Book blurb...
What would you do to get your daughter back?
It's been three months since Alison's world fell apart when her six-year-old daughter, Amalie, died in an accident. Three months of sympathy cards, grief counselling and gritting her teeth, but it's still only the vodka and pills that seem to help.
Across town, Iselin's life is finally looking up. Her seven-year-old daughter, Kaia, has survived a life-changing operation. After years of doctors, medication and hope, they can now start thinking about the future.
These two mothers couldn't be more different, but fate will bring them together. And when it does, the consequences will be devastating.

My thoughts…
I enjoyed this story. If the author intended the reader to be profoundly disturbed by the intense grief Alison experienced following the loss of her daughter (and the lengths she went to after the death to survive) well, ten points.
I was rocked.
I felt for Iselin and her daughter, but was a little surprised she could not see what was happening.
Overall, the story kept me entertained. Not a ‘can’t wait to get back to it read’ but that’s not a bad thing.

“Hearts are wild creatures, that’s why our ribs are cages.”

The Heart Keeper by Alex Dahl is an intensely emotional story of grief, loss and hope.

Devastated by the accidental drowning death of her beloved six year old daughter, Alison reels brokenly between crippling emotional agony and a drug and alcohol induced stupor, unable to accept her loss. When her stepson raises the theory of cellular memory, which suggests that a transplanted organ retains some of the memories or personality traits of the donor that manifest in the recipient, Alison becomes obsessed with the idea that somewhere Amalie lives on…and she wants her back.

“I envision her heart beating in this moment, sutured in place in a little stranger’s chest. I see fresh, clean blood pumped out and around a young body, carrying miniscule particles of my own child. I stand up and press my face to the window. Out there, somewhere, her heart is beating.”

The narrative of The Heart Keeper moves between the first person perspectives of Alison, and Iselin, whose paths cross when Alison seeks out the recipient of her daughters heart, seven year old Kaia. At first Alison believes just a glimpse of her child’s ‘heart keeper’ will ease the ache, but it’s not enough, and she arranges a meeting with Iselin, ostensibly to commission some artwork, which simply feeds her obsession.

“I couldn’t have grasped, then, that it would grow bigger and sharper every day, that it would rot my heart, that it would devour everything that was once good,…”

Alison’s pain is so viscerally described by Dahl, the intensity is difficult to cope with at times. Her slow unraveling is utterly compelling, and though it’s known from the outset the direction the plot will take, Alison’s journey, her longing for her daughter, is what drives the story.

“You and her, you’re one and the same. I can’t believe I didn’t realize this before, that all of this time, you were right there.”

With richly drawn characters and raw emotive writing The Heart Keeper is an engrossing, poignant and heartrending story about death, and life.

The Heart Keeper is the first book by Alex Dahl that I have read. Set in Norway this is a highly emotional read, dealing with the grief of a mother who has lost her daughter. I really enjoyed the story, told from the points of view of both mothers whose lives are going in completely opposite directions. It is certainly not a fast read but it is worth sticking with. The characters are realand the storyline is intriguing.

Alison is a mother in mourning. 3 months ago her daughter Amalie died in a tragic accident and she blames herself. Her marriage is falling apart and her best friend is the vodka bottle. Across town Iselin's life is finally starting to come good. Her daughter Kaia has just received a heart transplant and is finally living the life that a little girl should. These 2 women will change each other's lives.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Australia for the advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

Two mothers from completely different backgrounds and situations. Alison has lost her six year old daughter in a tragic accident for which she blames herself. Iselin has had seven tough years caring for a daughter with severe heart issues. Alex Dahl weaves their stories together in this heartfelt and compelling thriller.
I loved the use of two narrators to present two different predicaments - each equally harrowing.
Dahl writes with sympathy and understanding about what it means to lose a child- the never ending guilt and grief, and the courage it takes to face another day.
An excellent read