Synopsis:
When a missing persons investigator goes missing herself, she discovers a world where the lost can be found–but can she find her way back home?

Review:
There’s No Place Like Here is the second book by Cecelia Ahern, author of the immensely popular PS, I Love You, which I have not read. I picked up an ARC of this book at Book Expo, but put off reading it because I was anticipating something light and fluffy and not worth my time.

I was certainly mistaken. There’s No Place Like Here captivated my attention from page one, with the distinctive voice of protagonist Sandy Shortt (who is tall with black hair), and Ahern’s imaginative premise. I loved the use of magical realism in dealing with very deep issues of memory, loss, and longing.

We’ve all wondered where our lost socks go. And some of us have ached more poignantly for someone who has simply disappeared. Ahern imagines an answer to these questions, but what could have been a precious conceit comes to life with vivid emotional honesty.

Tangentially, There’s No Place Like Here was a refreshing change of pace from the grim ‘n’ glum fantasy I’ve been consuming lately. And it’s a reminder to me that my taste in reading is much broader than I sometimes think.