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Soldier's Heart: An Evin Walker Thriller
In this fast-paced debut thriller, a recently disabled, female veteran must confront her past, and other people’s preconceived notions about women in combat, while trying to reconcile the conflicted feelings she has for the best friend who saved her life back in the sand, and still find time to hunt down a home-grown terrorist before he blows up a beloved national treasure in Cleveland.
Three years after losing half a leg to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, Evin Walker is doing just fine, thank you very much. Aside from the alcohol induced nightmares, she hardly ever thinks about her disability. She works out. She runs. She paints. She’s even driving again, working part-time as a bus driver for the city of Cleveland. But when a thin man with a suspicious backpack leaves behind an incomplete application for a local chapter of a Militia Group on her bus, Evin’s long dormant sixth sense goes into overdrive, sending her down a dangerous path that threatens her job, her relationship with her best friend, and in an explosive finale, the carefully constructed life she thought she was finally getting back to normal.
Soldier’s Heart was the first known term for PTSD as it described an irritable heart condition marked by a rapid pulse, trouble breathing, sleeplessness, and general anxiety associated with soldiers returning home from war, and as Evin Walker quickly realized, sometimes the war follows you home.
Three years after losing half a leg to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, Evin Walker is doing just fine, thank you very much. Aside from the alcohol induced nightmares, she hardly ever thinks about her disability. She works out. She runs. She paints. She’s even driving again, working part-time as a bus driver for the city of Cleveland. But when a thin man with a suspicious backpack leaves behind an incomplete application for a local chapter of a Militia Group on her bus, Evin’s long dormant sixth sense goes into overdrive, sending her down a dangerous path that threatens her job, her relationship with her best friend, and in an explosive finale, the carefully constructed life she thought she was finally getting back to normal.
Soldier’s Heart was the first known term for PTSD as it described an irritable heart condition marked by a rapid pulse, trouble breathing, sleeplessness, and general anxiety associated with soldiers returning home from war, and as Evin Walker quickly realized, sometimes the war follows you home.
307 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 5, 2022
4 people are currently reading
593 people want to read
About the author
Vance Voyles
3 books12 followersVance Voyles spent eight years in the US Army as an Arabic linguist, followed by twenty years as a police officer, seven of which were spent investigating Sex Crimes and Homicide in Central Florida, sitting in long conversations with rapists and murderers making up stories to help them confess their crimes.
His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry has been featured in Burrow Press Review, Flash Fiction Online, The Short Story Podcast, Ghost Parachute, Bull, Creative Nonfiction, Pithead Chapel, J Journal, O-Dark-Thirty, Hippocampus (Pushcart Prize Nomination), So Say We All, and Rattle Magazine respectively.
Soldier’s Heart is his first novel. He currently resides in Ohio with his wife and children, where he is busy adapting his screenplay, Darker Forces at Play, an Adam Driver’s 2021 Bridge Award semi-finalist, into the second book in the Evin Walker series.
His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry has been featured in Burrow Press Review, Flash Fiction Online, The Short Story Podcast, Ghost Parachute, Bull, Creative Nonfiction, Pithead Chapel, J Journal, O-Dark-Thirty, Hippocampus (Pushcart Prize Nomination), So Say We All, and Rattle Magazine respectively.
Soldier’s Heart is his first novel. He currently resides in Ohio with his wife and children, where he is busy adapting his screenplay, Darker Forces at Play, an Adam Driver’s 2021 Bridge Award semi-finalist, into the second book in the Evin Walker series.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 5, 2023
You know why this gets a 5? Because Vince Voyle obviously respects women.
His heroine is a woman. Evin Walker is a complex, flawed Afghanistan vet, coping with civilian life after the loss of her leg below the knee to an IED explosion and the not as visibly discernible PTSD. She’s portrayed as gutsy and not to be intimidated. She’s got brains and intuition. She gets all the best lines! The male characters can’t possibly keep up with her personality. In fact, the women throughout the book are good people and straight shooters, which I don’t often see in thrillers.
Also, don’t be fooled by the thriller label. Yes, definitely thrills and police procedural stuff. But, also a contemporary love story, examining how difficult relationships can be when one or both parties have experienced combat.
Looking forward to Evin’s next outing.
His heroine is a woman. Evin Walker is a complex, flawed Afghanistan vet, coping with civilian life after the loss of her leg below the knee to an IED explosion and the not as visibly discernible PTSD. She’s portrayed as gutsy and not to be intimidated. She’s got brains and intuition. She gets all the best lines! The male characters can’t possibly keep up with her personality. In fact, the women throughout the book are good people and straight shooters, which I don’t often see in thrillers.
Also, don’t be fooled by the thriller label. Yes, definitely thrills and police procedural stuff. But, also a contemporary love story, examining how difficult relationships can be when one or both parties have experienced combat.
