The Recipient: A Pyschological Medical Thriller

Dean Mayes

May 2016 · Central Avenue Publishing

About this ebook

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Three years later, Casey has become a withdrawn shell of her former self: she is estranged from her loved ones, afraid of open spaces and rides the line between legitimate and criminal work.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

Ratings and reviews

4.5 Stars Casey Schillinge is a young woman who is dying. She contracted a tropical disease and now needs a heart transplant. She is fading away .. a little at a time and her parents can do nothing but watch. But then the call comes in the middle of the night and Casey's life is going to change in ways no one can see coming. Three years later, she is a shell of the young woman she used to be. She's withdrawn from everyone, suffers agoraphobia. She has night terrors and is afraid to go to sleep. She has memories, but they don't seem to be hers. No one understands ... no one believes her. When she absolutely cannot take any more, she begins research into why she can't sleep. She's tried alcohol and drugs, sleeping pills, exercising hours at a time ... anything to be able to sleep without the nightmares haunting her. What she first discovers is the donor of her new heart ... and her tragic story. As she seeks and finds more and more information, she realizes her dreams are not dreams .... but a real life nightmare. It's really hard to pigeon hole this story. It's more than a psychological thriller ... more than a paranormal adventure ... more than a mystery. It's the journey of someone who refuses to quit, will not give up, and pushes herself out the door when she's so frightened she may faint. She is a lot stronger than anyone gives her credit for. The beginning is a bit slower paced, but it does well in revealing just who Casey is ... and who she was. Once her investigation begins, the action and suspense becomes almost non-stop. WOW! what an ending! The entire story premise is a good one with skillfully defined characters. It's entertaining and riveting! There have been perplexing reports of organ transplant receivers claiming that they seem to have inherited the memory, experiences and emotions of their deceased donors, and which are causing quirky changes in their personality ( http://www.namahjournal.com/doc/Actual/Memory-transference-in-organ-transplant-recipients-vol-19-iss-1.html) Many thanks to the author / Central Avenue Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

About the author

Dean Mayes is an Intensive Care nurse who is fascinated by 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 family and dog, and enjoys cooking, Star Wars, and a good joke. Dean is the author of four successful novels: The Hambledown, Dream Gifts of the Peramangk, The Artisan Heart, and The Recipient.

Fans of Dean's writing call him "a great storyteller" who "writes with passion" "a bit of magic, a touch of music," whose "books keep making me cry in public," and praise his "eloquent language," moments that are "at times gritty," but "real and life affirming, filled with poignant longing," and his "portrayal of his characters and the way they entwine with each other."

Indeed, author Molly Ringle gives him the ultimate praise for Gifts of Peramangk when she says, "It's the kind of book that makes you want to become a better human."

If you want to lose yourself in the stories of Dean Mayes, follow him at http://deanfromaustralia.com and on twitter @Hambledown_Road.