My Second Life by Faye Bird (review)

Fifteen-year-old Ana feels as though she is living a lie: she knows that she is really Emma, who died at twenty-two and reappeared as baby Ana six years later. When she meets an elderly woman named Frances, a flood of memories returns; Ana knows that Frances’ daughter drowned and that nine-year-old Emma was somehow involved if not responsible. The problem is that she can’t remember exactly what happened on the night in question. This one gap in her memory drives the mystery here and keeps her returning to visit Frances even though Frances is cruel and abusive, clearly blaming Ana for her daughter’s death. While the premise here is intriguing, there are too many gaps in logic, and both Frances and Ana’s parents accept her reincarnation with implausible alacrity. This blurring out of details from ages nine to twenty-two in Emma’s life makes for efficient storytelling but lacks the world building that might make Ana’s present situation more engaging, especially when readers are asked to believe she is experiencing the anxiety of first love for the second time. Nonetheless, it’s a taut, stylish narrative that explores the effects of relayed guilt through an original framework; fans of domestic mystery may find it intriguing if not fully satisfying.