Afterwards

Black smoke stains a summer blue sky. A school is on fire. One mother, Grace, sees the smoke and runs. She knows her teenage daughter Jenny is inside. Grace runs along to tree-lined driveway, which Jenny had walked down only a few hours earlier. She goes into the burning building to rescue her child. Afterwards, Grace must find the identity of the arsonist and protect her family from the person who's still intent on destroying them. Afterwards, she must confront the face of evil and discover the limitlessness of love. (web)

Amazon Best Books of the Month, April 2012: After Grace drags her teenage daughter, Jenny, from the inferno that engulfs her school, they awake in the hospital and find themselves outside of their damaged bodies. Only they can see or hear each other, a state that becomes more agonizing once Graze realizes that the police are calling the case closed, while whoever set the blaze still wants Jenny dead. Fiercely determined to protect her daughter, aching to bring comfort to her husband and son, Grace races to find the perpetrator and make them known. Like Lupton’s celebrated debut, Sister--an Amazon editors’ pick for a Best Books of 2011--this twisty, inventive thriller delivers a powerful portrayal of a woman’s love for family transcending all boundaries. –Mari Malcolm