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alicepaprikareader's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
There were some weird ways of describing the main character - feeling an earthquake in her womb was an interesting description.... I suppose a standard man writing a female main character? But the plot did catch my attention and keep me interested so it didn't take me long to finish the book.
kellyvandamme's review
4.0
Fault Lines is set in a reimagined contemporary Edinburgh, in which a tectonic fault has opened up and produced a volcanic island, The Inch. Protagonist Surtsey is a volcanologist obsessed with The Inch. Surtsey is also having an affair with her married boss Tom… Until she goes to meet him and finds him dead as a doornail. Oops! Death doesn’t stop there, it seems to follow Surtsey around and in the meantime she keeps getting creepy messages on Tom’s clandestine phone that she’s nicked, she’s trying to make the most of the time she has left with her mum who’s terminally ill and she’s trying to reconnect with her sister.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Caroline Guthrie. She has a lovely Scottish accent that regularly made me smile, but she does quite a simple narration, she doesn’t really tweak her voice all that much to accommodate the various characters, which was most noticeable during conversations. Still, I liked it enough to keep listening (I also have the eBook so I could have switched).
Suspenseful, mysterious, but with a heart, recommended!
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Caroline Guthrie. She has a lovely Scottish accent that regularly made me smile, but she does quite a simple narration, she doesn’t really tweak her voice all that much to accommodate the various characters, which was most noticeable during conversations. Still, I liked it enough to keep listening (I also have the eBook so I could have switched).
Suspenseful, mysterious, but with a heart, recommended!
btpbookclub's review
4.0
Never re-read a book before this one. I read this two years ago... But got another copy for my Orenda collection and just had to read it again. It was just as good as the first time reading it. A brilliant story. I won't review it again as I've already reviewed it once. But a cracking read. Glad I re-read it and it made me want to re-read more.
fhackland's review
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
portybelle's review
5.0
Full review to follow but I absolutely devoured this book. I'd say it's his best yet. Loved all the local detail which really added to the story for me.
mpr2000's review
4.0
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?
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?
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?
didactylos's review
1.0
Around 40% in I saw what was coming. Sorry I did not enjoy this at all.predictable, reliant on massive coincidences and very self indulgent.
noveldeelights's review
4.0
How cool is that cover?! I’ve been drooling over it since I first spotted it on Twitter and after reading the book, I can tell you it fits the story perfectly as cracks start to appear everywhere!
Fault Lines is set in a very different Edinburgh than we are used to. Due to a tectonic fault, a new volcanic island appeared twenty-five years ago. Tremors happen every day and The Inch, as it’s called, is a fascinating research project for scientists and volcanologists. One of those volcanologists is Surtsey, named after an Icelandic volcano, but The Inch also means something different to her. It’s where she meets up with her lover, Tom, who’s also her boss and very married.
On one such illicit rendez-vous, Surtsey discovers Tom’s dead body. Wanting to protect Tom’s family and their reputations, Surtsey doesn’t mention this to anyone. But someone seems to know what has happened and things quickly spiral completely out of Surtsey’s control. Who is taunting her and what do they want?
As “luck” (slightly odd choice of words) would have it, I was reading this when the volcano erupted on Hawaii. This meant I had no problems whatsoever imagining the tremors, fissures and vents that seem to come straight from some blockbuster catastrophe movie. The storyline itself took me a little longer to get into. I didn’t particularly like Surtsey or any of the other characters, to be honest. They all seemed rather miserable, although in Surtsey’s case that is understandable since she has quite a few things going on. And maybe I’d be miserable too if I had to deal with tremors on a daily basis. However, the underlying tension, from both the tremors and the person taunting Surtsey, was intensely gripping and once the story really got going, I was absolutely hooked.
At just 215 pages, this is quite a short book and a bit of a slow-burner. However, it has a brilliantly crafted, dark plot that stands out from the crowd due to its uniqueness and originality. I must admit some of the science-y “it’s just rocks” stuff went completely over my head but that didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the story at all and there were plenty of other things to sink my teeth into. I had one of those “eureka” moments where I figured out the who, but not the why. From then on, the tension slowly but surely built up and led to an incredibly explosive and satisfying ending that I was really not prepared for.
This is a psychological thriller with a difference that will have you glued to the pages and for me, it was a satisfying first introduction to author Doug Johnstone.
Fault Lines is set in a very different Edinburgh than we are used to. Due to a tectonic fault, a new volcanic island appeared twenty-five years ago. Tremors happen every day and The Inch, as it’s called, is a fascinating research project for scientists and volcanologists. One of those volcanologists is Surtsey, named after an Icelandic volcano, but The Inch also means something different to her. It’s where she meets up with her lover, Tom, who’s also her boss and very married.
On one such illicit rendez-vous, Surtsey discovers Tom’s dead body. Wanting to protect Tom’s family and their reputations, Surtsey doesn’t mention this to anyone. But someone seems to know what has happened and things quickly spiral completely out of Surtsey’s control. Who is taunting her and what do they want?
As “luck” (slightly odd choice of words) would have it, I was reading this when the volcano erupted on Hawaii. This meant I had no problems whatsoever imagining the tremors, fissures and vents that seem to come straight from some blockbuster catastrophe movie. The storyline itself took me a little longer to get into. I didn’t particularly like Surtsey or any of the other characters, to be honest. They all seemed rather miserable, although in Surtsey’s case that is understandable since she has quite a few things going on. And maybe I’d be miserable too if I had to deal with tremors on a daily basis. However, the underlying tension, from both the tremors and the person taunting Surtsey, was intensely gripping and once the story really got going, I was absolutely hooked.
At just 215 pages, this is quite a short book and a bit of a slow-burner. However, it has a brilliantly crafted, dark plot that stands out from the crowd due to its uniqueness and originality. I must admit some of the science-y “it’s just rocks” stuff went completely over my head but that didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the story at all and there were plenty of other things to sink my teeth into. I had one of those “eureka” moments where I figured out the who, but not the why. From then on, the tension slowly but surely built up and led to an incredibly explosive and satisfying ending that I was really not prepared for.
This is a psychological thriller with a difference that will have you glued to the pages and for me, it was a satisfying first introduction to author Doug Johnstone.