The Recipient: A Pyschological Medical Thriller

By Dean Mayes

Her heart is dying.

Casey Schillinge is a vivacious young woman on the verge of making her mark on the world. While backpacking, she is struck down by a tropical disease and suffers cardiac failure. But at the eleventh hour, Casey receives a life-saving heart transplant and a rare second chance to begin again.

Her new heart is changing her.

Three years later, Casey has become a withdrawn shell of her former self: she is estranged from her loved ones, afraid of open spaces and rides the line between legitimate and criminal work. The worst of her troubles come in the form of violent night terrors; so frightening that she resorts to extreme measures to keep herself from sleeping.

What is her heart revealing?

When she can take no more, she embarks on a desperate search for the source of her dreams. In so doing, she makes a shocking discovery surrounding the tragic fate of the donor whose heart now beats inside her chest. As she delves deeper into the mystery of her donor, she realizes her dreams are not a figment of her imagination, but a real-life nightmare.

Will her heart end up killing her after all?

"As Dean takes you on an adrenaline-fuelled ride that twists to a kicker of a climax, ultimately uncovering a tale of human horror that is all too real, he will keep you guessing throughout as you try and figure out just who the good guys and the bad guys are. A word of warning – trust no-one as you race towards the very satisfying conclusion of this gripping psychological thriller!" - Marcia B, Book Muster Down Under

"Entwining very real social issues with fast-paced adventure and fascinating dream sequences, Mayes has created a story that successfully combines suspense, dark humor, cultural references, action and outright horror, an intense examination of what motivates the terrible crimes perpetrated in the novel. Be prepared for a wild ride!" - Abbie Williams, author of The Shore Leave Cafe series

"Overall, a great read that was fascinating medically and had great character development." - Christina Boswell, Manhattan Book Review

Be sure to also read Dean Mayes' other novels:
The Hambledown Dream
Gifts of the Peramangk
The Artisan Heart

• Language: English
• Publisher: Central Avenue Publishing
• Release date: May 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781771680394

Dean Mayes

Dean Mayes is an Intensive Care Nurse who is fascinated by philosophy and the paranormal, so his stories weave an element of magical realism with deep humanism. He grew up near Melbourne, Australia, and now lives in Adelaide with his wife, Emily, his children, Xavier & Lucy, and his writing partner – a 10 year old spaniel named, Sam. Dean loves outdoor cooking, sailing his 60 year old Sparrow class yacht, anything to do with Star Wars and (insanely) long-form podcasts.

Reviews for The Recipient

[amaliagavea · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I'm not an avid reader of contemporary thrillers, I tend to be quite picky with them. This one won me over, though, when I read the blurb. When I was younger, about 13-14 years old, I wanted to become a surgeon and perform transplants. For a number of reasons I decided upon a different career but my interest in the field remains strong. There is a plethora of articles and theories about recipients whose personality was altered after the operation to a significant degree. Some of them were said to acquire traits of their donors. I don't know whether I believe this to be true, but this was a good reason for me to be interested in the novel.

This premise is taken to a whole different degree here and it is very difficult to say anything about the story. However, I think that in order to pay attention to it, we must suspend all disbelief, because there are certain points and issues that are quite problematic, in my opinion. Casey starts being troubled by insomnia and horrific nightmares after her surgery and her personality as a whole has been altered. At least, this is what everyone around her claim throughout the book. In all honesty, this was tiresome. I saw no problem with her at all. To my poor mind, it is obvious that anyone who suffers from problematic sleep or lack of it is bound to be irritable and troubled. You should try to disagree with me after a bad night. I mean, the dragon is awaken. For some strange reason, this seems to elude the doctor's fine judgment. Their answer is that Casey is a psychopath...

Casey is just about the only thing the writer got right in terms of the cast. She is a young woman who is certain and confident in her abilities and her judgment and perfectly aware of her troubles. She is determined to solve everything, despite everyone trying to convince her to "have some rest". And by "rest" they actually mean "let's lock you up in a clinic, feed you with a spoon while you're a breathing vegetable in order for us to appear as if we’re actually good parents. Which we are not." This was my major annoyance with the book. Perhaps I have been raised in a babble, I don't know, but Casey's parents seemed to me highly unrealistic. Either that or the writer's intention was to make them utterly stupid. Those people couldn't see beyond their bloody noses! Especially Eddie. What mother would behave like that? It's a wonder that Casey managed to keep her wits with parents like those people. Lionel, her grandfather, was the second decent character, although for a man who had served so many years in the police, he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and Scott was merely passable, but sympathetic. The villains were indifferent and clichéd, the psychiatrist was an absolute bore and perhaps a bit untrained? I doubt that a capable scientist would make the mistakes she did. Perhaps, the naive characters was the writer's way to emphasize Casey's isolation but the result was rather implausible for me.

The writing lacked spirit and punch to support the story and I could see the solution of the mystery before I reached the 50% mark of the book. How many times can someone gulp and glare in a chapter? The descriptions were repetitive, the dialogue were Hollywood clichés and the overall situation appeared hysteric. Everyone was shouting or crying or staring coldly at someone. You don't create tension and atmosphere in this way. Not when you deal with a story that had some potential....

I know I'm not the right reader for the book since my experience in thrillers isn't extensive, but I recognize a thing or two about good and bad writing. So, while the story was interesting and the pace was adequate, the execution wasn't satisfying at all. Perhaps I am spoiled by the Nordic writers but The Recipient didn't meet my demands. Give it a try and see whether it meets yours.

Many thanks to Central Avenue Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[boudicca123 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A heart stopper in more ways than one! Casey is an adventurous girl but comes home from a trip to discover she's picked up something nasty that has badly damaged her heart. After a transplant she has some dreadful nightmares and literally cannot rest, nor will do so, until she finds out why. She doesn't seem to be terribly nice, especially to members of her own family and comes across as being really self-centred, so it's hard to feel any sympathy for her. The first half of the book is a bit on the slow side and only springs to life as she begins to solve the mystery when there is action aplenty. Good style of writing but maybe some bits of it could've been shortened. Loved the cover and I would definitely pick it up for a closer look if it was on a bookshop shelf.