One Small Act Of Kindness: Lucy Dillon

Libby and her husband, Jason, have moved back to where he grew up. Their intention is to support his mother in the running of her hotel following the passing of his father. They are leaving behind a past full of problems and Libby is eager to take on the project of running a hotel. She dreams of minimalist design and fancy bath tubs, of course, it doesn't all go smoothly. One day Libby finds that an accident has taken place outside of her hotel. The victim, a girl, who in being hit has lost her memory. With no ID and no knowledge of who she is or where she is from. Libby takes her under her wing as they wait for her memories to return or someone to claim her. But the problems keep coming, nobody said running a hotel was easy and Libby faces her fair share of problems. Meanwhile her newly found friend is left to face the struggles of relearning who you are and who is important to you. 

I thought the concept of this book was simple but brilliant. It was really intresting to watch the girl in the accident relearn who she was and what was important to her. It left the book with a sense of wonder as every now and then something new would be revealed but there was always something held back. I liked how I could anticipate what would happen next but I never quite new. I won't say too much about how the story progressed because the fun of the book was the opportunity it gives the reader to wonder what will be revealed next.

I found Margaret, Jason's mother, infuriating. As I am sure was the intention. Her unquestionable love for her son Jason and her inability to see his faults left me seething. The anger I felt towards her was almost cathartic in parts so it wasn't all bad. There was a nice range of characters, from the incompetent to the competent. Each of them had something to add to the story whether it was good or bad. 

I love love love Lucy's addition of dogs to her stories. Who doesn't love a dog?! Lord Bob was perfect and entertaining and the book wouldn't have been the same without him. I was nice to have a dog who felt like a character in his own right, Lord Bob had a humongous personality and it shone from the pages. 

I liked the ending I just felt as though it could have been elaborated upon. The journey the book took was good and well developed and I felt that the ending was dealt with very quickly. This is a tiny little fault though and is most likely just personal preference!

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book, I loved Lucy's previous book (A Hundred Pieces Of Me) and this was just as good.

Eilidh