Synopsis: Two mothers. Two daughters. One heart.
When Alison's beloved daughter Amalie drowns, her world turns impenetrably dark. Alison tries to hold it together throughout the bleak Fall, but in the darkest days of the Norwegian Winter she completely falls apart.
In another family, Amalie's passing is a new beginning. After years of severe health problems, young Kaia receives a new heart on the morning after Amalie drowns. Her mother Iselin has struggled to raise Kaia on her own and now things are finally looking up. She's even made an affluent new friend who's taken a special interest in her and her daughter.
Alison knows she shouldn't interfere, but really, she's just trying to help Iselin and Kaia. She can give them the life they never had, and by staying close to them, she can still be with her daughter. Kaia is just like her, and surely, something of Amalie must live on in her. As her grief transforms into a terrifying obsession, Alison won't let anything stop her from getting back what she has lost.
One (or more) Sentence Summary: Wow.....this is like Girl on the Train meets I Invited Her In and the result is one crazy story. I couldn't stop reading it. I knew it couldn't end well for one of the mothers, but I couldn't put it down.
There were times when I was reading The Heart Keeper that I just wanted to cry for Alison. I can't imagine the grief she was suffering and how insane it made it her. I wanted to scream, "get help Alison." Other times I wanted to shake Iselin and say, "no....don't let her in." As much as my own heart ached for the these two mothers, I had to turn the next page. I couldn't get to end fast enough and it was an amazing ending.
Take a break from your beach reads and crack open the spine of The Heart Keeper. The Norwegian winter will help keep you cool during the summer. It was just so good!
There were times when I was reading The Heart Keeper that I just wanted to cry for Alison. I can't imagine the grief she was suffering and how insane it made it her. I wanted to scream, "get help Alison." Other times I wanted to shake Iselin and say, "no....don't let her in." As much as my own heart ached for the these two mothers, I had to turn the next page. I couldn't get to end fast enough and it was an amazing ending.
Take a break from your beach reads and crack open the spine of The Heart Keeper. The Norwegian winter will help keep you cool during the summer. It was just so good!
Would I Read Other Books by the Author: Absolutely....I want to read her other novel, The Boy at the Door.
Alex Dahl was born in Oslo and is the critically acclaimed author of The Boy at the Door. She graduated with a B.A. in Russian and German linguistics with international studies and went on to complete an M.A. in creative writing at Bath Spa University, followed by an M.S. in business management at Bath University. Alex has published short stories in the U.K. and the U.S. and is a serious Francophile.