A new author to me. Wasn't sure what to expect but quite enjoyed the story - it didn't grip me but reasonably entertaining.

There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it – the use of present tense, maybe? I'd read more from this author in the future though.

A mixed bag this one. About eighty pages in I was struggling and wondering where the story was going but very quickly after that I was hooked. It's a slow burner which gradually insinuates itself into your mind. I will admit I was more captivated by the older story that runs alongside Mary and Graham's tragic tale but both stories work together beautifully. The supernatural aspect is kept low key and almost believable and there's a cute dog, almost perfect.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Some memories are too powerful to live only in the past.
During a ferocious storm, a red-haired stranger appears in the garden of a small farming cottage. Eliza and her parents take him in. But very soon, it’s clear he has no intention of leaving.
A century later, Mary and Graham have experienced every parent’s worst nightmare. Now, escaping their old London life, the memories and the headlines, they have found an idyllic new home in rural Suffolk. A cottage, a beautiful garden. The perfect place to forget. To move on.
But in The Stopped Heart, the past never dies."

This was one of those books that started with such promise but never quite reached the potential that it displayed early on...

Twin, parallel storylines set at different times are usually a good way to get my interest. Throw in a little hint of supernatural and I am all in. The tension that builds between the different characters and timelines was really well done. It was creepy and atmospheric and had all the things that lend themselves to a great suspense novel...

...but, why did nothing ever seem to truly happen? We got a lot of "something ALMOST happened" but not much more. And then, the ending...what the? It just...stopped. No big reveal, no "oh, I get it now!" moment. Just the end of the book. Weird.


Paul
ARH