Sorry I Missed You: A Novel by Suzy Krause

I understand that the author of this book – Suzy Krause – got the idea from a run-down old house which had three individual mailboxes and looked spooky. When our children were little, we often used to see such houses on our many journeys and would describe them as ‘Scooby Doo Houses’ so I could immediately picture such a place in my mind’s eye.

The setting of three completely different kinds of women - Mackenzie, Sunna, and Maude – moving into such a converted rental house was entirely believable and we immediately both understand that they would have been very unlikely to have met each otherwise and look forward to the good and bad behaviour that might ensue.

The device of an almost indecipherable letter being posted in a mailbox, with just enough detail to make it intriguing, but not enough that characters or readers can guess the actual person or reasoning behind it works well and compels us all to find out.

Eventually, the various strands of the story do come together in a satisfactory ending, but there were long passages in the book when I did wonder about stepping off from the journey. I didn’t really sympathise with either of the principal women or their back stories, and behaviour patterns are fascinating until they become repetitive and predictable, which I felt the interactions between the three did.

I did find the whole connection between ‘ghosting’ in the present tense and ‘ghosts’ in the past quite tenuous, but I was happy to go along for a ride (though the denouement of the story concerning the latter was, for me, less believable than the possible existence of ghosts).

Men do not fair well in this book, and yet I did feel some empathy with Larry – the put-upon landlord – whose struggle to find his real self was quite poignant in places. I rooted for him not to be involved in the book’s secondary plot and was quite relieved at how that was resolved.

Some of the writing in this book was quite beautiful and certain turns of phrase were, for me, perfect in the context in which they were used – as opposed to easy cliches used lazily. I also laughed out loud on more than one occasion.
​
I suppose the book fits into the ‘chick lit’ genre, which I read less often; however, there was just enough to keep me reading, although I did find it all a bit flimsy – just like ghostly elements I suppose.

---