31 July 2015

Review #288: The Heat of Betrayal by Douglas Kennedy



My rating:
4 of 5 stars


“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” 


----Friedrich Nietzsche



Douglas Kennedy, an American best-selling author, pens a thrilling and completely exotic marital as well as adventurous story about a couple who are stuck in a bad marriage mixed with poor financial situations, The Heat of Betrayal .








Synopsis:

Robin knew Paul wasn’t perfect. But he said they were so lucky to have found each other, and she believed it was true.


In the heady strangeness of Morocco, he is everything she wants him to be – passionate, talented, knowledgeable. She is convinced that it is here she will finally become pregnant.

But when Paul suddenly disappears, and Robin finds herself the prime suspect in the police inquiry, everything changes.

As her understanding of the truth starts to unravel, Robin lurches from the crumbling art deco of Casablanca to the daunting Sahara, caught in an increasingly terrifying spiral from which there is no easy escape.

With his acclaimed ability to write page-turners that also make you think, Douglas Kennedy takes the reader on a roller-coaster journey into a heart of darkness that asks the question: what would you do if your life depended on it?



While reading I got a feeling that the author must have fallen head-over-heels in love with a passionate as well as beautiful country, Morocco, since he portrayed the city so vividly that it gave me a feeling like I've been there before and know it's dark and back alleys like the back of my hand. I've never been to Morocco but after reading this book, I'm thoroughly intrigued to visit this exotic paradise on earth. And like I said, the author has so intricately layed the detailing of the Moroccan cities namely Casablanca, Tata, Ouarzazate, the Sahara Desert and Marrakesh, it feels like when I visit Morocco, then I don't need a single guide to help me find my way through these cities, even the author hasn't missed out on the tricks and trades of the city and I'm definitely learning French before I pay a visit to Morocco.

From the streets to the culture to the history to the language to the architectural descriptions to the food like baklava to the poverty stricken side to the richer side of the city to the heritage to the dimly lit or rather say dark alleys to the souk to the landscape to the skyline, every tiny details has been captured with perfection and grace by the author. Hence the story gives a visual as well as sensory feel about Morocco.

Robin and Paul arrive at Morocco on a romantic vacation especially to be away from all those financial drama that are leaving them almost penniless due to Paul's shopaholic nature. Soon Paul goes missing leaving Robin as the prime suspect by the Moroccan police. And gradually Robin is reluctantly dragged into a dangerous adventure which leads her to visiting various cities of Morocco and unraveling it's secrets and also exposing herself to very real taste of death all the while finding for her husband. So will Robin find her husband?


The writing style is great and articulate, in fact layered with evocative narrative style that is both in French and English and at times in Arabic too, thus giving the readers with a sense of nativeness of a particular destination. The prose is elegant and very structured. And the mystery builds up is done strikingly.

What did not intrigue me much was the fact the story was taking wrong turns constantly and even the end was not at all satisfying, I don't even know if I should say that this book belongs to a crime fiction genre which has been highlighted boldly in the synopsis of this book, since although the focus of Paul's missing never once faltered from the storyline but at times, it felt like it was Robin's story who is self centered to think about her lying husband and to carry on a hopeless journey in order to prove herself something. As a matter of fact, there is no mystery in this book, it's more like being on an edgy adventure in order to find a cheating husband.

The characters, other than Robin I couldn't feel anyone's presence in this book, are well-developed and realistic. The story runs from Robin's POV and hence there's not much depth into the rest of the supporting cast of the story. Moreover, there were some characters whom I wanted to have a little bit of presence in the story to give it more weight and especially to sound real. Robin is a strong married woman who stops at nothing to find her husband who has been deluded by her husband's goodness for many years. Coming to Morocco, makes Robin realize that Paul is not a nice man, in fact he had been lying to her from the begining of time.

The emotions are vividly captured in the book and their essence can be easily felt while reading the book. The book is a downward spiral to pain and grief and along with Robin's sadness, the book too pulls the readers in to the ocean of pain and sadness. I really loved how the author carefully developed Robin's character from hating her husband to finally finding peace within herself.

In short, if you really like to read about an exotic story set in a yet more mystical destination layered with a bit of mystery and marital drama and lots of edgy adventures, then this book perfectly fits the bill.

Verdict: Gripping and compelling and contemporary romance readers will have a great time while reading this book.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author's, Douglas Kennedy, publicist for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book. 
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Author Info:
Douglas Kennedy was born in Manhattan in 1955. He studied at Bowdoin College, Maine and Trinity College, Dublin, returning to Dublin in 1977 with just a trenchcoat, backpack and $300. He co-founded a theatre company and sold his first play, Shakespeare on Five Dollars a Day, to Radio 4 in 1980. In 1988 he moved to London and published a travel book, Beyond the Pyramids. His debut novel The Dead Heart was published in 1994.
Visit him here


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1 comment:

  1. I am actually getting more and more into romance novels now that I have read a few of them that are pretty good! This one sounds promising as well, but I have to think about it some more. I love the cover ^^

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