Pulls You Into the Story ~ Not in the Heart by Chris Fabry ~ Review

Some novels have a voice that feels as though they are speaking directly to you. Not so much because you have experienced what the characters are going through, but because the wordsmithing pulls you into the story until you can’t help but feel the book is aimed at you.

            Truman has a first person voice in “Not in the Heart” that is witty, dry, honest, sometimes condescending and desperate. Some of the things he said had me snorting in humor, but most had me drawn to this man who couldn’t seem to climb from his own pit. I loved that once in a while, not very often, he would almost directly address me as the reader.

            Several other characters join Truman’s voice in this novel and I enjoyed listening to their thoughts and emotions – it brought completeness to the story.

            This novel has such a unique premise and one that drew me from the moment I read the description. A son needing a heart transplant, will get his new heart from a criminal on death row. A criminal that has donated the heart - though the criminal believes he is innocent. Wow! And believe me, the story follows through on the power packed into those few words. And the ending will completely surprise you. It did me.

            Though at times, I wasn’t as “grabbed” by the literary quality of the writing, the story trumps everything. What a reading experience.

            This review is my honest opinion. Thanks to the publishers through Netgalley for my copy to review. This was an unfinished work of fiction at the time I read it.

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More about the book...

Truman Wiley used to report news stories from around the world, but now the most troubling headlines are his own. He’s out of work, out of touch with his family, out of his home. But nothing dogs him more than his son’s failing heart.

With mounting hospital bills and Truman’s penchant for gambling his savings, the situation seems hopeless . . . until his estranged wife throws him a lifeline—the chance to write the story of a death row inmate, a man convicted of murder who wants to donate his heart to Truman’s son.

As the execution clock ticks down, Truman uncovers disturbing evidence that points to a different killer. For his son to live, must an innocent man die? Truman’s investigation draws him down a path that will change his life, his family, and the destinies of two men forever