12 Sept 2016

(SIX TRAIN TO WISCONSIN #1) THE SIX TRAIN TO WISCONSIN.

THE SIX TRAIN TO WISCONSIN by KOURTNEY HEINTZ.

AMAZON.CO.UK BLURB: There is one person that ties Oliver Richter to this world: his wife Kai. For Kai, Oliver is the keeper of her secrets.

When her telepathy spirals out of control and inundates her mind with the thoughts and emotions of everyone within a half-mile radius, the life they built together in Manhattan is threatened.

To save her, Oliver brings her to the hometown he abandoned—Butternut, Wisconsin—where the secrets of his past remain buried. But the past has a way of refusing to stay dead. Can Kai save Oliver before his secrets claim their future?

An emotionally powerful debut, The Six Train to Wisconsin pushes the bounds of love as it explores devotion, forgiveness and acceptance.

FIRST SENTENCE{Chapter 1: Oliver}: Like any man, I loved my wife; but these 3 a.m. suicidal thoughts were killing me. 

MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 91}: His loneliness whistled through my window. The desolation only a child experiences. Absolute abandonment. Without a mother. At a funeral he never understood. Death stealing everything that mattered to him. An orphaned man. Unable to ever set things right with his father.

SOURCE: Received for review from the author.

MY THOUGHTS:  With the occasional full page black and white photographs that proved something that bit different. The Six Train To Wisconsin is narrated alternatively by Kai and her husband, Oliver. Not a tactic that always pays off - I find it often leads to problems with the flow of the narrative, to say nothing of how confusing it can be - but here it worked extremely well, managing to intensify the couples journey.

Yes, a story with a paranormal element. Kai, an empath with telepathy and, her brother, Caleb, a dream walker ensure this.

Yes, an exploration of what it is to be 'different', of the lengths a man will go to protect the woman he loves as he sees her struggle with these differences.

Yes, what could be described as an everyday love story exploring the relationship between a young couple as they get to know not just each other but, increasingly, themselves.

Yes, a kidnapped child, the whole of Butternut in a race to find him before its too late. The plot certainly isn't short on suspense and thrills.

A novel that had me gripped from beginning to end. A real roller-coaster of a read (the likes of which I haven't found myself on for quite some time) both emotionally and otherwise. Wonderfully memorable characters who wildly vied for the readers empathy. 

All testament to the great storytelling of the author as she eloquently weaves together all of the threads of a book that does not disappoint on any level.

Thank goodness I had an Advance Reading Copy of book 2, Highway Thirteen To Manhattan, with which to console myself as leaving behind Kai, Oliver and the folk of Butternut really was like leaving behind a community I'd grown to like. 

MEET KOURTNEY:

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BUY THE BOOK: 
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COMING NEXT ON PEN AND PAPER: My review of Highway Thirteen To Manhattan, part two in the series.

11 comments:

Kelly said...

Hmmm... despite your glowing review, I'm not sure if this is one for me or not. My first thought in reading the blurb was why did he take her to a place he had buried secrets if she was telepathic? I guess it all plays out, though.

Maybe your review of the next book will help me to make up my mind.

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

Oh nice. I'm glad it worked out. This does sound like something I would enjoy but I think I'd go crazy with that much telepathic ability.

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Tracy,

Okay! So you sold me on this one, despite the fact I never read sci-fi and the Goodreads blurb sites this as one of the many genres which weave together in this series. I'm not so keen on the idea of photographs in a fiction book, I tend to associate them more with memoirs.

In fact, I noticed that Goodreads have this title amongst their 'Giveaway' draw selection, so I have entered my name to see if I can win a copy.

It is also good to see that Butternut Wisconsin, is actually a real place, although in the 2010 census, the population registered, was only 375 and that had gone down from 10 years previously.

Glad you enjoyed this one, the sequel sounds even better :)

Yvonne

Brian Joseph said...

This sounds really good. There have been a few, but just a few stories about psychics that portray the power as problem for those who posses it. Such stories can be intriguing. Another worthy book that covers this topic is Robert Silverberg's Dying Inside.

Summer said...

Thanks for your review! Sounds like a great book ♥

summerdaisycottage.blogspot.com

Suko said...

Excellent review, Tracy. This sounds like a wonderful story.

Melliane said...

that's always so nice when you have book 2 you can read when you enjoyed the first one

Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer said...

This sounds quite good, and I like a dual narrative when it is done well.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Without giving too much away Kelly, aware of her telepathy Oliver has become pretty adept at masking his thoughts but best laid plans and all that.

Stephanie@Fairday's Blog said...

Tracy- I am so glad you read and enjoyed this one. I have one of Kourtney's books and I look forward to reading it. I did a book signing with her a couple of months ago and she is so nice. :)

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this fantastic review, Tracy! This book was the one I felt like I could die happy as long as it got published, so when a reader really gets what I was doing, well, it's like Christmas and my birthday and July 4th all at once! 100 thank yous. :)