Come Again

This delightful new novel defies genre description. First, we have what promises to be chick lit, with Kate, 40-ish, drowning in sorrow after her soulmate dies. She’s drinking too much, her house is a tip, there’s a mouse on her kitchen table, and she’s only half-dressed. Kate has always been clever, making her life fairly miserable at school, but she compensated by taking up karate, winning medals at international level. That skill proves invaluable when the novel later morphs into thriller mode, with Kate possessing some dangerous knowledge. There’s a glorious James Bond-style car chase through central London, except Kate is driving a London black cab instead of an Aston Martin. But all that comes later. She is utterly bereft after the death of her husband, Luke, whom she met at uni. She has maintained friendships with other former students, including blunt-spoken Amy, gay Welsh theatrical Kes, and Toby, whom Kate has always maintained is a spy. Her major concern is that the doctors said her husband’s fatal brain cancer had been there for years and that pins and needles as a student had been an early symptom. Then the novel goes into time traveller mode with Kate dreaming (or is she?) that she starts university again, meets all her friends and Luke, and warns him about his health. Can she save the boy when she couldn’t save the man? Webb enthrals with his fast-moving plot, leaving readers breathless as they savour his utterly incredible ending.  Reviewed by Jennifer Somerville