On a plane about to crash-land, Dawn Edelstein finds herself thinking not about her husband but about Wayne Armstrong, whose work as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites was something she had aspired to as well. On the ground, she's offered transportation to the location of her choice and must decide whether to head home or head for Egypt to reconnect with Wayne and perhaps pick up her research on a book mapping the afterlife. With side-by-side plots.

In Picoult's parallel-narrative novel, death doula Dawn Edelstein survives a plane crash, and when asked by the airline where she would like to go, rather than home to her husband and family in Boston, she chooses Egypt. After her near-death experience, Dawn realizes the wholeness of her life depends on not burying her past. Fifteen years earlier, as a graduate student, she left an archaeological dig after receiving a call telling her that her mother was dying. She walked away from a promising career as an Egyptologist studying The Book of Two Ways, the first known map of the afterlife, and from her lover, Wyatt Armstrong, who was working alongside her in Egypt. With vivid, descriptive prose and extensive research, Picoult's portrayal of the intersection of lives, whether in the present or with ancient souls, is a believable premise. This tale can be seen as magical, in the sense that magic encompasses envisioning and believing in what we can't actually see but can sense, feel, and guide others through. VERDICT Similar to Alice Hoffman's depiction of complex family ties, Picoult's latest (after A Spark of Light) stretches the importance of recognizing our bonds to those we love. Highly recommended for open-minded readers. [See Prepub Alert, 3/18/20.]—Susan Anton, Yellow Springs, OH

Picoult (A Spark of Life) explores age-old questions about a possible parallel universe in this shrewd tale. The life of narrator Dawn McDowell, a specialist in the ancient Egyptian coffin text the Book of Two Ways, has taken two paths, indicated by alternating chapter titles. In "Water/Boston," Dawn is a death doula facing an impasse in her marriage to quantum mechanics professor Brian Edelstein, after he missed his daughter's birthday to spend time with an adoring student. The "Land/Egypt" path begins with Dawn's life before Brian, when she was on a PhD track as an Egyptologist, worked at a Yale-sponsored dig, and developed a connection with fellow student Wyatt Armstrong. In the present, Dawn returns to Egypt to see if she can pick up the life with Wyatt she left behind, and the trip is described in two ways that mirror one another with a few key differences. Along the way, Picoult unloads a great deal of info on quantum mechanics, parallel worlds, Egyptian history, religion and hieroglyphics, the machinations of archeological digs, and the process of dying. The dual-life construct can be confusing, and readers may find it not sufficiently explained, but Dawn's story offers keen insight on the limits of love. Picoult's fans will appreciate this multifaceted, high-concept work. (Sept.)