In her masterpiece The Heart of a Woman, Isabela Carille portrays a character with such distinct traits that are so typical of the metrosexual woman but also reveals an awareness of her own age and personal identity. In order to fully appreciate The Heart of a Woman one must look past the title, which refers to Carille’s novel as a “heartsick” experience for her much older lover. This novel is much more than that; it takes you deep into the heart of a woman who loves the classic image of a man in his prime who has lost everything since the day of his wedding day. Age and nationality do not matter to this great character as she loves a man with all the attributes of a real man. In this brilliant novel, Carille manages to take us into the mind of a woman who can understand the inner workings of every young girl’s greatest fear, even as she herself possesses no fear of marriage.
In the opening pages we meet our main character, Isabela, who is a beautiful blonde in her mid-thirties, yet has the stunning looks of a much younger woman. Although this early transformation is a result of a career decision Isabela’s personality shows her age as she tries desperately to hold on to some of her youth. She has had a history of broken relationships and is deeply worried about what impact her marriage will leave on her daughter. This, coupled with her own sense of loss regarding her recent promotion, leads her to spend the evening before her daughter’s marriage with her boyfriend, leaving him in complete and total control of their relationship.
The next morning, she returns to their small mountain cottage and finds that the house has been burglarized. Concerned that her daughter may be out of danger, she rushes into the woods only to find her daughter missing. Desperate to discover where she has gone, she follows her clues only to find her body hidden in a mass of rabbit fur, completely dead. It is then that we are introduced to Alex, a seemingly perfect stranger, who claims to be her brother. Although he is an obvious liar, his motives for lying are as calculating as they are dangerous and as selfish as those of his criminal past.