October 2025

There is something lovely about enjoying an author’s latest book and then going back to read his or her previous work. Earlier this year, I read BROKEN COUNTRY by Clare Leslie Hall. I, like many other readers, loved it. I enjoyed the plotting, the storytelling and the characters. There were reveals, questions about what was right --- and wrong --- and great pacing. It’s one of the most talked-about books of the year, and I venture that it will appear on many “Best of 2025” lists.

So it was lovely to see that Clare’s publisher repackaged and released for the first time in the US two of her backlist titles: DAYS YOU WERE MINE (published in late August) and PICTURES OF HIM (published in late September). These books originally released in the UK under the pseudonym Clare Empson, and one can see the emotional writing chops that are at the core of BROKEN COUNTRY. Here I am going to look at DAYS YOU WERE MINE.

All his life, Luke has known that he was adopted, but he has never felt the need to seek out his birth parents until he and his girlfriend have their own child, Samuel. It’s actually Hannah who encourages him to do this, noting that he has seemed unmoored since the birth of their baby. After a brief investigation, he learns that his birth mother, Alice Garland, is alive and lives in the area. The two meet and begin to fill each other in on all of the missing years. It’s clear that she is feeling as much of a loss over the time that they have been apart as he is. He learns that she is an artist, while he works in the recording industry, so he feels a kindred artistic spirit. His father is another celebrated artist, and he lives nearby.

Luke wants to know more. Why was he given up? Has his mother had regrets? Alice’s story unfolds as someone who for years thought of herself as “less than.” As she leaves her straight-laced family behind, she feels herself freed both artistically and sexually. Luke is the product of the latter.

Alice grows closer to Luke and Hannah as she becomes a nanny to Samuel, which allows Hannah to return to her job. It all seems cozy, until it is not. Luke watches Alice care for and play with Samuel, and he feels a longing that he missed out on times like this. At the same time, Alice feels a chance to mother, which was lost to her before. What results is a propulsive story where readers wonder what will happen next. It’s a deep exploration of all of these characters’ feelings and how they move as they push their emotions.

The book is paced in a way that you just have to keep reading.

For book groups, there is so much to discuss here. It’s a rare gift to be able to explore an author with three books within the span of a year. I suggest you read BROKEN COUNTRY first and then delve into DAYS YOU WERE MINE. What a wonderful treat it is to have this and PICTURES OF HIM, which I will talk about in an upcoming Bets On commentary, to read after finishing BROKEN COUNTRY. I think this is the first time I have suggested that you read backwards!