Who Were You?

 Sometimes I get prerelease copies of books to review, and always these are a treat. Especially when they come from the Permanent Press who seem to publish several of my favorite authors.

This book is from an author that's new to me. I very much enjoyed it, and hope you will too when it comes out later this month. The title, Who I Thought You Were, is intriguing. The premise--a young widow finding out more about her husband after his death--seemed dark, but not too dark. And the setting--New Mexico, near the border--is beautiful, scary, and sad. I really enjoyed the novel though, filled with thought-provoking characters, mysteries, and haunting times and scenery. Here's my review:

Who I thought you were by Michaela Spampinato

Michaela Spampinato’s novel, Who I thought you were, starts with the collision of a train and car, resulting in the death of the protagonist’s husband. Questions of whether this was an accident or murder will arise. But perhaps the more important questions concern the competing needs of intersecting worlds. Toulouse’s husband grew up in this small New Mexico town. His friends included many people still living there. And his family had money. But Toulouse is white, an outsider working her way into society, opening a coffee shop, looking forward to a future that’s suddenly falling apart.

Illegal drugs, reckless teens, disputed water rights, dangerous Border Patrols, small town corruption, big business interruption… all of these take their place in this novel, not as topics to be studied and discussed, not as political statements, but as a natural part of community and story. Troubles arise. Love is betrayed. Hope is diminished then restored in honesty.

Who I Thought you Were spans the “terrifying depths and sinkholes” of love and grief, rides alongside the “political insanity” of a changing world, and carries the reader under an open sky that needn’t frighten, if only we settle there. It’s a haunting novel, with memorable characters on every page, and thought-provoking backgrounds well-portrayed to draw the reader in. I really enjoyed it.

Disclosure: I was given a preview edition by the publisher.