Review by Tracey Madeley -- Yesterday by Samyann

[Tracey Madeley]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Yesterday" by Samyann.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Yesterday by Samyann

This is a story about Amanda Parker and Mark Callahan. The opening scene sees her dragging him away from danger, saving his life. At first his connection is based on gratitude, but when Amanda buys an old grandfather clock they have a mutual fascination and their relationship develops. In these early chapters we see Mark’s forensic and deductive skills put to good use.

Amanda displays a huge amount of angst in this book which gets a little tedious. In the early days she worries how inviting him to dinner could be misread as leading him on. The idea that Mark is someone else in a previous life and this is a reason for rejecting him. Reflecting on the dangers of his profession; what could be more dangerous than being a policeman? I understand Amanda’s problems, feeling she is surrounded by death due to the passing of her parents and her fiancé Joe. She wants to keep all relationships at arms-length, but she does seem to vacillate in her feelings for Mark. It could be argued this is what a troubled, emotionally demanding and needy person looks like. Mark is the contrast, the Chicago policeman, patient, insightful, deductive and stable. In this sense the author has created a complimentary couple in the main characters.

We know when Mark left his medical training to become a policeman, but we don’t know why until three-quarters of the way through the novel. His father was a policeman killed in the line of duty and although he was promised help with the college fees, he wanted to make sure his younger sisters went to college. This only adds to the feeling of stability, dependability and sacrifice which makes Mark the perfect choice for Amanda.

However, this story is not simply a romance, it encapsulates an historical element, in the form of regression and past lives. Concentrating mainly on Amanda’s past life, as a child during the American Civil War. Again there is an emphasis on the loss of her father, her nanny and being brought up by other people. The focal point, is the antique clock made around the time of the Civil War. Both Amanda and Mark feel a connection to the clock, based on a previous life. I am not convinced about the hypnosis and the regression techniques used by Mary, Amanda’s godmother, to take her back in time, but this is essentially a device to introduce the past. There is a great amount of detail and social history, as we go back to 19th century Chicago. The way blacks were treated in the south, the fact that even church bells were melted down to make munitions, such were the shortages in the south, the atrocities and killings which must have gone on and the way children and parents were separated during the war.

In terms of pace and interest I found the historical scenes more interesting and engaging. Amanda’s parents are both dead and she has lost her fiancé. We are told this as fact, but it would elicit a more sympathetic and empathic response if we had been shown, even in a flashback. The reader experiences the death of Bonnie’s father, but it is still different and somehow removed. The great fire at the end of the book helps explain the fire damage to the clock. This puts the reader directly in the action, making it feel more dramatic. The ebb and flow between the present and the past is good, but I feel there was a little too much ebb caused by too much telling and not enough showing.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
I like this book for the historical detail and I almost wish the author would stick to pure historical fiction. As characters Mark and Amanda compliment one another and in a world where everything must be perfect, it is nice to see someone so dysfunctional. However, it is a bit boring in places.

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Yesterday
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