Maggie’s mother has always been a little “off”, but no one really anticipated that she would wake up one day, fill her pockets with zircons and walk calmly into the Don River. After the funeral Maggie takes the zircons out of the inventory of their New Age store and carries on life as usual, until she begins experiencing blackouts. Coinciding with these blackouts comes the arrival of notes and cards from a stranger named Gil. Gil soon materializes in the store seemingly knowing all about Maggie and more importantly, all about Maggie’s mother. Promising to help her with her blackouts she and Gil form a partnership that could cost Maggie her own mental health.

I had read some positive reviews about this book before picking is up. The story itself sounded intriguing but in all honesty, the reason I really picked up the book was because the story took place in Toronto. I enjoy reading a book that is set in a city with which I am familiar. Sadly, for me, the setting was the best part of the book. I found the story a little disjointed, as if it couldn’t quite decide what it wanted to be … psychological thriller? Love story? Mothers and daughters? Fathers and daughters? Commentary on mental health in our society? The character of Gil, who sounded so integral in the description of the book, is major character that somehow seemed to be extraneous to the story and was only in the book for his “creepiness” value. Sorry, for me this one was a dud.
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