by Louise Doughty. (Find the Book)Laura Needham lives a parent's worst nightmare when her nine-year-old daughter, Betty, on her way to a dance class after school, is hit by an errant driver and killed. Laura's grief, raw and horrible, is truly shared only by her ex-husband, David, who left the family for his attractive young assistant, Chloe, with whom he has an infant son. With the accident in the opening pages, the narrative alternates between Laura's life before and after the event, detailing her early life as the only child of a widowed, middle-aged mother stricken with Parkinson's and her passionate courtship and marriage, followed by the births of Betty instantly the apple of her father's eye and Rees, now a preschooler. Afterwards, Laura vows that she will find whatever the driver loves and take it from him. Bonded by tragedy with David, who must deal with an increasingly unstable Chloe, Laura behaves dangerously and puts herself at risk. Seldom have the subjects of love, loss, and retribution been treated with such emotional power as they are here. Award-winning English author Doughty, who is intrigued by the effects of accidents, has written a masterfully structured novel that is as indelible as it is painful. --Booklist
