What Remains of You

by Kimberly Hensle Lowrance

A widow’s discovery of her husband’s devastating past threatens to destroy everything she believed about their marriage in a gripping and emotional novel about love and secrets.

Dear Diana, If you’ve found this letter, I’m gone.

Eighteen months after her husband Tom’s death, Diana Morgan is still grieving and struggling to move on, while striving to be the strongest parent she can for their two children. When she finds a letter from Tom meant for her eyes only, she expects a final declaration of love—not a cryptic confession to a terrible unnamed crime.

But Tom’s secret is not his alone. There are others who know, others who may try to insinuate themselves into Diana’s life. Tom Don’t let them in. Reeling with disbelief and fear, Diana begins to doubt everything she remembers of their marriage. What was real? What was manipulation? And who can she trust?

Embarking on a dangerous quest for answers, Diana travels to her husband’s small hometown in Vermont. She knows the secrets Tom was holding all stem from here. But will the truth about the man she loved bring her peace, or will it shatter her world?

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Ebooks, Suspense, Audiobook

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2026

About the author

Kimberly Hensle Lowrance is the author of the debut novel, What Remains of You (Lake Union Publishing, July 1, 2026).

Her writing can be found in the Boston Globe, WBUR’s Cognoscenti, Embark Literary Journal, Mothers Always Write, among other publications. She’s also been included in two anthologies: The Pandemic Midlife Crisis: Gen X Women on the Brink and Specimen Science: Ethics and Policy Implications.

Most recently, she was a producer and on-air host for A Mighty Blaze, an online literary platform co-founded by authors Caroline Leavitt and Jenna Blum. Kimberly co-hosted Authors Love Bookstores, interviewing booksellers and authors, including Judy Blume, Ann Patchett, Maggie O’Farrell, Curtis Sittenfeld, Susan Orlean, and many others.

Kimberly’s other roles include nonprofit director, consultant, blogger, volunteer, and elected official. A graduate of Boston University and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, she lives in Massachusetts with her family and their very shy rescue dog.

Reviews

[Casey Reads 🌸 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her husband dies and leaves behind a letter that makes her wonder if she truly knew him at all.

I found this book to be really slow at times especially in the beginning. When it came to the mystery part, it was not really what I was expecting. I wanted more from that and it was just bland.

Overall, not bad, but too slow for my taste. It wasn’t really what I was expecting, but it wasn’t bad. I think I expected something more explosive and this was more realistic of a secret.

Thank you to Amazon First Reads for this free advanced copy.

[bookrat_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this book for one of my two June Prime First Reads.
3.5 stars
I'm sitting on my feelings about this book. I'm not sure how to feel. I know personal feelings play into my opinion. Other than those opinions on certain aspects of the book it was a solid story.

[Kathy Mallett · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story could have been told in 100 pages. Very slow and boring.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great debut novel that begs the question - how far would you go to discover secrets taken to the grave, given that those secrets might destroy your family? Diana Morgan is recently widowed, and is struggling with life and raising her two young children on her own. When she discovers a letter written by her husband before he passed away asking for forgiveness for an old crime he committed, but ending saying that she and the children were the best thing he had in his life, she’s confused. What happens when the person you think you know perhaps isn’t that person at all? Diana grapples with whether to try to solve the mystery or let it lie, but when her 12 year old son Duncan finds the letter and reads it, she’s prompted to begin a search that just might change everything they knew about her husband and Duncan and Phoebe’s father.

I enjoyed this one - pub date is 6/30/26. Thanks to the author for sharing with our book club!

[Cecily - MillennialBookGal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Kimberly Hansle Lowrance and NetGalley for the advanced audiobook of this novel.

This novel started off strong with an interesting premise but it felt like it went by sooooo slow. The narration was good and the characters were okay but honestly just annoying at their unwillingness to contribute.

I had hoped the excitement would pick up but it was just too much of a slow burn and the conclusion just didn't seem to matter to me much.

The narration was great but overall the story just wasn't for me.

Meh read.

[Amy K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

Tom passes away leaving behind his wife Diana and their two children. The three open a time capsule and discover a letter from Tom containing some earth shattering information. Diana begins her search for answers. It's interesting to see Tom's manipulation from beyond the grave.

This is a character driven story about loss, lies, deceit and forgiveness.

[Chalice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diana is trying to get on with her life about 18 months after the death of her husband Tom. Her kids are navigating what it means to have lost their father as well when they open a time capsule from a school project and Diana finds a letter that Tom wrote while he was dying. He seems to confess to an unspecified crime committed when he was 18 years old. Diana doesn't know what he's talking about so she begins to investigate, discovering secrets that might have been best left buried.

All the while, I kept thinking, please don't let it be an affair, please no so of course it was. But it's okay, right? It was just a few times when he was really stressed :eyeroll:. That almost ruined the story for me. I wanted one man to be decent and good. But I guess it wasn't this man! It was still an okay mystery, but nothing surprising.

[Frances Corrigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay, found it pretty predictable

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay. Probably 2.75 stars rounded up because I finished. So much was wrong about this book, but the thing that bugged me the most was Diana sleeping with the cousin, Chris, while she was trying to solve the mystery of her husband's cryptic death bed confession. Tom sounded like a completely self-absorbed, controlling jerk, and it was no surprise to hear the length of his betrayal of his wife. Also how cowardly to leave a letter that was designed to simultaneously confess to nothing, and scare the bejeezus out of his poor widow! Who does that?! And what about this child, Ava, that he fathered while unfaithful to his wife? He took zero responsibility, unless you count embezzling from his law firm to make payments to the mom. The characters were all either too awful, too controlling, or too unbelievably nice. I wouldn't bother reading this one again, so I can't really recommend it.

