story is primarily seen through the narrative of a woman called Claudia who is escaping from her old life with her only daughter Jasmine and her mother called Marcy who have undertaken new identities to escape their old lives. But a terrible incident occurs when both lives connect leaving the family in chaos.

This book is a complex story of morals and forgiveness and delves into the concept of restorative justice which gives the victim of a crime an opportunity to meet the offender and put their views across, an interesting concept that I wasn’t aware of. It made me wonder about this concept whether it was successful and helped bring closure to victims and offenders.

The story travels at a fast pace and includes narratives from both Claudia and her family as well as an unknown man who is remorseful for his actions. As the story develops, we come to understand the unknown man and terrible repercussions of his actions.

The characters are a great mix of personalities, but I felt such a warmth towards Claudia and Marcy as they settle into their new lives and make new friends but they’re always on edge that they’re going to be exposed. Dan is also an interesting character, as him and Claudia tentatively begin a friendship and he introduces her to restorative justice.

There’s an element of suspense to the story as Claudia fears that her identity will be revealed, as well a deep underlying sadness as the family have to come to terms to the trauma that has come to their doors.

Beautifully written, filled with compassion and moments of poignant, ‘Forgive Me’ is a story of hope and new beginnings and is an deep exploration of morals and forgiveness.

You can buy ‘Forgive Me’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.