My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received an ARC of this book, from Netgalley, in return for an honest review
This is the first book I have read by Louise Jensen and I was very eager to read it as I love Medical thrillers or books with a medical theme.
The book discussed cellular memory which I will discuss later but I didn’t want to bore people before they have read the book review.
Jenna ended up with a serious heart condition following a viral flu like infection and the only hope was a heart transplant of which there was little hope until Callie died in a car accident and was found to be a perfect match.
I didn’t realise that heart transplant patients experience the conditions and side effects that Jenna is believed to be suffering from following the transplant. Although she has been given a second chance at life the illness has left her emotionally scarred and this is not helped by her parents separating following her transplant.
This is a very fast paced page turner with several things going on that all turn out to be interlinked in a very well written book. There are many twists and turns that had me gasping with shock on several occasions and it is all brought together in a climatic ending that nobody will see coming.
Jenna’s character is nothing short of brilliant. Louise obviously put a lot of thought and research into building a character that represents the issues and problems that affect transplant patients and the other characters are all well rounded and believable with depth. I was a little sceptical about Amanda but my advice is to bear with it because like everything else in this book there is reason why her character has been built that way.
I don’t want to put in spoilers here so will not go into the conditions and side effects mentioned earlier.
The basis of the book is cellular memory. This is a theory that some people believe and others do not. Scientifically it is said that it is not possible for organs to retain memory from the donor but I have read and heard about the belief that whether it is scientifically possible or not that it does happen. Personally I do believe that some organs, in particular the heart, can retain memories and feelings in the same way as the brain can lose them. I also believe that people do die from broken hearts. Maybe not from a heart problem but from health problems caused because their heart cannot survive without the person who has been lost. Jenna can feel Callie’s presence and dreams her thoughts in such a way that it affects the way she functions and this gets mixed up with medication side effects and the after effects of her illness in such a way that that her family and colleagues, and eventually Jenna herself, fear for her mental sanity.
An absolutely gripping book that will stay with the reader for a long time. I don’t like comparing authors but readers of Jodi Picoult and Lisa Genova will love this book it is a book that belongs in many genres.
#thankspublishers #netgalley #thriller #booksnall #bookouture
