A beating heart, a dreaded nightmare, and a cold case masked in mystery, The Recipient tells the tale of a woman who undergoes a heart transplant and follows her through her recovery. She soon discovers that things aren’t quite as they appear and soon she is swept up into more trouble than she bargained for. Dean Mayes has written one hell of a thriller that had me rooting and fuming at every turn.
The Review:
Oh my word is this story intense! The start of the story was a bit slow, but then things quickly took off. Before I knew what was happening, I couldn’t put the story down! One of the many things I enjoyed about this book is its setting. It’s based in Australia and is the first book I’ve read set in this area. It made for a unique backdrop to this thrilling read. It follows the main character, Casey Schillinge, as she recovers from a heart transplant. This includes endless doctors appointments and therapy. She soon begins having these dreams of a terrible tragedy that is so real it’s as if she experienced it herself. But they didn’t actually happen to her. This leads her to uncovering things that she shouldn’t have and poking her nose where it never belonged, and when the synopsis says she enters a real-life nightmare it means it!
I enjoyed watching Casey’s character develop throughout the story. In the beginning she is very withdrawn, vulnerable, yet at the end of the book she had become this strong, independent woman. She has very close ties with her Grandfather, Lionel, and her Father, Peter. At times, her relationship with her Grandfather wasn’t quite relatable and I wish it would’ve been clearer why they were so close. Being in information technology myself, I thoroughly appreciated reading about a girl hacker and following her journey in uncovering the most shocking scandal I’ve probably ever read.
Now, regarding the Sasquatch:
I really wish the story between Scott (whom Casey calls Sasquatch) and Casey would have matured a little bit more. They always seemed to be on the precipice of something wonderfully romantic between them, but never did. One of the things that bothered me about this story is that Scott was never really given as major of a role as I thought he should of had. During her medical crisis he should’ve been at the hospital more, Casey should’ve confided in him a bit more, there should’ve been more between these two. That’s all on that note.
If I had to say who my favorite character was it would definitely have to be Scott. He was always supportive of Casey, even at her worst, was her friend at every stage of her crazy recovery, and would risk his own life to save her. That has to be the best kind of love right there.
Overall, there’s one thing I’m sure of. That this story will have your heart racing and mind wondering what will happen next at every page turn.
Star Rating Report Card:
4.57 Stars out of 5
1) Were the characters believable?
★★★★ – 4 stars
2) Did you like the characters?
★★★★★ – 5 stars
3) Does the story move at a good pace?
★★★ – 3 stars
4) Are there holes in the plot?
★★★★★ – 5 stars
5) Is there conflict?
★★★★★ – 5 stars
6) Is the point-of-view consistent?
★★★★★ – 5 stars
7) Did you enjoy the story overall?
★★★★★ – 5 stars
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