[Tea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a book written for me. Congrats, Diana, on deciding the truth about murder doesn't really matter.

[Linda]

Sort of predictable and pleasantly suspenseful

This is what I call am airport read. Enough plot and character to hold attention, with interruptions, and still enough story and character to keep me curious and entertained.

[Cookie K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this book from Kindle First Reads.

This book reminded me of how I felt reading The Last Thing He Told Me. I enjoyed the first 2 parts and was looking forward to finding out what the answers to the puzzle would be. Then I got to part 3 and felt so let down by the where the pot went.

While reading this book, I was hooked and wanted to find out the answers. The last part of the book was really disappointing. And far fetched.

One other comment. A large part of my his book involves grief. If you are feeling sad or down, I would not recommend this book for you.

[Becky Wells · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too Much Drama Not Enough Closure

The premise of the story is great. A widow finds a letter that her late husband wrote and hid fir her to find at a specific time. It admits and apologizes for some terrible thing he did as a teenager, without saying anything about what it was he did and telling her not to investigate. Seriously? (Eyeroll.) She investigates, of course, and discovers things she never would have imagined. Very little of the book revolves around that very interesting plot. Most of it is drama... feelings, grief, being unsure (about everything), more feelings, thoughts, anxiety, angst, angst, and angst. The mystery part is exciting and intriguing. The rest drags... it... down. I'm some places it's downright annoying. So... the good aspects of What Remains of You are good. The rest? Well, I guess you'd have to have a taste for that. Writer Kimberly Hensle Lowrance included a lot of it.

[carol hunt · Rating 1 out of 5]

it was so unrealistic!!!!

There is no way Tom, being so close to the O’Conners, would have not run to help them, and then not go to see them in the hospital !!! If killing Carson was in self defense, he would have called the cops!!! And the fact that he kept up the affair with Jessica’s Jessica was beyond belief. We, the readers are supposed to believe he was Jeckyl and Hyde???? Oh, and let’s not forget about the ridiculous letter he wrote to Diane!!!! If he had loved her one ounce, he would never have written such a threatening letter!!!! Horrible book!!!!

[Suzanne Leopold (Suzy Approved Book Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a debut! This one grabbed me in the first few chapters and because it is a mystery, I could not put it down. The novel covers many relatable themes as the protagonist works thru the grief from the death of her spouse. I am excited to see what this writer has in store next!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Remains of You

I enjoyed this book. The author did a great job developing characters especially the wife, Diane. Well worth a read or two,

[Sylvia Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

good story

This was a free first read from Amazon and I’m never sure if I’ll like those, but this one kept my interest.

[Sara Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super easy and quick read. It was a decent suspense, but there were holes in the story line and the ending wasn’t realistic.

[Krystal Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really shocked to find out that this was the Author's first novel, because I loved it so much! I was so drawn into the story, and needed answers as much as Diana did. I was so excited to read more of her books, but now I have to impatiently wait, haha! I definitely would recommend to other readers, and hope they love it as well!

[Kellie N · Rating 3 out of 5]

To start, thank you Amazon First Reads for the advanced e copy.

Diana is left reeling after the loss of her husband and a letter she finds 18 months later leaves her wondering if she ever knew him at all. After a couple months of deep diving she realizes that her husband was not as great of a man as she always thought he was.

I found this book to be really slow, and once it picked up it was incredibly predictable. None of the “twists” were shocking. The antagonist was also rather unlikable, and seemed incredibly self centered through a lot of the book.

Overall this book really wasn’t for me. I love a good whodunit but this didn’t check many boxes.

[Booksandcoffeemx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh wow, not only does this premise sound fantastic, but the story is fantastic too.

Imagine grieving the loss of your husband, the person you loved and trusted most, only to discover a letter that opens a can of worms and makes you question everything you thought you knew about your marriage.

I love this kind of story. Beautifully written, emotional, unexpected, twisty, and impossible to put down.

A fantastic read.

[Betsy Cornwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Let the past stay in the past." Diana Morgan, Lowrance's protagonist, said no. She wants to know what her dead husband was talking about when he wrote that he had done something terrible when he was a teenager. Diana's quest takes her across three states and through devastating grief. What she learns drives her to question what she knew of her husband and even what she knows of herself. I spent more time than I intended reading this book. I became very fond of fierce Diana and the other characters in this book.

[mary thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Family drama

Interesting and clever story, but depression seemed to linger through every chapter. Keep in mind that this is only my interpretation, and this story may feel different to other readers

[Callie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hate to say this was a DNF for me. So slow and boring that I gave up about 25% in. The writing style was not my taste either. It was like the author was writing about people she was looking through a foggy window at. Glad it was a free first read from Amazon cause I would have been disappointed to have spent money on it.

[Erica Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written

I enjoyed this book. The story unfolded with expected and unexpected twists. I liked how Tom's 'character' in death grew and morphed into something altogether human, flawed but worthy of love. Getting to know her husband forced Diana to see herself clearly and ultimately led to her growth too.

[Barbara Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad

Finding hidden secrets once a loved one has died, is a very difficult thing to come to terms with. All the unsaid deeds do nothing but conjure up ghosts from their past, not yours. The secrets of the dead need to stay the same as the person.....dead.

[Helen Temple · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this just a bit slow.

[Andrew Potter-Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an emotional book, and I really enjoyed the general vibe of the whole book.

[Kaylee Cart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very emotional read with good twists and turns that kept me engaged. A dead husband/dad always gets me. Good read!

[Sarah M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Snooooooze.