False Hearts by Laura Lam - Paul's REVIEW

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Title: False Hearts
Author: Laura Lam
Recent Release Date: June 16, 2016

Synopsis: Orphan Black meets Inception: Two formerly conjoined sisters are ensnared in a murderous plot involving psychoactive drugs, shared dreaming, organized crime, and a sinister cult. 

One night Tila stumbles home, terrified and covered in blood.

She’s arrested for murder, the first by a civilian in decades. The San Francisco police suspect involvement with Verve, a powerful drug, and offer her twin sister Taema a chilling deal. Taema must assume Tila’s identity and gather information – then if she brings down the drug syndicate, the police may let her sister live. But Taema’s investigation raises ghosts from the twins’ past.

The sisters were raised by a cult, which banned modern medicine. But as conjoined twins, they needed surgery to divide their shared heart – and escaped. Taema now finds Tila discovered links between the cult and the city’s underground. Once unable to keep secrets, the sisters will discover the true cost of lies.

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Review: Laura Lam is awesome! If you haven't read Pantomime, you need to! Add it to the top of your tbr list right now! You have plenty of time to read it and its sequel Shadowplay before the third book comes out in March. Also, you should follow Laura Lam on twitter @LR_Lam. But I should get back to this book...

False Hearts takes place in a near future San Francisco where a drug called Verge is popular. The worldbuilding, even from the start, has so much depth and realness. It is futuristic, but plausible. Laura Lam's writing is beautiful. 

The structure of the story is done in an interesting way. Tila is in the present. Taema tells the story of the past in parallel. This is the perfect medium for this story to be told. I just am so amazed how much of an amazing storyteller Laura Lam is. 

There is so much in this book that sounds weird out of context, but comes together so well. Conjoined twins. Feelings of loss. Togetherness. Cults. Technology. Drugs. 

Obviously, I give this book a 5/5. I HIGHLY recommend it and everything else Laura Lam does. 


--PAUL