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Friday, May 11, 2018

BLOG TOUR: Fault Lines by Doug Johnstone @orendabooks @doug_johnstone #FaultLines #BlogTour #Edinburgh #TeamOrenda

Fault Lines
by Doug Johnstone

It's my spot on the Blog Tour for Doug Johnstone's FAULT LINES!
Continue below for a synopsis, about the author and my full review.


Publisher:  Orenda Books
Publish Date:  May 22, 2018
Paperback
300 pages
Standalone
Genres:  Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

In a reimagined contemporary Edinburgh, in which a tectonic fault has opened up to produce a new volcano in the Firth of Forth, and where tremors are an everyday occurrence, volcanologist Surtsey makes a shocking discovery. On a clandestine trip to The Inch - the new volcanic island - to meet Tom, her lover and her boss, she finds his lifeless body. Surtsey's life quickly spirals into a nightmare when someone makes contact - someone who claims to know what she's done...

*photo by Chris Scott

Doug Johnstone is a writer, musician and journalist based in Edinburgh. His fourth novel, Hit & Run, is published by Faber and Faber on March 15th 2012. His previous novel, Smokeheads, was published in March 2011, also by Faber. before that he published two novels with Penguin, Tombstoning (2006) and The Ossians (2008), which received praise from the likes of Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin and Christopher Brookmyre.Doug is currently writer in residence at the University of Strathclyde. Hes had short stories appear in various publications, and since 1999 he has worked as a freelance arts journalist, primarily covering music and literature.He grew up in Arbroath and lives in Portobello, Edinburgh with his wife and two children. He loves drinking malt whisky and playing football, not necessarily at the same time.

My Review:



A volcano, an affair, wine, hash and murders... oh my!  When you find your married boss who you're having an affair with dead at one of your meeting spots, what else can you do but take his phone and run home?  Then lie lie lie lie lie.  Then what do you do when someone seems to know your secrets and is exposing them to the world?

Surtsey loves her wine and hash, which doesn't create for very responsible actions or thinking.  Becoming suspect number one in the murder of her lover, she's not in the best moment of her life.  Her younger sister and her aren't getting along and her mother is in hospice just waiting to die - it can't get any worse for her.... right?  

It took me a little bit to get into the nitty gritty of this book, but once I did, I was caught... hook, line and sinker.  With a beautiful backdrop of a volcano that Surtsey is studying, Johnstone builds this crime thriller into real life relationship battles, an absolutely flawed protagonist and the struggle it is to keep a lie (or anyone for that matter) alive.  

This story builds like the tremors at The Inch, erupting into an obsessive ending that made me a fan of Johnstone.  I only guessed the outcome right when he wanted me to and for that I applaud this book and his writing. 

★★★★

4 comments:

  1. On behalf of the Orenda Books team, thank you for this fantastic review!
    Now, as a blogger, wow! You really nailed the essence of the story and if I hadn't already read it, I would pick it straight away!

    ReplyDelete
  2. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS AMAZING BLOG TOUR SUPPORT X

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  3. It was different than I expected in the most best way!

    ReplyDelete