The Tell-Tale Heart by Jill Dawson

My thanks to Sceptre and Bookbridgr for my review copy.....

One heart, two lives...

When a teenager dies in an accident in rural Cambridgeshire, it affords Patrick, a fifty-year-old professor, drinker and womaniser, the chance of a life-saving heart transplant. But as Patrick recovers, he has the odd feeling that his old life 'won't have him'. He becomes bewitched by the story of his heart, ever more curious about the boy who donated it, his ancestors, the Fenland he grew up in. What exactly has Patrick been given?

This was a quick read at 242 pages and I found it thoroughly interesting. It tells the tale from several different points of view. Firstly from that of Patrick who is the recipient of a donor heart. At the moment it would seem that he is wasting his life and hurting those around him and being generally selfish. Secondly we hear the views of Andrew, whom everybody calls Drew. He is sixteen and it is his heart that Patrick receives.

There is also a section that beautifully depicts the landscape of the Fens and the stories of Drew's ancestors and the riots that took place. 

This book gives the reader an interesting take on the theory that the heart holds our feelings and therefore when Patrick receives his new heart, we do begin to question if he does start to feel differently or may even want to mend the error of his ways. Can he rebuild the relationships to those closest to him?

My only criticism would be that I personally would have liked to have known more about the Characters individually, and if the book had been longer then maybe this could have happened.

All in all a very individual novel, I liked it.

Jill Dawson was born in Durham and grew up in Yorkshire. She has held many fellowships and in 2006 received an honorary Doctorate. She lives in the Fens with her husband and two sons. She is the author of eight novels including, Trick of The Light. She has also published short stories and poetry.

To find out more, please visit her website:http://jilldawson.co.uk/