Their Monstrous Hearts by Yiğit Turhan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
Going into Their Monstrous Hearts, I knew nothing about it. I was sold by the cover and just had to have it, because against sound advice, I do judge books by their covers.
I was therefore delighted when I discovered that the basic set-up of this novel is an inheritance story, one of my favorite tropes.
We’re following Riccardo, a down on his luck author, who is estranged from his family and about a millimeter above rock bottom. Just as he ponders how he is going to get his life back on track, and deliver his agent the pages they’re demanding, a mysterious stranger arrives to inform him that his Grandmother, Perihan, has passed away.
Riccardo thinks, what’s that got to do with me? I haven’t spoken to the woman for years. The stranger, maybe a solicitor of some sort, insists that he’ll want to make his way to Milan to learn more about what he’s been bequeathed.
Finally deciding he could use a change of scenery, Riccardo takes them up on the plane ticket, and it’s off to Milan he goes. Once there, his Grandmother’s estate house isn’t quite as opulent as he remembered, but it’s still better than the street corner he was 5-seconds away from sleeping on.
It’s decrepit and definitely giving off an ominous vibe. Curious about the state of his house, his Grandmother’s friends and everything else about the current situation he finds himself in, Riccardo starts poking around; as you do.
He discovers a notebook of his Grandmother’s writing. As he dives into it, it gets strange. Is this fact, or fiction? A confessional, or a woman’s imagination gone wild?
This is a strange story, NGL. It’s not going to be for everyone, as evidenced by the current overall rating, but I found myself captivated by the audiobook. First, the wonderful dual narration helped me to envision these characters perfectly.
Mentioning the dual narration makes me think, I should also mention, that not only do we get Riccardo’s perspective in the present, we also get all of his Grandmother Perihan’s writings, that unfold a story of the past.
The way this rolled out, there was something so intriguing about it to me. Perihan’s story, I wasn’t sure what to think at times as far as was it true, or was it something she was creating. Either way, I needed to know the truth.
If you’re a Reader who can see the grotesque in things that are too beautiful, this book might be for you. And if you know what I mean by that, you are the Reader for this book.
I know the rating at this moment looks intimidating, but there’s no way I’m gonna be the only Reader who is darkly intrigued by this story.
It is weird. There are some things I’ll admit I’m not sure if I’m understanding the way the author intended, but I really enjoyed the mystery, atmosphere and the more monstrous aspects of this storyline. In my opinion, this deserves some more attention.
Thank you to the publisher, MIRA and Harlequin Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.
I would absolutely recommend the audio if you are going to check this one out. As mentioned above, I feel the dual narrators brought this story to life!