Wow wow wow … this is a novel unlike any I have read before. Kimmery Martin’s terrific debut, The Queen of Hearts, could stand alone as an engrossing tale about friends and lovers with careers in the medical profession, but Martin’s own background as an emergency medicine physician gives a unique perspective and a resounding authenticity to the story.
With compassion for both patients and the medical teams that care for them, Martin writes about the real life drama that takes place every day in the ER. A note to the squeamish: she writes frankly about the good, the bad, and the ugly.
But before we get to that, let me tell you that Martin will win you over in the first few pages with three year-old Delaney, daughter of the protagonist Zadie. Delaney adorably calls her mother “beloved dear” and “darling honey” and it is just the cutest thing ever.
The Queen of Hearts
Zadie and her best friend Emma met at summer camp. Two kindred spirits of a geeky bent who preferred math and science to more traditional “girly” pursuits, they stayed in touch and ended up going through med school and residencies together and even living in the same community afterwards.
Fast forward about 10 years, and they are still best friends. Now with flourishing careers and marriages and children of their own, their apple cart is toppled when a former colleague reappears to join Emma’s medical practice.
We find out that this dude, Nick, once had a serious relationship with Zadie that came undone in a most unpleasant way and there had been zero contact between them since. More secrets are revealed involving Emma, and I won’t give out the spoiler here, but the revelations put the women in a position of re-evaluating their friendship.
What I will tell you is that The Queen of Hearts is an often funny, often gripping, always authentic portrayal of a close friendship between two women, a friendship built on love and trust, that teeters on the precipice when lies are exposed.
It’s also about falling in and out of love, and what we might give up in order to save our sanity and our souls.
It is also a sly poke at upper middle class society and parenting.
And finally, it is an unabashedly realistic look at life and death both in the hospital and outside.
Martin writes fluidly and with great style. She has an incredible ear for dialogue, always the litmus test for me when it comes to solid writing.
Grey’s Anatomy meets Big Little Lies with a McDreamy character thrown in? I think that’s about right.
One of my lucky readers will receive a copy of The Queen of Hearts. Please leave a comments on the Books is Wonderful Facebook page and a winner will be randomly selected. US addresses only, please.
I received a copy of The Queen of Hearts from Berkley for an honest review,
which is the only kind of review I write.
