Afterlove [Paperback]

Robert Rosenblum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2004

From Robert Rosenblum comes a heartwrenching and hopeful novel about one woman's journey from tragedy to triumph as she discovers a second chance at happiness-and love...

Kate Weyland thinks she has it all. Until she finds herself on the other side of a tragedy that changes her life and world. Now as she searches for answers, she finds herself on the doorstep of a rugged, reclusive man who lives on a secluded coast on the island of Nantucket. Initially, he turns her away. Then, softened by her pleas, he lets her in. And together, they explore the realm of afterlove, a place of seeming miracles, where Kate finds her questions answered in ways she never dreamed...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A woman haunted by tragedy tries to make contact with the world beyond in this novel by Rosenblum, the author of more than 20 pseudonymous novels. Kate Weyland loses a lucky earring on the morning of an important job interview. Running late, she asks her husband to drive their seven-year-old twin daughters to school. He and the girls end up in the path of a speeding police car, and all three of them die. While she's still reeling from grief, Kate goes on a trip to Nantucket Island to help a friend close her cottage, and she hears of a local recluse who is said to have driven a ghost from a nearby B and B. Kate is normally skeptical, but in her vulnerable state the idea of communicating with her family beyond the grave captures her imagination, and she consults the mysterious Gabriel Farr. He apparently contacts her husband, but reaching the spirits of the twins proves elusive. The channeling attempts are so cathartic that Kate succumbs to an almost hypnotic physical attraction for Gabriel, but she soon discovers that, like any medium worth his salt, this one has a shadowy past. Rosenblum's thoughtful but repetitious exploration of faith, the afterlife and the charlatans who prey on those in mourning is burdened with too much exposition; Kate's often windy introspection slows the pace considerably. Still, the drama is reasonably engaging, and many readers will relate to Kate's desperation.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Kate Weyland's lucky earrings become the focal point for tragedy. She is so distraught after losing one before an important job interview that her husband offers to take the children to school. Kate then gets the job, but loses her family in a horrendous accident. She latches on to what a surgical nurse says about witnessing the peaceful passing of her daughter's spirit, and this sets Kate on an odyssey to communicate with her deceased family that takes her from her Connecticut home to Nantucket. There she meets Gabriel, a mysterious man who lives a simple life and communicates with spirits. No matter where Kate is she thinks about Gabriel and starts an intense affair without knowing much about him except that he brings her peace. Eventually Gabriel's ability to communicate with the spirit world begins to trouble Kate, and she wonders if he's telling her what she wants to hear so she'll be with him, or if he's a sham. Both love and death are deftly explored in Rosenblum's sad yet sanguine novel. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Onyx (February 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451411269
• ISBN-13: 978-0451411266
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,210,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Enticing but also flawed, April 2, 2007

By 

Zella (Seattle area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Afterlove (Paperback)

I was really pulled in by this book, enjoyed the writing style, thought the story was wonderful; and for most of the book, I would have given it 5 stars. Unfortunately the ending didn't live up to the rest of the book. It seemed as though the author ran out of steam, and things are wrapped up too quickly and without enough explanation, thought or emotional context. Consequently, I found this book didn't stay with me the way others do. Still a very enjoyable read, though.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars inspirational romance, March 8, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Afterlove (Hardcover)

High school teacher Kate Weyland was to drop her four year twins off at school before going on for a job interview. However, when she dropped an earring and ruined her outfit searching for it forcing her to change, she asked her beloved husband to run the kids off to school before his work. However, during a high speed chase a police car accidentally plows into Jim's vehicle killing the father and son at the scene and the daughter dying at the hospital.

A nurse tells the stunned Kate that her little girl asked not to be placed on life support just before expiring. Desperate for anything, Kate wonders about the possibility of an afterlife, so she visits those who claim they talk to the dead. Her trek sends her to Nantucket, where she meets the weird Gabriel Farr only to learn he was the focus of a murder case in Hawaii. Though Kate mistrusts him even after his explanation of being a Good Samaritan by informing the Hawaiian five-O of visions he saw. Will he channel the grieving widow to her cherished family while offering a new love or is he a con trying to get a lonely mourner in his bed?

This inspirational romance will touch the soul of readers, especially those who suffered a tragic loss with no prior warning. The story line does turn soap operaish at times as Robert Rosenblum turns up the angst. However, fans will relish shedding a few tears along side of Kate as she seeks solace and understanding to why bad things happen to good people.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dance with Fate, April 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Afterlove (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed the novel, "Afterlove." From the very first sentence, I was pulled in. Anything dealing with destiny usually grasps my attention as did this novel with the "lucky earrings".
Kate Weyland's life seems perfect until that ill-fated day when she misplaces "the earring." After this, tragedy ensues. Rosenblum writes very well taking his readers through a story thick with plot about a woman who searches to reconnect with the past throught psychics and is unable to satisfy her quest. Seemingly giving up, she comes into contact with a man who might be able to help her.
Rosenblum's writing just flows and flows. I really enjoyed reading this book, and finished it rather quickly. I was never bored.
Some may say that this book could be deemed predictable, however I disagree. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book from start to finish and didn't want to put it down. It's a book you will read not only to discover its culmination, but one you will savor word for word.
I highly recommend this book!