Customer Reviews

Just Take My Heart: A Novel

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Mary Higgins Clark knows how to enthrall, that's for sure!

The book starts off fairly standard- Gregg is indicted for murdering his estranged wife Natalie Raines, a successful actress. We get a brief glimpse of Natalie through her mother's eyes. She describes her daughter as having stardust clinging to her. The book follows the preparations of Emily Wallace, the assistant prosecutor who is on the case.

A side plot grabbed me in the beginning- Emily's neighbor offers to care for her dog with the intent of gaining access to her house with the nefarious intent of 'touching everything she wore'. It's not long before Emily realizes there is something creepy about Zach.

The book continues on, following the trial, which reveals the details of the crime little by little. Emily is 'young and beautiful' but also smart and leveraging a strong case against the defendant.

About a quarter of the way into the book we get a big twist- Emily, the tough assistant prosecutor, has had a heart transplant after losing her husband in Iraq. The rest of the book unfolds in a very interesting way (which you'll just have to read to find out)centering around the idea of certain 'memories' from the original donor being brought along with a transplanted organ. Just whose heart does Emily have?

I have been reading Mary Higgins Clark for years and she delivers a great murder mystery, yet again, just this time with a very interesting twist.

This is not a difficult read or perhaps 'great literature' but it is highly entertaining. It is a quick and easy read, very enjoyable once you get into into it (took me a couple of chapters to build momentum simply because of the character view point switches). As the plot narrows in on Emily, I felt more drawn in- reading quickly through the other viewpoints to get back to the parts about her.

Definately one you should pick up in hardback/kindle if you are a Mary Higgins Clark fan or into this genre. Otherwise, you mightt want to wait for it to come out in paperback as it is a quick read.

Mary Higgins Clark has always been my most famous author ... once I started a book of hers, I was hooked and couldn't put it down until I was finished (usually in a single day). This book just didn't do it for me as it was too mundane. In the past, MHC's books always left me guessing right up to the very end ... this book held little suspense for me. I thought the side plot with the serial murderer neighbor to be the best part. Yes, Emily is a special character and you like her from the beginning ... she's the kind of lawyer I would want if I ever needed one. Her tenacity helps her uncover things that were covered up and justice gets served in the end. Others loved this book but I was hoping for another "The Stranger Is Watching" or "Where Are The Children" ... I miss that kind of masterful suspense.

In my opinion, this author usually does much better. Ms.Clark obviously is defaulting to a previously used template, a "recipe" for literary success from past novels.
In regards to the plot, the phrase "what are the odds of this really happening" came to mind many times during my reading. She wasted most of my reading time letting her characters wander through the disjointed plot, going here and there but not seeming to tell a fluid story. And in the end, she seemed to realize she had a deadline and tried to bring the entire plot together, solve the mystery and tie up the loose ends in the last 15 pages with a mass confessional of both villains and hero's. If you want to read a really good book, read "Garden Spells" by Sarah Addison Allen. It was an excellent surprise to find a new author with such fresh and inspired writing talent.

I always buy MHC's books when they come out and whiz through them when I have a few hours on a weekend. Her last few books have been a bit disappointing and this one was actually hard to finish because it was so bad. It was completely predictable; the heart transplant story added nothing to the plot and the characters were largely underdeveloped. I enjoy a light mystery, but this one lacked substance and felt particularly contrived.

Skip it (or borrow from the library).

I wasn't expecting much to start with, so it really surprised me when I finished this book and found my expectations were apparently still set too high.

To be honest, I was expecting Emily and Gregg to go riding off into the sunset. I think I would have been less disappointed if this predictable and boring scenario had actually played out than what ultimately happened.

The description says: "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." Nothing is mentioned in the book about this. Did I miss it? Do I care?

Suspense? Action? Twists? Turns? Interesting characters? Engaging storyline? You won't find any of these here. I finished this book not really caring about what happened to anyone.

Not any real point reading this book. Save yourself some time and money and buy something else, hopefully by a different writer.

I'm beginning to think someone else is writing the latest Mary Higgins Clark books. Bottom line, I loved her earlier works but the last few books she's written have been dull. I thought it was boring and predictable--I figured out who the bad guy was within the first few chapters. I wouldn't pay for a hardcover--get this one at the library.

