Swallowtail

Sheri Meshal

Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)

Chicago wife, mother, and finance executive Claire Cummings, arrives at work one morning to discover her friend Julia has embezzled millions and vanished. Blindsided by the betrayal, Claire is sent home pending further investigation.

Her disappearance the following day sends everyone reeling, guessing, and looking for her in all the wrong places. In no time, she's addicted to an enchanting menagerie of tricks and techniques for getting the living's attention, but most people are harder to reach than she'd ever dreamed and even harder to set free.

She was still a mother, a wife, a daughter and a friend... she'd move heaven and earth to keep it that way.

Swallowtail is a haunting story about life, love, loss, and just how far we’ll go to control it all. What would you do if all the rules changed, and you were suddenly bestowed powers beyond your greatest imagination?

Review by Paul Lappen (101225) Rating (9/10)

Review by Paul Lappen
Book Source: Not Known
Rating 9/10
This novel is about a family experiencing an incredible heartbreak. It's also about love, family bonds and the human spirit.

Claire is an employee at the main office of a Chicago bank. Walking in to work one day, the place is in an uproar. Julia, Claire's office neighbour, has absconded with 3 million dollars of the bank's money. Claire is able to convince her bosses that she knew nothing about it. A few days later, on Halloween, Claire is on a busy road attempting to save a wayward kitten, when she is hit by a car and killed instantly.

Claire had no ID on her, so she is treated as a Jane Doe at the morgue. There is also nothing for the police to tell her husband, Paul, and Anna and Em, her two daughters. That is, on those days, when Paul is not being questioned about her disappearance. Claire is watching everything from the astral plane (for lack of a better term). As her family goes through a reasonable version of Hell, Claire makes a number of attempts to let them know that she is still with them.

No one wants to admit that Claire is not coming back, but, after several months with no news, hope is gone. Christmas comes, and Paul, along with friends of the family, wants it to be as normal as possible (which does not happen). Claire meets Julia, who is now living in Brazil, on the astral plane. It seems that Claire and Julia are much more than just office neighbours. Does Julia get what is coming to her? Does Claire let bygones be bygones? Is Claire's body ever reunited with her family to provide them with closure?

Wow. Need I say more? This may sound like a silly cliche, but do whatever is necessary, and legal, to get a copy of this book. This is a wonderful piece of storytelling, and it is very highly recommended.
Paul Lappen (10th December 2025)