The Returned

Jason Mott

Sep 2013 · Harlequin

About this ebook

"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 healed 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 Hargraves find themselves 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, 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.

Ratings and reviews

Mott is a fine writer. He is a poet and the short, stand-alone chapters about side characters are very strong. The sections with "plot" and main characters tend to be weaker - at times they are shallow and at times they drag on. I think it is worth reading but best if you don't think of it as a novel going in. If you focus more on the emotions and less on the "plot" you will enjoy reading it.

On the person who is reading it and how they feel of such a concept. Obviously this is catered to a certain crowd who wishes to contact the dead. Isn't appealing to everyone, but it doesn't mean it's a bad book, just not my type.

Pure trash. They'll probably turn it into a crappy mini series on ABC

About the author

Jason Mott holds a BA in fiction and an MFA in poetry and is the author of two poetry collections. His writing has appeared in numerous literary journals, and he was nominated for the 2009 Pushcart Prize. Jason lives in North Carolina.