Fabulous Reads: Getting to the heart of people

Character Scan, Douglas Kruger, Penguin Random House, ISBN: 9781776380046

SO, the main character, Katrina Hunt, was born with a special gift – she can see the heart of a person – whether they are good or bad and their true intentions – even so far as what they are feeling and thinking at the time. This gift helps her but also causes her problems with her close friendship with Tinks, her friend from the trailer park where she grew up. At the same time, things are stirring in the world background: A machine has been invented that can analyse and reveal the true morality of a person, changing crime investigation and politics forever – but it takes years for this machine to actually be available to be used worldwide. And a man is rising into power who has evil intentions – a sinister threat to the unaware world which is also gearing up for a possible World War III. Despite her difficult background, Katrina becomes a journalist and makes a way for herself with the help of her gift and becomes involved in things that may change the world forever.

I just wanted to keep reading this book. The author made me sympathise with and root for the main character right from the beginning. I found her gift fascinating and was eager to see how the use of it would enfold and help the world and also help her and her loved ones. She was also a genuinely nice person. I loved the secondary characters, John and Aunt Nessie – they were delightful. And Tinks hurt my heart.

There were moments where I felt the political side of the book seemed a bit disconnected and rushed – I suppose because it spanned several years – but in the end, it was interesting how everything intersected.

My only gripe with the book is that there is an issue with setting morality in stone, and I felt that the author’s own religious morality played a part in the messages of the book – it was subtle, but I couldn’t mistake it. It wasn’t preachy, but it bordered on it. What is considered immoral for some is not considered so by others, for example, he seemed to imply that only being intimate with one person and marrying them was the way to go and having multiple partners was immoral. My ethical view differs from the author’s in that I believe that as long as a person practises respect, consent and kindness to others and doesn’t harm themselves or others, I don’t see anything immoral about having multiple relationships before marriage or even not getting married if it is so wished. There were other moral stances that were a bit rigid, too, in my opinion. It would be difficult to write a book like this without the author’s own ethical lens shining through, but I did feel like he was pushing his ideas a bit more than necessary. I do like the way he implied how a good man should treat a woman.

Overall, the issue didn’t detract from how gripping and easy to read this book was – with great character development. An excellent read! – Kathy Bosman 4/5 stars