Looking forward to Evin’s next outing.
July 29, 2023
A Well-written Romantic Suspense Novel
I loved how Evin’s story digs deep into the hidden wounds locked behind her confident facade. Evin is a heroine who is easy to cheer on as she faces the demons that keep her awake at night and struggles to come to terms with her feelings for her best friend, John. I loved how her journey focused on letting go of the past, opening up to others into the brokenness, and not blaming yourself when fit hits the shan in a situation outside your control.
The development of the relationship between John and Evin was a highlight in the novel. There was a lot of fun banter and sexual tension that made their story engaging and easy to follow. I loved how supportive John was and how he always found ways to check on Evin and show he cared while allowing her to maintain her independence. I also appreciated how Evin’s “Eye of Sauron” intuition came into play throughout the story and how she learned to listen to the advice of those who loved her.
I’d recommend this novel if you’re looking for suspense and romance in a story about a recovering disabled female veteran. This book contains mature content that includes occasional strong language, innuendos, some graphic content in the form of post-traumatic stress (PTSD) driven dreams, and brief nudity.
I look forward to reading the next Evin Walker thriller–hopefully soon!!!
I purchased a paperback copy of this book at a local author event. I am leaving a review voluntarily.
I loved how Evin’s story digs deep into the hidden wounds locked behind her confident facade. Evin is a heroine who is easy to cheer on as she faces the demons that keep her awake at night and struggles to come to terms with her feelings for her best friend, John. I loved how her journey focused on letting go of the past, opening up to others into the brokenness, and not blaming yourself when fit hits the shan in a situation outside your control.
The development of the relationship between John and Evin was a highlight in the novel. There was a lot of fun banter and sexual tension that made their story engaging and easy to follow. I loved how supportive John was and how he always found ways to check on Evin and show he cared while allowing her to maintain her independence. I also appreciated how Evin’s “Eye of Sauron” intuition came into play throughout the story and how she learned to listen to the advice of those who loved her.
I’d recommend this novel if you’re looking for suspense and romance in a story about a recovering disabled female veteran. This book contains mature content that includes occasional strong language, innuendos, some graphic content in the form of post-traumatic stress (PTSD) driven dreams, and brief nudity.
I look forward to reading the next Evin Walker thriller–hopefully soon!!!
I purchased a paperback copy of this book at a local author event. I am leaving a review voluntarily.
June 13, 2022
I need the next Evin Walker book now!!!
This book was OUTSTANDING!!! The weaving of military, first responders and the crazy way strong female minds think was enough to keep me reading and ignore regular life and escape. Need the next one!!
This book was OUTSTANDING!!! The weaving of military, first responders and the crazy way strong female minds think was enough to keep me reading and ignore regular life and escape. Need the next one!!
May 4, 2023
great book
Excellent book that I enjoyed immensely. Highly recommended. Thank you for the complimentary digital copy that I received through Goodreads giveaways.
Excellent book that I enjoyed immensely. Highly recommended. Thank you for the complimentary digital copy that I received through Goodreads giveaways.
May 26, 2022
I could not put this book down. I have been craving a good read with a strong female protagonist and man this book delivered tenfold! I cannot wait for the next book in what I pray will be a very long series. Voyles has exemplary character development and creates a storyline that leave you looking up at 3am and realizing you have been completely lost in the story as if you were right there with Evan! Getting lost in a book is one of my favorite reading experiences. Do yourself a favor and get your book now, you will not be disappointed!!!
May 22, 2022
A fast-paced page turner, Voyles delivers a great read with a strong, yet complex female protagonist. As a lead, Walker draws you in and doesn’t let go. The bad guy is just that, bad - and just when you think you know what’s going to happen, you realize you don’t. The supporting cast is solid, and are written as intricately as the main characters are. Looking forward to reading the next two parts of the Evin Walker trilogy.
September 6, 2022
Great read!
Fast paced...fun character development - can't wait for the next Evin adventure :)
Fast paced...fun character development - can't wait for the next Evin adventure :)
March 10, 2023
Looking forward to the next Evin Walker book. And more on the female K9 handler, please. 😉
April 17, 2023
Soldier's Heart is a suspenseful and beautifully crafted novel! With a raw and gritty main character and an edge-of-your-seat mystery, Soldier's Heart delivers both insight into the trauma veterans face after military service in a war zone and the real danger of domestic terrorism. Besides those highlights, it is a book that deals with the complexity of relationships between broken people with a resolution that is deeply satisfying. Bravo, Vance Voyles!
August 9, 2023
An interesting read.
Thanks to Goodreads giveaway for the kindle copy.
Thanks to Goodreads giveaway for the kindle copy.
April 19, 2023
Well written recommendable book. 4 stars.
November 27, 2022
But, you know, I wrote it. So…..
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews