Review: Saving Sarah

Saving Sarah by Melissa Storm
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

New to me author Ms. Storm pens a story of struggle and guilt. A woman's fiction, this story starts out slow with Sarah Campbell working in a nursing home which is more like a hospice. Sarah is struggling with her life because she made a mistake in her teens that makes her feel guilty, as if she does not have the right to enjoy life or live. Therapy withstanding, she still is quite frankly, messed up in the head.

This story was hard for me to get through because I thought it was going to be a mystery. Whilst there is a bit of mystery, this is more women's fiction with a woman's self discovery to self forgiveness. Sarah is not particularly likeable or unlikeable. She's bland like a wallflower one would never notice. The only thing one would notice about Sarah is her dog. She does have an adorable dog. I couldn't connect to Sarah's character because she has little drive and her decisions are many times illogical. She's easily swayed to do wrong which speaks to her lack of character. Her romantic interest with social network failure, Finch Jameson is no surprise.

Finch's lack of moral fiber starts at the beginning of the story and pretty much stays consistent throughout to the end. His flagrant disregard for rules demonstrates his self inflated perception of how is his better than everyone else. He bought into the image that he was so great when he made a lot of money and the lost it all. He is the kind of man who is here to day and gone tomorrow - a man of no substance. This all ties into Finch's family history in a way. It begs the question of nature versus nurture. In some ways his familial influence seemed to have seep into his character because he is just as careless as his great-grandmother.

The way Finch and Sarah meet is over a woman under Sarah's care who claims Finch is a long lost relative. Learning about the past is interesting because it brings up the concept of "death bed confessions". Finch and Sarah working together to solve a cold case involving Finch's grandmother experiences several false starts. Detectives, they are not. The big reveal is not surprising and the conclusion is easily predicted. But this story isn't really about solving the case or uncovering Finch's past. It is more about how two lost souls can perhaps spark an interest in each other and may start a new and better chapter in their life. One can only hope so because neither have much meaning to live. Overall this story is well written just not to my taste. Recommended to readers who enjoy women's fiction.

* Arc provided by LitRing