UK Reviews
‘Carried along by the momentum of a suspense-filled yet touching story that drives to the core of human emotion, this book is a real page-turner, exploring the harrowing pain of loss and grief, family secrets and how a tragic event can force you to be honest about who you really are. You’ll want to inhale it in one breath.’
‘ **** A quirky must-read with heart for fans of Kate Atkinson.’
‘One Moment, One Morning is an intimate, thoughtful novel celebrating women’s friendship and loyalty to each other. It is also a moving, subdued reflection on how we survive traumatic events.’
‘In plain, everyday prose, Rayner skilfully lays bare a story of loss, secrets and lies, family and the enduring friendships between women. As a reader you can’t help asking yourself what you would have done in similar circumstances, how you would have coped. This could have been grim, even depressing, but instead it’s life-affirming and insightful… a quietly engaging read.’
The Times Literary Supplement
‘Rayner is a swift, efficient plotter, nudging her characters towards the light of congruence and self-reliance. Her Brighton is carefully and affectionately mapped, and her account of the gruelling rituals a death involves is deftly done.’
‘ ***** A moving tale of loss and new friendship.’
‘Touching and insightful, this is a story that will stay with you.’
‘A moving account of what happens to three women in one week when a man dies on a Brighton to London commuter train. Very impressive.’
‘There are books that grab your attention from the very beginning and never let it go. One Moment, One Morning is one of them. It is also one of those books that leaves a lasting impression and will linger at the back of your mind. Friendship, love, grief, loss, new beginnings – all of this and more can be found in Sarah Rayner’s brilliant fiction. A book hard to put down – even when reaching out for a tissue – and characters so credible and real that I found myself looking out for them on the streets of Brighton.’
‘Rayner has created a gentle, moving story, teasing out the details of the women’s relationships… Yet somehow, the reader is compelled to turn the page. The reason, is not just down to the author’s considerable skill in rendering emotional truth, but because all three women are so very likeable. Ostensibly a book about grief, One Moment, One Morning is ultimately uplifting. Fiction needn’t always be gritty, dramatic, complex and shocking – and Rayner has cleverly managed heart warming without dipping into sentimentality.’
‘Rayner deftly deals with taboos surrounding death and the temptation to avoid the realities of it. Authentic and incredibly emotive… One Moment, One Morning is a penetrating and challenging novel that takes you on a journey you don’t expect to uplift or refresh but does. Like Maggie O’ Farrell’s After You’d Gone, this is a novel that gets under the skin. It makes you wonder, if only transiently, about those blank faces on the morning train and what their stories might be. It is a reminder that complacency is a risk we all take.’
