I’m happy to present today’s blog for Love Books Tours and Lightning Books. Thank you for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. If you want to read my other book reviews, click here.
Synopsis
When burned-out investigative journalist Adam Budd’s estranged mother dies, he inherits her estate. This includes Stone Heart House, a huge, ramshackle mansion on a remote Scottish island. He visits the island to sort out her tangled affairs, and at first it seems like a charming haven of tranquillity.
But after he witnesses a strange accident, he begins to develop suspicions about the inhabitants. Why does everyone seem so eerily calm, even under stress? What is stopping Harriet, the lawyer helping him with his affairs, from leaving the island when she so clearly wants to? Is he making a big mistake by falling for her? And why have so many children gone missing?
Stone Heart Deep is a compelling and claustrophobic thriller with a remarkable twist, as if Iain Banks had rewritten The Wicker Man
My Review
I loved the idea behind this book even before I had read it. Adam begins to think something is wrong shortly after his arrival on the remote Scottish island. At first he thinks the locals simply dislike and distrust any outsiders, or just him. But their apparent lack of emotions and obstructive behaviour starts ringing alarm bells, and their behaviour gradually becomes more disturbing. Should he simply sell his late mother’s house as recommended by the island’s inhabitants and leave as soon as possible, or use his investigative skills to try and find out what sinister secrets the island holds?
I really enjoyed this book and found myself drawn in to the mystery behind the Island and especially Stone Heart House. Why is the doctor so keen to talk to him? Why does the island’s single police officer try to warn Adam not to get close to Harriet’s son Logan. The chapters with Adam and solicitor Harriet, are initially suggestive and heartwarming, but soon begin to convey the sense of tension for Harriet and Logan as they try to warn Adam of the dangers ahead. I won’t say any more because this book is too good to ruin. I enjoyed reading Stone Heart Deep and recommend it to anyone who likes a good mystery thriller. I gave this book five stars.
Author Bio
Paul Bassett Davies worked in experimental theatre before moving to television and radio, where he wrote for some of the biggest names in British comedy. He also wrote his own radio sitcom, and scripted several radio plays.
He wrote the screenplay for the 2005 feature animation The Magic Roundabout and has written and produced music videos with Kate Bush and Ken Russell. He is a former creative director of the London Comedy Writers Festival.
His first novel, Utter Folly, topped the Amazon humorous fiction chart in 2012, his second, Dead Writers in Rehab, was published by Unbound in 2017, and his third, Please Do Not Ask for Mercy as a Refusal Often Offends, by Lightning Books in 2020.
Book Info
Publisher: Lightning Books (6 September 2021
ISBN: Paperback 9781785632655 Ebook 9781785632662
Print length: 200 pages Genre: Mystery Thriller
Language: English Ebook File size: 1105KB
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported
Enhanced typesetting: Enabled
X-Ray: Not Enabled Word Wise: Enabled
BUYING LINKS
John's Bookshelf 