Welcome to my stop on the blog tour today alongside lovely Sharon over at ChapterInMyLife! I’m so delighted to share my review of Fault Lines by Doug Johnstone!
Fault Lines
by
Doug Johnstone
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, and makes the fatal decision to keep their affair, and her discovery of his corpse secret. Desperate to know how he died, but also terrified she ll be exposed, Surtsey s life quickly spirals into a nightmare when someone makes contact – someone who claims to know what she’s done…
My Review
In Edinburgh, a tectonic fault line opened up and produced a new volcano, dubbed the The Inch. Now, for some people tremors are just an ordinary part of life. But for the ones who remember a time before, it is still an event that heralds a moment of surprise and recollection. For volcanologist Surtsey Mackenzie, The Inch is her life. When she makes a terrifying discovery on its blackened shores, everything changes. Tom, her boss and lover, lays dead before her very eyes, alone, buffeted by the wings of hungry seagulls. Faced with a terrible choice, Surtsey leaves behind his body and keeps the discovery a secret. Nobody need know of their affair. Nobody need know anything. But when Surtsey begins to receive unnerving messages, she realises that someone has been watching her for a long time. And they know she was having an affair with Tom. They know she left his body on The Inch.
Fault Lines gripped me straight away! I loved Surtsey. It was apparent from the first page that she was going to be a character to keep readers on their toes, keep them guessing, never quite knowing what she’d do next. And although she is quite a tough cookie, I enjoyed seeing a really caring side to her character. The scenes with Louise, her terminally ill mother, really pulled at my heartstrings and gave her a new side I swiftly fell in love with.
Combined with fantastic setting, characterisation and wonderful writing Fault Lines is a fast-paced, completely unputdownable new novel that will have readers hooked! Loved it! From beginning to end, I was a mix of emotions – amazed, unnerved, breathless, shocked and utterly overwhelmed. I still haven’t quite come to terms with that ending! Oh my goodness!
Doug Johnstone keeps the tension high as he leads you on a devilishly dark, brilliantly original mystery that will leave you speechless as you try to guess who-dun-it!
Original. Surprising. Gripping.
To purchase a copy of this book, you can follow the links below
Amazon UK
Book Depository
About Doug Johnstone
Doug Johnstone is a writer, musician and journalist based in Edinburgh. His seventh novel, The Jump, was published by Faber & Faber in August 2015. Gone Again (2013) was an Amazon bestseller and Hit & Run (2012) and was an Amazon #1 as well as being selected as a prestigious Fiction Uncovered winner. Smokeheads (2011) was nominated for the Crimefest Last Laugh Award. Before that Doug published two novels with Penguin, Tombstoning (2006) and The Ossians (2008). His work has received praise from the likes of Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin, William McIlvanney, Megan Abbott and Christopher Brookmyre.
In September 2014 Doug took up the position of Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. Doug was writer in residence at the University of Strathclyde 2010-2012 and before that worked as a lecturer in creative writing there. He’s had short stories appear in various publications and anthologies, and since 1999 he has worked as a freelance arts journalist, primarily covering music and literature. Doug is currently also working on a number of screenplays for film and television. He is also a mentor and manuscript assessor for The Literary Consultancy.
Doug is one of the co-founders of the Scotland Writers Football Club, for whom he also puts in a shift in midfield. He is also a singer, musician and songwriter in several bands, including Northern Alliance, who have released four albums to critical acclaim, as well as recording an album as a fictional band called The Ossians. Doug has also released two solo EPs, Keep it Afloat and I Did It Deliberately.
Doug has a degree in physics, a PhD in nuclear physics and a diploma in journalism, and worked for four years designing radars.
He grew up in Arbroath and lives in Portobello, Edinburgh with his wife and two children.
For more info:
dougjohnstone.wordpress.com
dougjohnstone.bandcamp.com
Follow the bloggers on the #FaultLines blog tour!
Huge thanks to Karen at Orenda Books and Anne at Random Things Tours for my review copy and blog tour invite!
Ronnie Turner ~ Author & Book Blogger 
Thanks so much for your continued support of the Blog Tours Ronnie x
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