The book starts with an absolute gut-punch in 1915: the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. We meet Anita and Elmore, a young couple who survive the disaster but lose their baby boy, John, in the terrifying chaos. The sheer grief of that loss completely fractures their lives. Elmore heads to the trenches of WWI driven by vengeance, while Anita is left shattered, embarking on this incredibly lonely journey across the globe from California to Nassau, and eventually to New York just trying to survive the ghost of her past.

Then we jump to Scotland in 1960. A young man named Charles is handed a mysterious package by his dying grandfather containing a tiny child’s jacket and a bracelet. He becomes completely obsessed with figuring out where they came from, kicking off a decades-long search that eventually connects his family back to Anita’s lost story.

What totally hooked me:
The emotional weight of this book is heavy, but so beautifully written. Anita’s grief felt incredibly real and human, my heart broke for her over and over again as she tried to rebuild her life in the shadows of New York. I also loved the puzzle aspect of Charles’s timeline; there is nothing more satisfying than watching a decades-old family secret slowly unravel piece by piece.

If you love deeply emotional historical fiction, dual-timelines, and stories about the endurance of a mother's memory, you definitely need to add this one to your stack.

Huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and The Book Guild for this eCopy to review.

Rebecca Pells delivers a deeply moving and beautifully woven historical saga, exploring loss, memory, and the enduring bonds of family across generations.

🕰️ Plot Summary
In 1915, the sinking of the RMS Lusitania shatters the lives of young parents Anita and Elmore. Though they survive the disaster, their infant son John is lost in the chaos, leaving a grief that will shape everything that follows.

Driven by heartbreak, Elmore heads to the battlefields of France, where he is eventually reported missing in action. Alone and devastated, Anita must rebuild her life, travelling across continents from California to Nassau and eventually New York, seeking both survival and some sense of peace in the wake of unimaginable loss.

Decades later, in 1960s Scotland, a young man named Charles is called to his grandfather’s bedside and entrusted with a mysterious package containing a child’s jacket and a bracelet. What begins as curiosity rapidly becomes an obsession, leading him on a journey through the past to uncover a long‑buried family secret.

As timelines intertwine, the story reveals how a single moment of tragedy ripples across generations, connecting lives that were thought lost and uncovering a story that was on the verge of being forgotten forever.

🔍 What I Loved Most
A beautifully emotional, character‑driven narrative that lingers long after reading.
Seamless dual timelines that gradually reveal a powerful, interconnected story.
Rich historical detail that brings each setting vividly to life.
A compelling exploration of grief, resilience, and the passage of time.
A mystery element that unfolds slowly but with real emotional impact.

⏰ Final Thoughts
Absent Lives is a stunning and heartfelt historical novel that balances tragedy with hope, weaving together past and present in a deeply satisfying way. Its exploration of loss and the enduring strength of family makes it both poignant and unforgettable.

This book was wonderful! In 1915 Anita and Elmore are on the RMS Lusitania when it is hit by German torpedoes. They manage to survive, but their son John is lost. In 1960 Scotland a young man named Charles has connected with a much older Anita. Through a series of flashbacks, Anita's story is told and a connection between the characters is revealed. This story pulls at your heartstrings but draws you in at the same time. The writing is flawless, and I felt like I was there. One of my favorites for the year. I also liked the notes at the end where the author writes about her connection to Anita and Elmore. I also loved seeing the pictures. Highly recommend!

Absent Lies is a heartfelt, multi-layered historical debut novel, that explores grief, loss, and the enduring bonds of family. the book spans decades and continents to weave a dual-timeline mystery.
To my surprise I found the story was linked to the author’s life which made me wonder the intense but tragic circumstances that draws in this book. I could feel the pain which is very rear when you read novels.

The story is extremely upsetting with trauma, loss and survival.
Final chapter is a real shocker..
Box of tissues a must.

I love a WWI story that is well researched and makes me feel as if I am there. I want the author to write characters that make me feel like I am one of them. This story did all that. Sometimes I feel guilty in loving a war story. But there is so much more to the story than that. They are emotional, struggles, friendship and pulling together. A well researched story can also teach us history. Loved this story!

4.5 stars
A riveting novel, and a must-read for history lovers.
In the late 1960’s, a young man is doing research for a book about the passengers that were on the Lusitania in 1915. ( He also has personal reasons for his researching, but, no spoilers here)! He meets up with an elderly woman who survived the shipwreck, and over a period of several months, she reveals her life story to him, presented as “flashbacks” in the narrative.
This was a well-researched, intriguing book to read. The author’s notes at the end were a special touch, revealing her family’s history regarding the Lusitania, and containing some beautiful photographs.
The reason for my 4.5 star rating was because of some confusion I had with transitions between the flashbacks and the present times. There were no indications in the formatting of the text to show the beginning of one/ending of another, so I’d often be well into a section before I realized which time I was reading about. This might have been because of the digital format; I don’t know if the print version will be different.
Otherwise, this novel was wonderful, and very difficult to put down! I’ll be looking for a print copy for re-reading after it releases in April 2026.

*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*

World War I and the sinking of the Lusitania figure as pivotal events in Rebecca Pells’ absorbing fictional story, “Absent Lives,” which the reader learns in an afterword has its roots in actual people, notably her father’s uncle Elmore and his wife, Anita, and their son, John, all of whom were aboard the doomed vessel when it was torpedoed by the Germans.
Indeed, it’s from the perspective of a fictionalized Anita that the reader gets the novel’s events as she recounts them to a writer looking to do a book about her life – a writer who has an underlying secret that’s not hard to guess for a perspicacious reader.
Still, the story as the writer gets it from Anita is one of pluck and resourcefulness in which she and Elmore survive the sinking, albeit with great anguish, and then later, as the world continues its descent into collective madness, she is further traumatized by having to watch him go off to the trenches and, throughout it all, she displays considerable mettle by establishing herself as a teacher and nurse in England and continuing an endeavor she and Elmore launched in Canada and even logging time on a ranch in America.