Boris Starling

Although the first chapter is uncomfortably long (61 pages), it is so good you barely care. You are right there, alongside Kate as she escapes a sinking ferry, tasting the sea water and engine oil as you battle for survival together.

Kate is a police officer, and upon return to work, she is assigned to catch a serial killer. We follow her investigation, which she conducts while still trying to recover from the trauma caused by the disaster. The account of her hunt for the killer is interspersed with the enquiry into the sinking, which is led by her father (a marine investigator). The two threads of the story run in parallel, and it’s only in the final chapter that they come together, and the link between the two is suddenly and terrifyingly evident.

Starling has clearly done very detailed research – especially on the effect of trauma on behaviour – but this information is so beautifully melded with the storyline that you barely notice.

The characterisation is also brilliant– you really get to know the people involved, and empathize with them as they come alive on the page. This is even true of the killer: although it’s unnerving to enter his mind, you can’t help but feel some sympathy for him as you discover how his childhood drove him to this psychological state. You hope he can be rescued from himself before it is too late.

The novel’s continuous use of the present tense is a little tiring, but you do get used to it after a while. Personally, I also found a couple of passages too gruesome to read, but that wasn’t because they were gratuitous; rather that I’m squeamish.

Overall, this is a beautifully written thriller that gripped me like no other has managed for years. I don’t understand why Starling isn’t better known.… (plus d'informations)

The Law of the Heart is a gripping, emotional, captivating and emotional novel – one of the best I’ve read in a long time!

Min is a tour guide in modern-day, Communist North Korea and is fully committed to representing her country in its best light. A true believer in the ideals of the regime and not one to question the status quo. Theo is an award-winning roller coaster designer looking for a change. When his boss asks him to take the job in North Korea, he is reluctant to say the least, but decides to go for it.

As a punishment for allowing some foreign tourists to behave in a “disrespectful” fashion on a tour, Min and her work partner are assigned to keep strict watch over Theo’s comings and goings from his hotel to the sight of the theme park where he is designing his coaster. Min and Theo inevitably get to know each other and, much to their surprise, each find in the other someone who understands them - their hopes, their dreams, their motivations. In a land where all foreigners are suspect, this is a love affair that is not allowed. Follow along with Min and Theo as they find each other – and find themselves – in a passion that cannot come to pass.

Filled with beautiful North Korean scenery, fascinating history, intriguing roller coaster design, and a story that you just want to sink right into. Put this one on your TBR and book club list today!

Wondering where you can get a copy of The Law of the Heart? Support your indie bookshops and get your copy on https://bookshop.org/a/13638/9781542028110 – the online bookstore that gives 75% the book’s profit margin back to independent bookshops, contributing over $15 million since opening in 2020.

A big thank you to Boris Starling, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for this honest review.

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#WomensFiction… (plus d'informations)