Fault Lines by Doug Johnstone - Blog Tour


Fault Lines by Doug Johnstone
Genre: Mystery
Source: Orenda Books
Rating: 4/5



Surtsey feels like her world is trembling behind her feet, not only she has found her secret lover dead but the killer is also sending cryptic messages to her... Will she be strong enough to survive the next seismic movements in her life?

"'Surtsey's an interesting name,' Ferris said.
She got asked about it all the time.
'I'm named after an Icelandic island,' she said. 'A volcanic island, like this one, that erupted in the 60s. My mum says it's her favourite place in the world. She's a volcanologist, like me. Actually I was born the day this place erupted.'"

I have to admit I felt a little bit of myself on this book, I studied Geology and I am fascinated by geological places and I can totally understand the disconnection you feel in the world when one of your parents is dying from cancer. When my mom was diagnosed with cancer, my connection to the real world was my family, for Surtsey it is her secret lover... So when she discovers his body, it seems that her world is crumbling below her feet...
The author, Doug Johnstone, has done a great job explaining the disconnection, the lost feeling, the cloudy thoughts that Surtley is living. If you have not lost any of your parents it could seem that this book is strange and cold, but when you have to face the death of one of your loved ones, your actions start being less important and the world seems too big to cope with everything. I am not giving an excuse for Surtley to have an affair, but I don't think she is really thinking what she is doing, simply living, waiting for the end...
It was interesting reading about euthanasia, how is still forbidden almost everywhere in the world, but when someone near you asks about it, you start rethinking what you think about it...
Yes, of course there's a murder, and let me say that if Surtley wasn't receiving messages from the killer I would thought she was the killer! Because, if you think about it, there's no one that could have strong motives to kill him... So what has really happened? 
Let me say I didn't like much how the author showed the PhD's life... I am in the academic world, and if any PhD spends all day drinking and smoking they would not have a long career as a scientist.
Be prepared for an emotional read; sad, realistic and intriguing that will make you understand that even if you plan everything, life is always unexpected.
Ready for a trip to the Inch?

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