Jacques Vandroux

... I wish the translation hadn't completely altered the title, because the original title makes much more sense. That is neither here nor there, though, and any other slight awkwardness in the writing that could be a product of translation didn't detract from the story, to me.

...Despite the more paranormal aspects of the story, the characters themselves even treat it with a healthy dose of skepticism, but for the most part, they still keep their minds open about it, what with the situation at hand being quite literally a life-or-death matter...Speaking of the characters, Vandroux did a good job developing individuals who are more than just one-dimensional tropes; I feel like this genre can lend itself to an author falling into the stereotyping trap with their characters, but Heart Collector manages to avoid this: our cop protagonist is not some tragic anti-hero, and the antagonists have some depth as well, with regard to motive for their actions...

...There weren't many twists in Heart Collector, but there were enough to help keep the suspense and momentum going; there was one towards the end that I particularly didn't see coming, and I regretted when I needed to put it down...I would definitely recommend Heart Collector to fans of this genre, and I'll be looking for more of Vandroux's books in future.

(for complete review, you can visit me at Here Be Bookwyrms on Blogger)… (altro)

3.5

*Book source ~ Kindle First

Captain Nadia Barka has many years of experience being a police officer. When the case of a mutilated woman left in a locked baptistery falls to her to solve, she’s stumped. With very few leads she catches a break when a computer technician tells her he saw the abduction and murder, but they were visions, not hard evidence. Barka is skeptical, but with no other leads to follow she checks out his story. Julien Lombard thinks he’s going crazy when he witnesses a second woman’s abduction and murder. Why is he seeing these things? But more importantly, how can he convince the police to take him seriously when he can’t convince himself?

Told from several POVs this tale of suspense isn’t exactly trouble-free. There is some head jumping and some awkwardness in the writing and dialogue that could be from the translation from French to English. Also, there are an inordinate amount of exclamation marks. However, the story was compelling enough for me to soldier on and I’m glad I did. A serial killer with his own weird agenda, a dedicated cop and her team, and a man who is suddenly thrown into a situation he never believed would be possible. I love the touch of the paranormal and the way everyone hunts down leads in trying to prevent another murder from happening. An enjoyable suspenseful read.… (altro)