I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads contest and am rather glad I did.

I would not have normally picked up a book like this to read and by winning it, I was able to read a book that was quite good. I would have normally passed it by.

It starts with a train trip that has a life changing happening unfold during it. It affects 3 women greatly. One the wife of the person that passes away, the other her friend who was in another train car on the same train, and the third the woman sitting across from the couple. All three women have their lives changed dramatically by the death and it brings them together as friends.

The book's story unfolds over a week and it shows how the women deal with and take the feelings they get from the sudden death. One deals with it directly being the wife with two small children. The other as a friend who is in an abusive relationship. The third as a stranger who gets to know the two women and is struggling with who to come out to as a gay woman in her family and workmates.

The writing style kept me drawn into the book. It is from a British author so there are what Americans call "Britishisms" in word choices and phrases. I actually enjoyed that about the book but I am sure it would annoy an few people so be aware.The characters were well fleshed out and likable which is always a good thing in a book. The book does go forward and backward in time with little warning but the reader quickly gets used to this and there are breaks in paragraphs when this happens though the switch in story to when Simon is alive is a huge clue we are reading about before the train ride.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to readers who like to read about the relationships between women, their families, and their friends. It is not sappy in the slightest and it feels very real in how it deals with personal lose.