The North Face of the Heart by Dolores Redondo

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The North Face of the Heart

by Dolores Redondo

Published by Amazon Crossing on June 1, 2021
Setting: Michael Meigs
Genres: Historical Thriller
Pages: 495
Format: Kindle
Goodreads
Get Your Copy at: Amazon

In a propulsive thriller by the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Baztán Trilogy, a female detective follows a sadistic killer into the eye of a storm.

Amaia Salazar, a young detective from the north of Spain, has joined a group of trainees at the FBI Academy in Virginia. Haunted by her past and having already tracked down a predator on her own, Amaia is no typical rookie. And this is no ordinary student lecture at Quantico. FBI agent Aloysius Dupree is already well acquainted with Amaia’s skills, her intuition, and her ability to understand evil. He now needs her help in hunting an elusive serial killer dubbed “the composer”—a case that’s been following him his whole life.

From New Jersey to Oklahoma to Texas, his victims are entire families annihilated to coincide with natural disasters, their bodies posed with chilling purpose amid the ruins. Dupree and Amaia are following his trail to New Orleans. The clock is ticking. It’s the eve of what’s threatening to be the worst hurricane in the city’s history. But a troubling call from Amaia’s aunt back home awakens in Amaia the ghosts from her childhood and sends her down a path as dark as that of the coming storm.

The North Face of the Heart by Dolores Redondo is a fast-paced, exceptionally put-together mix of mystery, disaster, greed, and growth.

Will Salazar and Dupree find the serial killer before he strikes again?

Amaia Salazar

Amaia Salazar is an Assistant Inspector from Spain at the FBI for a special training seminar for foreign law enforcement. Although she isn’t average, she has things to learn, and learning from Special Agent Dupree is an honor, especially when he singles her out to assist with an ongoing investigation into a serial killer, “the composer,” that has recently surfaced.

I really like the character Amaia. She has lots of grit, and she faces adversity straight on. Yes, she has ghosts in her past and a mother from hell (I think that is literally). However, Dupree helps her see why her past is so much a part of her future. A few times, I was completely floored by the things that her mother does and that her father was such a coward. But I also see that she had her aunt, and she did what she needed to do to survive.

Aloisius Dupree

Dupree has been with the FBI for a while and leads one of the most elite teams in the bureau. Dupree is from New Orleans and had an old case that sometimes haunted his progress in the FBI. There is more to Dupree than meets the eye, much like with Salazar. However, he hides it well, and one of his goals is to teach Salazar how to be a great investigator. He knows she has it in her, but he also wants her to be careful using her “hunches.”

At first, I thought that Dupree was an egomaniac, but once you get to know him and his secret, you really understand him better. He truly cares about his Nana, but he also knows that he is the only person who can figure out this whole Barron Samedi gang that has been around for years terrorizing families and young girls. I found that Dupree is a gifted investigator, but he comes across as gruff and grouchy at times.

The Story

Part of Dupree’s team went to Florida to chase a lead, and the rest end up in New Orleans before Katrina hits. However, the disaster that follows makes it hard for them to stay on the Composer’s trail. Then they get a call which ends up being part of the Samedi case, and Dupree is hurt. However, Dupree takes the gang out of New Orleans to the Bayou for assistance and to help find the missing girls.

The author gives us the history of Salazar, what is happening in New Orleans before, during, and after Katrina. The devastation is vast, and the poor people who stayed really had no other place to go.  We get to follow Dupree’s Nana, who is in her 80s and doesn’t really have anyone to help her except her neighbor, whose own mother is sick and in a wheelchair. Their plight is filled with sorrow and pain. Ms. Redondo truly is gifted at letting us see the world through her character’s eyes.

Four Stars

I enjoyed the story and had a hard time putting it down. I even cried for the Katrina survivors at times, and I was always rooting for Salazar to catch the composer. My rating for The North Face of the Heart by Dolores Redondo is four stars. If you are looking for a good crime novel with some paranormal aspects, this is a good one.

The Baztan Trilogy

This series features Amaia Salazar after The North Face of the Heart, I believe. It is also available in other languages.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The North Face of the Heart by Dolores Redondo.

Until the next time,

 

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