In a Heartbeat [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Adler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2000

The powerful, passionate novels of Elizabeth Adler have won the hearts of readers the world over. Skillfully blending breathtaking romance with taut suspense, her international bestsellers sizzle with tension and originality. In a Heartbeat is Adler at her best, the compelling story of a man whose long-kept secrets slowly unravel to rock a woman's world.

In a Heartbeat

Bullets cut down millionaire Ed Vincent as he climbs out of his small Cessna at La Guardia Airport. One minute he's a successful entrepreneur, newly in love and glad to be alive. In the next, he's on a gurney being worked on by EMTs. "He's not going to make it." Comatose, Ed Vincent can hear the doctors talking, but he can't reply. Someone has tried to kill him, and he knows who is behind it. But there is no way to tell anyone . . . or warn the woman he calls Zelda. Zelda's real name is Melba Eloise Merrydew--Mel--and she is ready to fight her way past the guard in front of Ed Vincent's hospital room. Distraught, yet strong as steel, she is determined to get to his side and keep him alive by her own will. They haven't known each other long, just long enough to become lovers. She never doubts Ed Vincent is everything he says he is. Yet, as lies dissolve into a darker truth, she is about to find out how wrong she is. And tough, streetwise New York homicide detective Marco Camelia, a family man mesmerized against his better judgment by Mel's southern charm and golden-lashed eyes, intends to be right there when she finds out. Not just to solve the case, but hoping she will wind up in his arms.

As Mel and Marco join forces in pursuit of a killer, Mel is about to come face-to-face with a chilling truth: about a hidden past, a bitter enemy, and her own vulnerability. With shocking plot twists and complex characterizations, Elizabeth Adler's gripping novel will hold readers in thrall--as she keeps the surprises coming, right to the final heartbeat....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Acceptable as a substitute for daytime soap opera viewing, if nothing else, this contemporary romantic thriller fails to live up to favorite Adler titles like Peach and Fortune Is a Woman. Heavy on the romance and light on the thrills, the writer's 13th novel is all lather and featherweight intrigue. Ed Vincent, a real estate tycoon with a mysterious past, has been shot by a would-be assassin and lies comatose in a New York hospital. His love interest, Georgia peach Melba Merrydew, also a target, comes to grieve by Ed's bedside. Enter Marco Camelia, a handsome homicide detective, who, with Melba's help, investigates Ed's shadowy past, all the while falling in lust with Melba's Southern charm and sun-kissed legs. The one-dimensional characters are modeled not on real-life counterparts but on their movie star prototypes (Adler reminds the reader a number of times that Melba looks like Sharon Stone and Marco is a ringer for Pacino, while Ed owns a building named Vincent Towers, la Trump Tower). The slow-moving, clich -ridden tale is not rescued by the action-packed finaleDtoo little, too late. Even Adler's fans may find her latest outing uninspiring, although chances are they'll go along for the ride; but Adler won't pick up many new readers based on this title. (Dec.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Adler's latest thriller offers a clever twist on an old theme. Millionaire Ed Vincent is nearly killed by four bullets to the chest. As Vincent's lover, Zelda Merrydew, helps a charming homicide detective investigate the attempted murder, she uncovers things about the man she loves that he'd rather she didn't know. Adler's enjoyable characters and lively dialogue alone wouldn't quite overcome this tired premise. But there's one other thing that makes the novel different: Ed Vincent himself, lying in the hospital, unable to communicate in any way, is a principal character in the story. Like Dalton Trumbo's classic Johnny Got His Gun, Adler's novel features scenes in which the reader is inside a man's mind, feeling the helplessness of wanting desperately to cry out while being utterly unable to make a sound. Vincent is an immensely sympathetic character, and he turns this otherwise typical novel of buried secrets into something special. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (November 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385333838
• ISBN-13: 978-0385333832
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,902,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elizabeth Adler is a self-confessed romantic, a travel addict and a foodie, all of which she brings to the reader in her novels, along with a tough thrust of suspense and an unfolding mystery that keeps you on your toes. Elizabeth has lived in many countries and when she's not writing spends time discovering even more places to bring to you, with her husband, Richard - still in love after all these years - as are the characters featured in her past three novels, Mac Reilly the Malibu PI and Sunny Alvarez, his lover and side kick. You have to read about them to know them! Elizabeth lives in California and has the ability to take you to all those romantic places she knows so well, Capri, Venice, Tuscany, St. Tropez, Monte Carlo, and of course, Malibu. You will feel you are there, with her, sitting on that Italian terrace, sipping that coffee, smelling the delicious food, savoring the heat and the sunshine and the mystery unfolding for you. Elizabeth is five-three and wishes she were taller, blind as a bat without her glasses that anyway she is too vain to wear, and at 128 lbs till thinking about that diet. She has one daughter, Anabelle who is married to rock musician Eric Avery and two kitties, the Siamese, Sweet Pea who rules the household, and an adorable black cat Sunny.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful work 0f romantic suspense, November 29, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In a Heartbeat (Hardcover)

The urgent call sent millionaire Ed Vincent flying from Charleston to La Guardia in his Cessna in order to learn the identity of his rival on a property deal. After Ed debarks from his plane, a Sigma automatic greets him. In a coma, he is rushed to the hospital where the emergency staff struggles to save his life. Knowing he is going to die, Ed worries what will happen to his beloved Zelda, who will probably be the next target.

Zelda, who is actually Melba Merrydew, rushes to the hospital because she plans to keep her new found love alive. Zelda meets NYPD detective Marco Camelia who is assigned to the case. A happily married man with four kids, Marco finds himself desiring Melba. As they work together to uncover a killer, someone wants to make Zelda toast.

IN A HEARTBEAT is an exciting romantic suspense that fans of romance, police procedural, and thrillers will enjoy, particularly because of the exhilarating plot. The story line is fast-paced, loaded with twists and turns, and never eases up on the pace. Zelda and Ed (even in a coma) are wonderful characters, but readers will believe this novel belongs to the street tough, vulnerable Marco. Best-selling author Elizabeth Adler will gain a new group of fans with this superb story.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars In a Month, January 10, 2002

By 

A. Massey (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In a Heartbeat (Mass Market Paperback)

That's about how long it took me to read this book. Not because I'm slow, just because I did not enjoy it. If I didn't know any better I would have assumed this book was Adler's first attempt at a novel. But it isn't. Well, the main characters are likeable enough. I'll give her that. Except for the alcoholic old woman. She added nothing to the book. The plot is weak, there is too much dialouge, and too little effort put in. By the end of Ed's killer is revealed. I couldn't really recall why he wanted Ed dead. But I didn't care. I was just happy that I was done and that I could move on to something better. Do yourself a favor and pass on this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stretches credibility, December 12, 2001

By 

"sunnykissed" (Rolling Hills Estates, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In a Heartbeat (Mass Market Paperback)

The plot in this one stretches credibility about as thin as it can get with every new page. It's also just a little too sappy for my taste. But if you love those Hallmark movies then this is for you.