In The Absence Of Miracles By Michael J Malone

‘In The Absence Of Miracles’ is the latest book by Michael J Malone.

John Docherty’s mother has just been taken into a nursing home following a massive stroke and she’s unlikely to be able to live independently again. With no other option than to sell the family home, John sets about packing up everything in the house. In sifting through the detritus of his family’s past he’s forced to revisit, and revise his childhood. For in a box, in the attic, he finds undeniable truth that he had a brother who disappeared when he himself was only a toddler. A brother no one ever mentioned. A brother he knew absolutely nothing about. A discovery that sets John on a journey from which he may never recover.

For the last couple of days, I’ve been embroiled in this story, genuinely gripping but also heartbreakingly shocking.

The story is seen through the narrative of John, who makes a shocking discovery when hunting through his mother’s house, he uncovers a brother he never knew he had and whilst on a journey uncovers a lot of memories that he had thought he had buried deep.

When I started this book, I had a vague idea of where the story was going but nothing could prepare me for the twist in the book. A story about human trafficking and child abuse, this book is a hard read that is sensitively written about such traumatising topics.

Raw from the first page, we join one man’s journey, as he delves into his family’s past and uncovers secrets and this makes for sad and unsettling reading as he discovers that his memories from the past aren’t what he seemed they were. John is a troubled character, that I felt such empathy for, he’s damaged from his childhood and as he delves deeper, we see him unravel and this makes for emotional reading.

A challenging story about family secrets and lies, ‘In The Absence Of Miracles’ is a harrowing story with a complex storyline that grips the reader’s heart from the first page.

You can buy ‘In The Absence Of Miracles’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.