3 out of 4 stars
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A Life Before by Julien Ayotte is a crime/thriller novel revolving around an up-and-coming attorney, Mike Strange. When a case falls in to Mike’s lap in the late 1980’s that involves several deaths due to extensive amounts of radon gas in a condominium complex, Mike thinks he has hit the jackpot. Twelve non-smokers have lost their lives in the short time period of five years, and Mike thinks this is no coincidence. When Mike disregards warnings to back off, his wife Susan is the one to pay the price. Shot in her own home, Susan never makes it out of surgery. The warnings don’t stop there, and soon Mike’s paralegal, Bonnie, is nearly killed when her vehicle is ran off the road. Twenty years pass by without an indication of who could have murdered Susan. Mike knows it has something to do with the radon case and a criminal attempt to close it, but police keep coming up empty handed and with not enough evidence to hold anyone.
The only person who could have an indication about Susan’s murderer is Samantha Collins, a Northeastern college student. Born around the time of Susan's death, Samantha has experienced terrible nightmares since her childhood, and they all involve the same woman being murdered. Therapists and doctors have informed her that it should start to pass as she ages, but the nightmares seem to only intensify with the passing years. As more information comes in to place, Samantha is convinced that she is the reincarnated Susan Strange, and only she can unlock the answers about the murder. Knowing information that she would never know otherwise, Samantha tries to convince everyone involved in the case that she can help.
Working for a rather large realty and development company, my interest peaked while learning about radon gas as it was involved in this story. I know radon gas comes from deep in the ground, usually seeping in through basements or cellars. I was curious about what kind of testing was done in the company I work for, and whether or not there were legal requirements for it. I ended up doing some research of my own, which proved how well the author thought out the legality involved in cases of this kind. It’s always a plus to see how much thought the author puts into their work, leaving no room for lingering questions of research. Due to the expertise shown in the legal aspect, the novel reminded me of some works by John Grisham.
My only complaint with A Life Before was the large quantity of characters in comparison to the duration of the novel. For the first half of the book, I have to admit that I had no idea who several of the characters were moments after reading about them. I ended up going back and writing down several names and their contribution to the story, just in case it was something that I would need to know as the story went on I feel like there are several names that could have been left out to avoid confusion. The second half the novel started to smooth out more, with less involvement of unnecessary characters.
This book is a great recommendation for readers who enjoy cold-case stories and other crime thrillers. The information given throughout is thought-provoking, and I am sure several readers will end up doing their own research on radon gas after reading, just as I did. Due to my complaint regarding the long list of characters, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I would love to give this book a full rating, but felt like the involvement of too many characters was a bit much for a shorter read. I’ve never thought much on the subject of reincarnation, but A Life Before has raised my curiosity. Although I mainly read for entertainment, I found this book to be informative, and I hope others see it the same way. I am interested to see what else is offered by Julien Ayotte, and plan to continue reading his novels.
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A Life Before
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