The Heart Keeper by Alex Dahl is one of those books that hits you at the end and does not let go. Alison is the mother of Amalie who drowned. Alison is consumed with grief that won't let go. She has a hard time moving on because she feels guilty as her daughter died on her watch. They were at the beach, Amalie was in the water and Alison fell asleep so Amalie went too far out and no one saw her. So now that Amalie's organs have been donated, one of those recipients, Kaia, who had been very sick received the heart.
Alison's marriage to Sindre is disintegrating, they are both grieving in their own way. Sindre, a former soldier, is grieving in a different way than his wife. He appears to have PTSD from his service military service. With the help of her stepson Oliver, Alison is able to find Kaia and her mother Iselin. She has not been able to work due to her daughter's illness. Even after the surgery, Kaia still needs medical monitoring. There are certain things she is not allowed to do. Iselin has a younger sister who is a Dj in Paris.
Alison becomes obsessed with Kaia after meeting her. Her stepson, Oliver, was key to finding Kaia and her mother. He tells her that he has learned, in his class, about transplants and the phenomenon known as cellular memory. Alison is looking for any cellular memory and on the lookout for this phenomenon, like certain things she says, her movements that are similar to Amalie. Alison spends a lot of time with Kaia and Iselin, taking Kaia shopping, picking her up at school and even babysitting.
The story is told in alternating chapters, we learn more about Alison and her marriage to Sindre. As well as Iselin's life. A single mother, no father in the picture, who has lived 7 years for her only child. They lived in the same house for the whole time with a nosy landlady. By nosy I mean, her peeping in the windows and coming to conclusions as to why a young girl would scream out in the night with nightmares. Iselin, even after the surgery feels like she needs to 'hover' over her daughter. As she gets closer to Alison, she feels emboldened to do something with her life. She is an artist and with Alison's help, she starts getting orders for her paintings which helps her financially.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I enjoyed the style of writing, the psychological aspect of the story was done extremely well. I liked how Dahl was able to tell a story of such loss and the consequences of grief and how some characters in the book handled it but with a compassion that is endearing. At times dark and scary, I did not see the ending coming and I like that, it keeps the suspense alive until the end. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone but to the reader who enjoys a psychological thriller!
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