Book Review: One Small Act of Kindness, by Lucy Dillon

What can you do to make the world a better place?

A vibrant and unputdownable novel of friendship, secrets and the kindness of strangers, from the bestselling author of A HUNDRED PIECES OF ME.

Libby helps a stranger, and transforms her life in the process.

Libby and her husband Jason have moved back to his hometown to turn the family B&B into a boutique hotel. They have left London behind and all the memories – good and bad – that went with it.

The injured woman Libby finds lying in the remote country road has lost her memory. She doesn’t know why she came to be there, and no one seems to be looking for her.

When Libby offers to take her in, this one small act of kindness sets in motion a chain of events that will change many people’s lives . . .

***

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for the review copy of One Small Act of Kindness. For me, the title, cover and blurb had a beautiful delicacy to them which really caught my interest as soon as I saw it.

Libby Corcoran has not had things easy lately. When their London lives got all in a muddle, she and husband Jason returned to his hometown to help his mother, Margaret, restore their family hotel. To add struggle to the upheaval, things between her and Jason only seem to be okay if they refuse to acknowledge what happened. While Libby and Margaret have always got on well, since the unfortunate recent passing of Jason’s father, Margaret has become somewhat more trying, especially as Libby tries to save the once glamorous Swan Hotel. My heart totally went out to Libby, who constantly works so hard to make things work and to help other people, while not really being appreciated.

Then there’s poor, sweet Pippa, who’s found after an accident with no belongings and no memory. My heart absolutely ached for her, as she felt lost and confused, and in the scene where the very first memories came back, my eyes brimmed with tears for her pain. Even when her memory starts to recover, it’s only things from her early life that comes back, and she’s no closer to knowing anything about her current life.

Both these characters were absolutely wonderful, believable and relatable women, something I must applaud, as I have often found when there is more than one main character, one shines through as a clear favourite, but this wasn’t the case for me this time. I was equally intrigued with both women’s stories, hoping for both their happy endings.

I don’t want to go too much into things for fear of spoiling it, but will simply say that Lucy Dillon’s writing is beautiful, her characters are connectable, and the sense of intrigue she built throughout the book was absolutely captivating. A truly uplifting tale of our abilities to touch each others lives, with even the smallest act of kindness.

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