Because of His Heart
Stephen A Marvin
Friesen Press (2025)
ISBN: 978-1038340610
Reviewed by Jordan Durfee for Reader Views (11/2025)
Stephen A. Marvin’s Because of His Heart is a compelling thriller written unlike anything I have had the chance to read before. The novel itself is broken down into different parts, but it’s the style of writing that is so unique. Flowing and flowery, it feels almost like you are reading a script of some sort; it jumps to the perspectives of different characters, though mainly follows Erica Seames (the subject of the drama). Many of Erica’s sections feel like a monologue or a soliloquy. The way the other characters flow in and out of the narrative is also reminiscent of the way characters flow in and out of a play, solely there to support the lead’s story – again, in this case, Erica Seames.
This is, in part, accomplished by the Dramatic Persons list (a cast list of sorts) that starts the novel off – something I found both helpful in terms of keeping track of the narrative and as a tonal indicator of what was to follow. All that combined creates a very fascinating dynamic between the reader and the story, creating a suspenseful narrative you cannot help but get drawn into.
To dive further into Erica Seames, she is a fascinating protagonist. A doctor, married to her husband for 8 years, we start the novel en media res – in the middle of the story – before building up to the current predicament and beyond, and this is accomplished through a blog that Erica is writing; written to process her own thoughts and the events of her life, it becomes sensationalized while Erica is going about her life, albeit experiencing great tragedy and pain and confusion.
I won’t reveal any spoilers, but Erica is deeply familiar with loss, complicated feelings, and the dynamics with those she loves. She’s a very guarded woman, independent, and she’s far from perfect. She is deeply human, flawed and arrogant, which I absolutely loved about her. I can’t say I agree with a lot of what Erica does or thinks or feels, but I understand her, and I found myself talking to her as if she could hear me, like I could warn her of what I could see coming for her, and to me, that’s the mark of good writing. I was wholly drawn into the narrative, desperate to see if she could make it out of the danger coming her way.
The dynamic cast of characters, their different perspectives, thought processes, personalities, and careers all made for a potent narrative. A novel is only as good as its characters, and I really enjoyed the very flawed and human nature of all the characters involved. I would argue they’re all bad – or at least very deeply complicated and imperfect – to some degree. The ethics surrounding many of their actions are questionable at best, but I enjoyed each one of them.
I am personally someone who loves a deeply defective, raw, human character; the kind of people who are messy and make tragic mistakes and decisions, whether they then try to be good or lean deeper into the badness of it all. I found each character psychologically fascinating, but characters like Dr. Milo and Dale Jeffers – in addition to Erica – were the ones I was most drawn to, despite arguably being among the worst of the characters. They all played a significant part in Erica’s life, in one way or another; there wasn’t a single character or moment that was unimportant to the overall narrative, even if the reveal of their importance came later in the novel. It was well done.
All in all, I quite enjoyed the novel! While I had moments of confusion at times, due to the jumping and ephemeral nature of the narrative, especially at the beginning of the novel, it smoothed out into understanding over time. Because of His Heart by Stephen A. Marvin is a great psychological thriller for fans of the movie Memento, as both create similar feelings.