A little lie … a seismic secret … and the cracks are beginning to show…

In a reimagined contemporary Edinburgh, where a tectonic fault has opened up to produce a new volcano in the Firth of Forth, and where tremors are an everyday occurrence, volcanologist Surtsey makes a shocking discovery.

On a clandestine trip to new volcanic island The Inch, to meet Tom, her lover and her boss, she finds his lifeless body, and makes the fatal decision to keep their affair, and her discovery, a secret. Desperate to know how he died, but also terrified she’ll be exposed, Surtsey’s life quickly spirals into a nightmare when someone makes contact – someone who claims to know what she’s done…

My thanks to Orenda Books for my review copy and to Anne for inviting me to join the blog tour

There is a volcano in Edinburgh and it has changed the lives of all the residents of the capital. Earth tremors are commonplace and the unexpected arrival of a new volcanic isle at the edge of the city means that the scientific community have an exciting and unexpected new area to investigate.

Surtsey is a volcanologist and she is studying The Inch, on an evening trip to the new island she plans to meet her lover Tom (who is also Surtsey’s boss).  However, all her plans are unexpectedly changed when she discovers Tom’s body. There can be no doubt that Tom was murdered so Surtsey decides to head home and not report the crime. Nobody knows about their relationship and Surtsey did not tell anyone she was traveling to The Inch, if she can keep her head down then she may be able to keep her part in Tom’s life a secret.

Unfortunately for Surtsey this is not going to happen. Someone knows she and Tom were sleeping together and it is not long before the secret is out. The police will come calling, Tom’s widow is convinced Surtsey is the killer and Surtsey’s boyfriend doesn’t react well to the news either.

Her world is falling apart and Surtsey needs to rely upon her friends and family but there can be no respite their either.  Her mother is in final stages of terminal cancer, her sister and mother barely speak and Surtsey feels she is intermediary between the two at a time when every conversation is strained and challenging. Surtsey can see her mother slipping away and is struggling to cope.

Fault Lines is a murder, mystery while Tom’s killer remains free.  However there is so much more depth to Doug Johnstone’s story as the human drama of Surtsey’s struggle plays out too, the chapters with her mother are quite distressing in places as the reader shares Surtsey’s anguish at seeing her rock diminishing in front of her eyes.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fault Lines, the story flows wonderfully and the characters are deep and engaging. A book which draws you into the lives of the characters and you just want to keep reading to see how the story unfolds.

Fault Lines is published by Orenda Books and is available in digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fault-Lines-Doug-Johnstone/dp/1912374153/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1525901181&sr=1-1