First, I have to say that I am not a great fan of this author but her books make for good vacation reading. For me, this book had a good plot and enough sub-plots to keep the reader interested. I especially liked the serial killer theme. Whenever was a serial killer boring?

I could not rate the book higher, however, based on the courtroom materials. In my occupation, I am frequently called as an expert witness so I spend a good deal of time in court, in chambers, and in conferences with attorneys. Clark, in building up the Emily character, seemed to go well beyond the bounds of believability. There is no way an inexperienced prosecuting attorney should have been able to waltz around a team of lawyers, one of whom with many years of practice. The defense attorney was so weak, that a mistrial could have been called. Emily got away with much too much latitude in her questioning and the defense never pulled apart the obvious loop holes in her argument. The guy should have been more ready to object to her offensive behavior. The leg work done at the appeal should all have been considered the first time around. I would love to have written the cross examination myself!

The whole heart thing also seemed pretty weak. It really was not a major issue in the story and seemed to be simply a tag-on. Why it rated mention in the title is beyond me. Furthermore, Clark should have done more research in organ transplant. It is impossible to believe that anyone in an office could have had a heart transplant without the knowledge of others. In the course of a transplant, a person is not gone a few days/weeks and returns like they were on vacation without someone knowing. Even the anti-rejection drugs which might be taken for months if not years have noticeable effects including a change in appearance. Come on Mary, your background work was flawed and although it is fiction, it has to be somewhat credable.

"Where Are You Now?" was one of the weakest books that MHC has ever written. I could barely get through it. All I remember was that the main character and the police detective would scream at eachother for pages and pages on end. I have been reading her books since junior high and thought that I might have to give up on her for good...

This book, while not on par with some of her earlier works (like "A Stranger is Watching" or "Where are the Children?") is a step in the right direction. It had an interesting premise and sustained my interest throughout the entire novel, even though I had a hunch who the killer was by the middle of it. There was also a suspenseful subplot involving a serial killer. Also, the book was not overflowing with minor characters and I was able to keep track of all of them, unlike her last few books.

My only comment/complaint would be that I noticed that MHC spent a little too much time describing what the characters were eating for lunch or dinner and seems to be fascinated by coffee machines with a built-in timer. I am cautiously optimistic for her next book!

Assistant Prosecutor Emily Wallace faces a tough courtroom battle when she takes on the suspect in the murder of a famous Broadway actress, but she may have an advantage in the case. Emily was the recipient of a heart transplant--and not just any heart. Now, she is learning that the term "gut instinct" may be more than a casual phrase. She is "remembering" certain information relevant to the case--and someone is determined to keep that information a secret, even if it means silencing Emily's heart forever....

For more than 30 years, Mary Higgins Clark has been thrilling readers with her gripping romantic mysteries, earning her the title, "America's Queen of Suspense." JUST TAKE MY HEART is ample proof of her talents. Emily Wallace is one of her most compelling protagonists, and the fascinating medical phenomenon of donor/recipient empathy makes this a very unusual story. Highly recommended.

Having read MHC since the 80's, I too am wondering if this could've been penned by someone else? Her books used to keep me (an inveterate mystery reader) guessing til the final pages; this one? I figured it out early on. Either I am getting smarter in older age, or MHC is slipping. Secondly, I could tell it wasn't her "Best" because it didn't keep beckoning me away from other chores . In the past, I couldn't WAIT to finish whatever I HAD to do, to get back to my book by MHC! This one took me a few days, which is unusual. I simply forgot about it in between reading sessions. Never a good sign .
There were editing mis-steps, and the courtroom TRANSCRIPT pages went on far too long and frankly, were boring, to me. YMMV of course. From what I did read of them, (I skimmed much), some of the things Emily (?) said and did during her questioning would have certainly drawn an objection or two from the opposing attorney? Yet, none. I understand this is a work of fiction
The "Sub-plot" was more interesting to me. Zach was the proverbial kook and I always like to hear that storyline esp. as told in that character's voice. But as usual, we must suspend much belief in MHC books, as it would be like winning the Lotto chances-wise to both be involved in a big murder coverup and trial while at the same time, be in the sights of a (coincidental) , serial killer? Yeah, right. Life sure sounds exciting up there in the upper-class suburbs of Jersey.!