Thief of Hearts [Hardcover]

Katherine Stone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1999

Stolen dreams, stolen promises, stolen love. And a heart surgeon determined to make things right...if she possibly can. But Dr. Caitlin Taylor is a seamstress of damaged hearts - not broken ones. Not shattered ones. She needs help this time - the help, and the grace, of the most dangerous man, the plunderer himself, the ransacker of promises and dreams, the fierce and sensual....THIEF OF HEARTS.

He is Jesse Falconer, author of darkly erotic thrillers and protector of snow-white lions. Jesse is also a twin to Patrick, the maestro trauma surgeon who is Caitlin's mentor and friend. Now Patrick - the good twin, the golden one - is dying, will die very soon, unless a bone-marrow donor is found.

Jesse is that perfect donor, could be. But a bitter betrayal long ago severed the bond between the Falconer men. And Dr. Patrick Falconer would choose death - for himself - rather than ask his estranged brother for help. Indeed, Patrick has made that choice...and he has no idea that Caitlin has made her own desperate plans.

Caitlin's journey for Patrick - to save Patrick - will take her to the cliff-top estate of the dark and mysterious twin. It will be a treacherous journey, through a tropical rainstorm, to a different storm and greater danger: the tempest - and the passion - that is Jesse. And it is then, only then, that Caitlin will embark on the most perilous voyage of all, to dreams, to promises, to love....

An exquisite marriage of medical drama and captivating romance, THIEF OF HEARTS is Katherine Stone at her bestselling best.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Falconer twins are as different as two men can be; Jesse is a mysterious writer of erotic thrillers inspired by the pain of his past, and Patrick is a bright and successful surgeon who basks in the admiration of his peers and friends. Though different as night and day, nothing could separate the two until suspicions of rape and murder tore them apart. Now, years later, Patrick is diagnosed with aplastic anemia and will certainly die without Jesse's blood, a gift that Patrick would never request. Only Caitlin Taylor, a doctor and Patrick's best friend, has the courage to seek out this remote man and ask for this sacred gift.

But when Caitlin meets the dark twin, she discovers Jesse is a complex and almost mystical man with whom she feels an intense connection. Can she convince this reclusive and wounded man to save his brother's life? Though Patrick faces death, he meets Amanda Prentice, a woman who has the power to inspire him with love, if she can overcome her own tortured history. As Caitlin, Jesse, Amanda, and Patrick move towards a future reunion between the brothers, they must all confront a past of heart-wrenching betrayals and unforgivable pain.

In Thief of Hearts Katherine Stone focuses on the intense and internal emotions of four beautiful people with deeply damaged hearts. Stone's characters are richly drawn and the suspense of Patrick's failing health and the blossoming romances is completely consuming. Stone masters the painful results of past grief with such acuity that no character remains unsuffering. Fluff up the pillow, place the tissues nearby, and prepare for a moving tale of exhausting emotional struggle. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien

From Publishers Weekly

Reclusive, mysterious novelist Jesse Falconer becomes the titular thief of hearts who wins the love of heart surgeon Caitlin Taylor in this heart-tugging contemporary romance. When Caitlin learns that her friend and mentor, trauma surgeon Patrick Falconer, urgently needs a bone marrow transplant, she sets out to find Patrick's estranged fraternal twin, Jesse, the most likely donor candidate. Caitlin locates Jesse at his estate on Maui and convinces him to come to L.A. and save his brother's life. Jesse is a tormented man, having been wrongly accused of attempted murder, and having served a prison term for a rape he did not commit. Yet Caitlin sees in him a lonely soul like her own. Meanwhile, psychiatrist Amanda Prentice, a victim of every imaginable trauma (rape, incest, her mother's murder), becomes Patrick's great love. Stone's plot depends heavily on coincidence: Caitlin saves the life of a billionaire's grandson who just happens to be connected to Jesse; later, she finds herself having to operate on the six-year-old girl whom Jesse has treated as his own daughter. Stone (Bed of Roses) has mastered most of the genre's conventions, handling its familiar metaphors (snow, lions, hearts) deftly; even better, she knows how to render sexual passion convincingly without anatomical details? though she knows anatomy well enough: she's a physician as well as an author, and her medical knowledge spruces up the surgical scenes. And when Caitlin and Amanda grieve together for their dead mothers, few romance fans will remain unmoved.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; 1st edition (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446521817
• ISBN-13: 978-0446521819
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,980,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bestselling Seattle-born author Katherine Stone set about plotting her life's journey at a very young age. At age five she knew she hoped to become a doctor. Then, after writing her first short story at age 11, she realized that she'd love to be a writer, too.

In pursuit of that youthful dream, Katherine attended Stanford University, where she completed her premed requirements while majoring in English. She received her M.D. from the University of Washington. Following her internal medicine residency in San Francisco, she accepted a fellowship in infectious diseases in Los Angeles.

What remains one of the world's largest outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease coincided with her fellowship, which gave her the opportunity to write and lecture on this mysterious new disease. But it was not all work and no play. There was also romance in L.A. It was there (during a spinal tap!) that she met her future husband, physician and novelist Jack Chase.

While she had accomplished the first half of her young-life goals, Katherine never really got around to the second part--being a writer--until Jack bought her a word processor and urged her to "Just do it." The result? Bestselling books in the distinctive Katherine Stone style: a marriage of lyrical prose, evocative emotion and, above all, romance.

"There's nothing wrong with incurable romanticism," the physician asserts. "I love writing about nice people, who are giving life their best shot despite the sometimes monumental obstacles I place in their paths and who discover, despite those obstacles, the splendor and power of love."

Although Katherine has hung up her stethoscope for the moment and is writing full-time at her home near Seattle, her medical background is often evident in her books. "I very much enjoy sharing my passion for medicine--its drama, its emotion and yes, its science--with my readers."

The author of 21 novels, including Twins, Bel Air, Love Songs, and Pearl Moon, Katherine's books have been translated into 20 languages and sold worldwide. She is in the midst of converting all her novels into e-book formats (and thinking about her next book!)

Please visit her website at www.katherinestone.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not even worth a speed read, February 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Thief of Hearts (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read a number of the author's other books and for the genre they're not too bad. But this book had me throwing it down in disgust. A totally ridiculous story - estranged twins, one of whom has a lion, a bone marrow transplant, two fatherless female doctors, and then some little sick girl enters the story. The totally aimless meandering of the flashback episodes had me skipping miles ahead. Yawn, who cares about these people? I don't even care to continue reading to find out if Caitlin ever finds her father.

Besides being boring, this book could have used a good editor. I nearly screamed out loud after one too many sentences that began with "which." Someone should tell Ms. Stone that a comma is a helpful device to string those thoughts together. I'm just glad this book only cost me 99 cents at Goodwill.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I've read this year, June 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Thief of Hearts (Hardcover)

I didn't want Thief of Hearts to end. In fact, I think I'll just start reading it again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Skip this one!, September 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Thief of Hearts (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a big fan of Katherine Stone books, but Thief of Hearts was a big disppointment. Poorly written and not very exciting. If you want to read one her better works, try Imagine Love or Pearl Moon.