Review: 'Another Night, Another Day' by Sarah Rayner (2014)

From the author of the bestselling One Moment, One Morning comes another beautiful, bittersweet novel set in Brighton.
Three people, each crying out for help...
There's Karen, worried about her dying father; Abby, whose son has autism and needs constant care; and Michael, a family man on the verge of bankruptcy. As each sinks under the strain, they're brought together at Moreland's Clinic. Here, behind closed doors, they reveal their deepest secrets, confront and console one another and share plenty of laughs. But how will they cope when a new crisis strikes?
Quite some time ago I was contacted by author Sarah Rayner with the question whether I would be interested in a review copy of her latest release, ‘Another Night, Another Day’ (thanks so much for contacting me, Sarah!). I wasn’t familiar with Sarah’s work, but I liked the sound of the novel and am always curious to check out a new author! When I was on holiday in the UK at the start of August, I spotted copies of ‘Another Night, Another Day’, which was released on the 17th of July, in almost every bookstore and supermarket I went to, and I was glad I’d decided to bring my own copy so I could finally sit down with it and read it! 
‘Another Night, Another Day’ tells the story of three different people who are all trying to deal with the troubles in their lives and searching for much-needed help. Karen still misses her husband who completely unexpectedly passed away two years ago, leaving her behind with their two children. She is trying her very best to move on, but it looks like she will be forced to say goodbye to her father as well, who is suffering from severe dementia. Abby is struggling more and more with taking care of her son who has autism. Especially now she and her husband have decided to split up, things are only getting harder for her as she’s trying to deal with it all by herself. Michael has always been incredibly proud of his own flower shop, but business hasn’t been great and the shop is now on the verge of closing down. Karen, Abbey and Michael all end up in Moreland’s Clinic, where they will be able to find the help they need to go on with their lives. But will this be enough to get them back on their feet...?
I have to admit I was a bit hesitant before picking up this book, because it deals with a sensitive and challenging subject, namely mental health issues. However, I need not have worried because Sarah Rayner obviously did her research and managed to tackle the topic in an incredibly engaging and touching way. I really enjoyed the fact that the book focuses on three main protagonists, who each have their own story to tell but come together in Moreland’s Clinic. All three of the characters, Abby, Karen and Michael, fascinated me and I loved reading about their lives and I continuously kept my fingers crossed things would work out for all of them. 
There are also some great secondary characters in the book, such as Lillie, another patient at the clinic, who I couldn’t help but warm to. After having read the book, I discovered that some of the characters already appear in Sarah’s other novels. This definitely made me even more curious about the other books the author has written, but you can definitely read this one as a standalone. Overall, ‘Another Night, Another Day’ is an emotional, insightful and captivating read; a book with a dark topic at its core but dealt with in an engaging and uplifting way. Rating:

8/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.