The Returned

The Returned
Jason Mott

A world where nothing – not even death – is certainA family given a second chance at life.Lucille Hargrave’s son Jacob has been dead for over forty years. Now he’s standing on her doorstep, still eight years old. Still looking for her to welcome him with open arms.This is the beginning of the Returned.Praise for Jason Mott‘With fine craftsmanship and a deep understanding of the human condition, Jason Mott has woven a tale that is in turns tragic and humorous and terrifying’ -  Eowyn Ivey, Author of The Snow Child ‘Could be the next Lovely Bones’ - Entertainment Weekly‘Fantastically readable’ - The Times‘Gripping’ - Shortlist'Mott tackles some big themes here, especially the vagaries of spirituality, and scores with one of the most emotionally resonant works in many seasons' - Essence Magazine'It will…make you question what it means to be human and what you'd do in a similar situation'-The Sun'Get in early before the hype begins' - Star Magazine'The Returned transforms a brilliant premise into an extraordinary and beautifully realized novel. My spine is still shivering from the memory of this haunting story. Wow.' -Douglas Preston, #1 bestselling author of The Monster of Florence'A deft meditation on loss that plays out levels of consequence on both personal and international stages. Mott allows the magic of his story to unearth a full range of feelings about grief and connection.' - Aimee Bender, New York Times bestselling author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake'Mott brings a singularly eloquent voice to this elegiac novel, which not only fearlessly tackles larger questions about mortality but also insightfully captures life's simpler moments… A beautiful meditation on what it means to be human.' -Booklist

“Jacob was time out of sync, time more perfect than it had been. He was life the way it was supposed to be all those years ago. That’s what all the Returned were.”

Harold and Lucille Hargrave’s lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they’ve settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time.... Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep—flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.

All over the world people’s loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it’s a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he’s their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.

With spare, elegant prose and searing emotional depth, award-winning poet Jason Mott explores timeless questions of faith and morality, love and responsibility. A spellbinding and stunning debut, The Returned is an unforgettable story that marks the arrival of an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

The Returned

Jason Mott

www.mirabooks.co.uk (http://www.mirabooks.co.uk)

For my mother and father

Contents

Chapter One (#u47b0133b-8e06-5ee4-9ae6-92410b15f769)

Kamui Yamamoto (#u15e98bff-c273-502e-8d95-3c88ab142300)

Chapter Two (#u0ee9b1d4-07ab-56e7-9edd-dbbc165cc66f)

Lewis and Suzanne Holt (#ua88b52ff-4b04-54d6-bac5-8b207128ffd5)

Chapter Three (#ue1de4b52-a1e0-5a44-9d1e-845106c25e24)

Angela Johnson (#u5fcf199b-ced2-514a-9dda-b1bb29e5eff5)

Chapter Four (#udc72391c-135e-589c-be4b-f63a9e2c4434)

Jean Rideau (#u726417fe-992e-594f-9b21-974af9d64650)

Chapter Five (#u51f85ec3-81f2-559a-b542-497e4d9df25e)

Elizabeth Pinch (#ue580a506-c81f-5a76-a03e-21bdc21b9b6c)

Chapter Six (#uff7dc57d-6e53-5b09-a009-fd1b06e08336)

Gou Jun Pei (#ub7e73ca1-7974-58dc-ab6d-3e566638dfc6)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Nico Sutil. Erik Bellof. Timo Heidfeld. (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Jeff Edgeson (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Tatiana Rusesa (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Alicia Hulme (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Bobby Wiles (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Samuel Daniels (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

John Hamilton (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Jim Wilson (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Nathaniel Schumacher (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Connie Wilson (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chris Davis (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Patricia Bellamy (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Jacob Hargrave (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)