The Page

Following a tragic car accident, Michael Sewell is alone for the first time. The loss of his wife, Margaret, after thirty years of marriage has left a hole far greater than Michael could have imagined.

Persuaded to go on holiday by his daughter Jane, he's at the pool when a page blown from a book sticks to his chest. The words from the page resonate with Michael, describing in detail the exact events leading up to the accident. Now, Michael must delve into his past and face his future, taking him and his family on a horrifying and tragic journey toward the truth…

The Page combines dark humour with a racing storyline, as the reader tries to work out what will happen to the main character before he does. M. Jonathan Lee has been compared to Mark Haddon, Nick Hornby and Rachel Joyce.
My review: I read Jonathan's debut novel The Radio about 18 months ago and was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed the book and was looking forward to the next instalment! So when Jonathan contacted me to read the next book in the trilogy, The Page, I jumped at the chance! I also have to apologise for the amount of time it took me to get round to this review, life has got in the way recently!
The Page isn't a direct follow on from The Radio, and can be read as a standalone book (although you should definitely read both!). Michael loses his wife in a car accident and suddenly has to do things for himself after many years of marriage. Unfortunately for his daughter Jane, that means that he is spending more time with her and relying on her more, so she books him a holiday abroad in the hope that he will relax and gain some more independence.
Michael is an intensely unlikeable character, but Jonathan has triumphed in ensuring that such horrible person kept my attention and didn't make me hate him so much that I wanted to disengage. The right balance was struck between me disliking him and still wanting to know more.
I really liked the whole concept of this book. The page from a book blew across the poolside and Michael picked it up. When he read this lone page, it detailed the run up to the real events of the accident that killed his wife and made him need to track down the rest of this book that paralleled the events of his own life. It's such a clever idea and I've never read anything quite like it.
I really enjoyed this book and am already looking forward to the next one. I'd really recommend reading both of Jonathan's books to anyone. The Page will keep you intrigued from start to finish and will keep you wanting more by the end!
My rating: A fab five stars
I received an advance review copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review