Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark

From the author's website: In her new thriller, America's #1 bestselling Queen of Suspense delves into a legal battle over the guilt or innocence of a man accused of murdering his wife. Woven into her plot is an eerie, little-understood but documented medical phenomenon -- the emergence of a donor's traits and memories in the recipient of a heart transplant.

Natalie Raines, one of Broadway's brightest stars, accidentally discovers who killed her former roommate and sets in motion a series of shocking events that puts more than one life in extreme peril.

While Natalie and her roommate, Jamie Evans, were both struggling young actresses, Jamie had been involved with a mysterious married man to whom she referred only by nickname. Natalie comes face to face with him years later and inadvertently addresses him by the nickname Jamie had used. A few days later, Natalie is found in her home in Closter, New Jersey, dying from a gunshot wound.


Page 36! I figured out whodunit on page 36 of a 322 page book. Needless to say the rest of the book was not as satisfying as I had hoped when I bought the book. I love Mary Higgins Clark. I am such a Mary Higgins Clark fan that I committed a sin - I bought this book off the rack in hardcover. Why? Why? Why? I never do that. Finding a book I want for fifty cents at a used book sale is part of the adventure for me. If I really want something specific, like for book club...I go used on Amazon. I never pay full price. So I think I jinxed myself. Yes, she's kind of formulaic - the brainy heroine who doesn't realize her own beauty is a staple Higgins Clark character, but usually I am a little uncertain about the bad guy until it all plays out and so I am content with her books. Content is not exciting but it's a pleasant feeling and, really, reading is for relaxation - content is just fine. The good features of this book - 1. She really laid out the details of the case during the trial. I don't remember her using a trial as such a prominent part of a book before - very Grishamesque. 2. The creepy guys are really creepy. 3. The whole heart storyline wasn't overwhelming, in fact, I hardly thought it affected the heroine at all - but maybe there was a little skimming involved on my part! So this wasn't the best. I have a friend who suspects the daughter, Carol Higgins Clark, is slowly taking over writing under her mother's name and that is why the recent releases don't measure up. I just think when you're writing your 30th or 40th mystery novel, perhaps it gets a little old.

This book is my "J" for the A-Z Reading Challenge! Click on the logo to see my progress.






and this one too...
This is on my list for the Spring Reading Thing 2009. Click on the logo to see the rest of my list.