Blog Tour: Fault Lines

FAULT LINES | Doug Johnstone
05.22.2018 | Orenda Books
Rating: 5/5 stars

A tectonic plate has opened up in the Firth of Forth, outside of Edinburgh. This change has caused daily tremors to be felt throughout the nearby towns and created a volcanic island, known as The Inch. This island is a source of intrigue for the local geologists and volcanologists. Surtsey is one of those volcanologists. She is studying and working towards her PhD with a small group of fellow students under the direction of Tom Lawrie.

We all live multiple lives, Surtsey though, play different roles as a daughter, friend, student, lover.

One night Surtsey takes a trip out to The Inch to meet Tom, who is not just her boss, but also her lover. When she gets there she finds him lifeless on the beach with his head smashed in. In order to keep her private life private Surtsey lies to the police about their relationship and her whereabouts that night. Things quickly spiral out of control. On top of being unable to stop the police from seeing her as a suspect, Surtsey must also face the reality that her mother is dying. Can Surtsey balance a deteriorating personal life while trying to prove she’s not a murderer? Who really killed Tom?

She was an ancient god made of stone, held captive in the core of the earth. Slowly the magma melted her chains until she broke free, swimming in the molten rock, upwards towards the surface, faster and faster, the pressure around her lessening until she burst into water then open air, fists held high, lava and rock and steam surrounding her as she soared into the atmosphere and gazed down on the planet from space, marvelling that only minutes before it had been her prison.

Doug Johnstone creates a captivating work of crime fiction in FAULT LINES. The reader tags along with suspect number one, Surtsey, as she fumbles through an attempt to cover up her relationship with a now murdered married man. Her lies to the police about her whereabouts the night of Tom’s death quickly sweep her on to the list of possible murderers and leaves the reader begging her to tell the truth. In addition to the murder investigation, Surtsey must also come to terms with her mother’s nearing death and the impact this has on her relationship with her sister. Johnstone is able to weave together these dominating plot lines in Surtsey’s life and create a seamless story. FAULT LINES is filled with edge of your seat moments, heartbreak, and the possibilities that can spiral from telling a lie.

People change. Some for the better, some for the worse. Some people become more confident, some less so. Some people deal with grief well, others run away and hide.

Thank you so much to Orenda Books and Doug Johnstone for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the fabulous Anne Cater for setting up another #teamorenda tour full of fantastic bloggers! Please be sure to check out the rest of the blogs showcasing FAULT LINES on its blog tour!