Fictional Candy: Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher (A Review)

Title: Mud Vein
Series: Standalone
Author: Tarryn Fisher
Published: April 2014
Format: Personal Purchase

When reclusive novelist Senna Richards wakes up on her thirty-third birthday, everything has changed. Caged behind an electrical fence, locked in a house in the middle of the snow, Senna is left to decode the clues to find out why she was taken. If she wants her freedom, she has to take a close look at her past. But, her past has a heartbeat... and her kidnapper is nowhere to be found. With her survival hanging by a thread, Senna soon realizes this is a game. A dangerous one. Only the truth can set her free.

Mud Vein… *sigh* What do I say about this book? I had really high hopes for it, and maybe that was it’s ultimate downfall with me. Whatever the case, it didn’t stay on the pedestal I put it on.

I had heard so many fantastic things about this book. One review I saw even claimed the book changed her life. Things were vague about the story, you know a woman wakes up in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, drugged and kidnapped. That in itself was an exciting and dark premise. I was so ready to love Senna and her story.

The truth is, I don’t like Senna. The story was good, the plot was pretty good… a good idea that just didn’t play out the way I’d hoped. Senna is a woman, an island. She is closed off to everyone in every way imaginable. She’s done this to her own detriment, because she’s absolutely robbed herself of so many things. The entire book is in her point of view, both in present tense and past reflections. I found Senna to be… well, selfish. Self absorbed. Ignorant. Even cruel at times. I found no pity for her and her dire situation. Even when times were at her worst, I felt it hard to trudge up any sympathy for her. Maybe I'm heartless that way, but I wanted her to feel something other than the apathy I kept getting from her time and again.

Now, the character I did love, and the character that saved the story for me is Isaac. This is a man who not only told Senna who he was, he showed her over and over. He proved everything she could ever want to know about this man. He is a man who felt deeply, and gave of himself when there was not much else to give. He was selfless when it came to Senna. Her needs came first with him. Isaac is a man of focus, whether it be music, medicine, or Senna. He is focused and determined, but not without a great deal of heart.

As for the storyline… well… I suppose it will be hard to write a review without spoilers. You know she’s in a cabin, kidnapped. That whole storyline is quite an amazing feat. I can only imagine how terrified *I* would be. I can imagine how I would react. I just didn’t see any of myself in Senna and her reactions, and maybe that’s where the problem was for me. The reveal and the aftermath were all a bit of a deflated balloon for me. I didn’t get the “a-ha!” moment I had hoped for.

By the end of the book I felt… sad. The whole book kind of left me with a big sigh. It’s an odd juxtaposition. What I expected and what I felt I got were not the same, yet I still enjoyed the story. It was a bit slow for a bit, and then it was a quick ride to the end. While I felt I was there at the cabin, I just couldn’t identify with Senna. But you know, a ton of people adored this book to no end, so I still very much suggest you read it. It’s a dark book, for sure. Almost no romance or sex, so don’t go looking for that. I did find Tarryn Fisher’s writing to be quite good, and I will definitely be reading her again soon. In fact, I’ve already purchased another of her books (The Opportunist), so I’m not ready to quit just because I didn’t like this one character. Afterall, you don’t have to like the character to enjoy the book.