It's been a while since I've read a book set in Australia. Sadly, there isn't a lot of discussion about the countryside in this one because much of Dark Heart is set in a hospital. That being said, this was a roller-coaster ride! Once again, I resorted to nail-biting to offset the chilly tension of a plot.

To say this story had the dual responsibility of setting up a series and being a tense thriller, it masterfully succeeded at both. Not an easy task! I can't wait to read more by Catherine Lee.

‘So where is she?’

Detective Sergeant Charlie Cooper, recently turned forty and about to quit homicide, has been hunting for the murderer known as the Adultery Killer for ten years. And, as the Adultery Killer last killed twelve months ago, everyone is conscious that a new victim is possible. Cooper and his new partner, Detective Constable Joey Quinn, are allocated a new murder to investigate. They quickly discover that the man murdered, Fraser Grant, is the Adultery Killer. Unfortunately, he had already captured a new victim, and Cooper and Quinn need to find where she is being held before she dies.

‘There’s a brief moment, when you hear bad news, where your subconscious makes the connection before your conscious mind.’

An additional complication: the murderer’s heart has been transplanted into Eva Mattthews, and somehow (you’ll need to read the book to find out how and why) she finds out. She’s distressed: the heart of a killer is not what she envisaged when she had the transplant, and she’s experiencing horrific nightmares.

‘She was pale, so very pale, the woman in the dream.’

Will the Adultery Killer’s final victim be found alive? Is it possible that Eva’s nightmares are related to the kidnapped woman? The husband of the missing woman is desperate: he’s heard of cellular memory, and believes that Eva may have some knowledge (via her transplanted heart) that might help.

I read this novel while recovering from surgery in a Sydney hospital. The best setting, really, to appreciate the various strands of this story. While I enjoyed the novel and ambivalent about the possibility of cellular memory, there were a couple of twists which didn’t quite work for me. Still, I’m a fan of Cooper and Quinn, and as soon as I finished this book, I started the next one.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Dark Heart by Aussie author Catherine Lee is the first book in the Cooper & Quinn series and what a fabulous start it was. Intense, gripping, page turner, heart stopping, twists and turns all the things I enjoy in a thriller/mystery novel. And this book had all of these things and so much more. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Highly recommended.

Fraser Grant, was a kidnapper, and murderer. Called the Adultery Killer, he is now dead. But there is a possible victim missing. Can Detective Sergeant Charlie Cooper find her in time. But what connection is Eva Matthews, a recent recipient of a heart.
An enjoyable and interesting mystery.

Terrific, is the only way to rate this marvelous tale of kidnapping and murder.

It is a slow start that creates mystery about a relentless serial killer after his mysterious death. He kidnapped, tortured, and killed adulterers, one every twelve months for ten years. Can you imagine the directions such a story could go in. Well, this story goes in many different directions and every page cannot be read fast enough to get you where you get another piece of the puzzle. I cannot recall rating many books with 5 stars, if any. This book is very close, enjoy.