Red-Blooded Heart by V.J. Chambers

3.5 Stars

In the interest of full disclosure I think I would probably have enjoyed this book a lot more if I hadn't read Caroline Kepnes' You first.  It has a very similar feel to it and has familiar themes of obsession and lack of empathy; it just doesn't manage it quite as well.  Don't get me wrong this is actually a pretty good book, there is just something missing somewhere and the ending is odd to say the least.

Whether deliberate or not, and I suspect not, Juniper is "off" from the very beginning.  Her narration makes it abundantly clear that she is not at all what she seems - even when she is mentally gushing over how hot she finds Deke.  From Deke's narration you could be forgiven for thinking that she is a victim in some way and that he is the real threat.  Unfortunately she comes across as potentially more dangerous than Deke right from the get go.  As the tale unfolds from Deke building her off grid home to Juniper moving in it becomes more about the secrets they are hiding from each other with occasional flashes of the intrusiveness of the outside world.  Throw a boyfriend in to the mix and things so go off the rails for both characters.  I know, I know not much to go on plotwise here but to mention one thing would give the domino effect away.

The plot pacing is well done and has a good range of highs and lows and I did find myself eager to turn the page on more than one occasion.  Told from the twin viewpoints of Deke and Juniper the characters are well separated and have distinct voices which is very hard to do; plus if you are ever confused every time the viewpoint shifts focus it tells you who is leading the story now.  What did let it down was the superficial knowledge of off grid living - neither Deke nor Juniper is really off grid and it began to irk me that they kept referring to themselves as such.  Plus neither of them seemed to have any real chance of surviving during the winter - lip service is paid to such survivial but from the weak preparations they have made I very much doubt they could.

Overall it is a pretty solid tale, I'm not quite sure that Psychological Thriller really suits it but it is as good a label as any.  The reader, more or less, always knows what is going on so it is more about the two main character's reaction to events than anything else.  The only guessing we have to do is what Juniper is really doing in the wilds of West Virginia (her plan) and what happened with Alice and Deke.  Other than that we are in the enviable state of knowing more than the characters.

If you have managed to avoid reading You then you will probably love this book, if you have read it then you may find this a tad disappointing in comparison.