Cathedral Women by Carol Malyon

Published by The Mercury Press

Carol Malyon brings us a fast paced novel which will keep the reader constantly guessing. A few weeks ago, Tracey had it all. A boyfriend, two loving parents, a job she almost liked. Now her world is upside down as she gave up the guy and shortly after her parents went away on a vacation, she gets a call to say they were killed in an accident with a drunk driver.

While sorting out papers in her dad's office, she stumbles across an envelope on which is written To be given to Angela on her twenty-first birthday. Puzzled, she opens it and finds a notebook, a snapshot, and a letter from someone named Gloria Cathedral, a woman who gave away her baby to be adopted.. a baby who shares Tracey's birthday.

What follows is a touching adventure in which Tracey is determined to find out who she is and where she belongs. We, the readers, are still granted access to her parents' view of all this as they lurk on a cloud and watch over their darling girl.

This book is so suprising. I loved the unique aspect of having her parents still talking to us and filling us in on little pieces as we read along. I liked the straight-forward, no-frills writing style. The raw emotion, often heartbreaking, just screams out from the pages and the reader just can't help but hope that this is going to end happily. With so much tragedy at the start, it's not likely, but we live in hope regardless.

The book gives an insight not just into life after the death of Tracey's parents but also of her teen years. We get to see Tracey really develop as a character and that was wonderful for me. I also loved that we see her take two journeys. One, a physical search for family and home, and a second in which she searches within herself and uses fact and imagination to come to terms with her life.

A great read!