Finding Grace

In Rothschild’s emotionally charged debut, a widower falls for his family’s egg donor as the ghost of his wife watches on. Tom loses his wife, Honor, and their daughter, who’s four, in the gut-wrenching opening chapter, when they’re killed by a suicide bomber in Paris during the family’s Christmas holiday. Back home in London, Tom learns that the couple’s latest attempt for a baby—using an egg donor and carried by a surrogate—has been successful. Four years later, Tom, having quit his finance job to be a full-time dad to his son, Henry, leads a fulfilling if somewhat lonely life, watched over by Honor’s spirit, who narrates the book from beyond the grave. A misaddressed letter reveals the identity of Henry’s egg donor, Grace, prompting Tom to drop by her wine shop. Without revealing their connection, Tom falls hard for Grace, who looks just like Honor. Enjoyment of the novel requires suspension of disbelief—Grace, a small business owner, spends stunningly little time at her shop—and there’s less tension in the looming revelation of Tom’s deceit than the author intends. Better are Honor’s tender flashbacks to their marriage and her musings about the challenges of fertility. The novel’s examination of love and family will leave readers with plenty to chew on. Agent: Christy Fletcher, UTA. (June)

Correction: An earlier version of this review used the wrong name to refer the character Honor.