US Reviews
Marie Claire
‘An illuminating novel on female friendship. Delicious, big-hearted, utterly addictive… Ultimately irresistible.’
The Boston Globe
‘One Moment, One Morning is essentially a dissection of the moments, be they life-altering or fleeting, that both define individuals and bind them to others. Rayner not only does a superb job of exploring this theme, but does so through three women who are so relatable and well-defined that it’s a shame to part with them on the final page.’
Tatiana de Rosnay, author of Sarah’s Key
‘Oh, what a novel ! It will make you laugh and cry, it will make you want to call your dear ones to tell them how much you love them, it will make you buy it for all your friends. When you get to the end, Anna, Lou and Karen will feel like they are your soul sisters.’
Beth Harbison, author of Always Something There To Remind Me
‘Shocking, gripping, and beautifully rendered. I found it impossible to put down!’
The Booklist
‘Rayner’s writing is concise and contemporary, bringing her characters and their emotions to life in so realistic and believable a way as to avoid the clichéd. Her portrayal of emotion is authentic, even to the point of being painful to read, but this story is as much about relationships, hope, and second chances as it is about death and loss. Its most valuable lesson of all is that each of us has only one life to live.
Publishers’ Weekly
‘A man’s sudden death touches off seismic shifts in the lives of three women, wife-turned-widow Karen, neighbor Anna, and teacher—and closeted lesbian—Lou, in this affecting weeper about friendship and family. Rayner (Getting Even) takes a random tragedy on a morning commuter train from Brighton to London and parses it over the hours of six days plucked from half a year, dissecting the women’s emotional unraveling and eventual rebirth as stronger mothers, lovers, friends. The aching loss heaped swiftly upon Karen and her two young children, Molly and Luke, is reason enough to cry, but their search for solace turns from maudlin and mundane to insightful and fresh thanks in part to the pleasing retrospective flashbacks of this family’s life. “It’s his failings that made him who he was,” Karen confesses in her plaintive eulogy. And while Karen rebuilds her fractured family, best friend Anna contemplates the end of an abusive relationship with a charming drunk, and Lou finally trusts her heart enough to come out to a family she vastly underestimates. Rayner sets up a tricky emotional minefield for these vulnerable women, but deftly guides them to a place of power and truth.’
