What the Heart Knows [Mass Market Paperback]

Kathleen Eagle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000

Thirteen years after leaving the Bad River Sioux Reservation-and Reese Blue Sky-behind, schoolteacher and single mother Helen Ketterling returns to Bad River with the son Reese has never known and rekindles her relationship with the proud and lonely man she has never forgotten. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: Rapid City, South Dakota--present day
Sensuality Rating: 7

Popular romance author Kathleen Eagle visits familiar hunting grounds in What the Heart Knows. Returning to the Bad River Lakota Reservation after a 13-year absence, Helen Ketterling has a secret--two of them, in fact. As an undercover investigator for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, she's posing as a blackjack dealer in the reservation casino, The Pair-a-Dice City, to determine whether there's anything illegal going on behind the scenes. When her boss's brother, the former professional basketball player Reese Blue Sky, returns to the reservation to bury his father, Helen's biggest secret of all--her 12-year-old son by Reese--is exposed, while feelings thought long forgotten reignite between the two.

Eagle paints an intriguing portrait of contemporary life on the reservation and its unique issues, with a little mystery thrown in for good measure. In addition, her handling of the understandably turbulent emotions of the former lovers who now share a child is sensitive and astute. All in all, this contemporary draws its audience in, investing them inextricably in the outcome; it's impossible to put this book down. --Alison Trinkle --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

The shifting economics and shady business dealings brought to Native American reservations by legalized gambling are the backdrop for Eagle's (The Last True Cowboy; The Night Remembers) latest romantic suspense novel. The protagonist of this leisurely paced story is 38-year-old Helen Ketterling, a white woman who, while working undercover for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (as a blackjack dealer trained to spot corruption in the casinos), is forced to confront her feelings for her Lakota ex-boyfriend, former NBA all-star Reese Blue Sky. Both Helen and Reese have secrets. Not only must Helen lie about her jobAto Reese and his brother Carter, who manages the Pair-a-Dice City casinoAbut she never told Reese that he's the father of her 12-year-old son, Sidney. Reese, meanwhile, is afraid to tell Helen the real reason he retired from basketballAhis potentially fatal heart condition. The two become embroiled investigating the possibility that Reese's father was murdered because of his attempts to oust the criminal owners of the casino, who are white. In the generic romance-novel formula of crossed-signals and push-pull arguments, the lies and mysteries between Reese and Helen are revealed slowly, keeping the two lovers apart till the end. Eagle admirably avoids clich? trappings in her prose, and the reservation setting is well researched and poignantly rendered. These fresh details help to surmount the sometimes lumbering and predictable plot, and enliven the occasionally two-dimensional main characters.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380803097
• ISBN-13: 978-0380803095
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #612,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Visit www.kathleeneagle.com for her latest news and http://ridingwiththetopdown.wordpress.com/ to blog with Kathleen and 8 fellow writers.

If you're a reviewer, visit NetGalley to request a digital galley for COWBOY, TAKE ME AWAY (4/19/11 release) from Harlequin.

Kathleen Eagle published her first book, a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award winner, with Silhouette Books in 1984. Since then she has published more than 40 books, including historical and contemporary, series and single title, earning her nearly every award in the industry. Her books have consistently appeared on regional and national bestseller lists, including the USA Today list and the New York Times extended bestseller list.

Born in Virginia and raised "on the road" as an Air Force brat, Ms Eagle earned degrees from Mount Holyoke College and Northern State University. She taught at Standing Rock High School in North Dakota for 17 years.

Eagle's work is often singled out by book reviewers for its exceptional quality and appeal. THE NIGHT REMEMBERS was a Chicago Tribune Notable Book. SUNRISE SONG, THE NIGHT REMEMBERS, THE LAST TRUE COWBOY, and WHAT THE HEART KNOWS made the Library Journal "Five Best Romances of the Year" list. BookPage listed WHAT THE HEART KNOWS among its "Top Six Romance Picks" for 1999. THE LAST GOOD MAN was a finalist for the 2000 Minnesota Book Award for Popular Fiction--the only Romance so honored thus far. YOU NEVER CAN TELL was named to RWA's "Top Ten Favorite Books of the Year" list. She is an RWA RITA award winner.

Kathleen Eagle lives in Minnesota with her husband, who is Lakota Sioux. The Eagles have three children and three grandchildren.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eagle's writing soars!, April 19, 2000

By 

Hazel White (White Bear Lake, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What the Heart Knows (Hardcover)

I just finished WHAT THE HEART KNOWS. Wow! This is a great read. I've only read a couple of K. Eagle's books previously and enjoyed them, but this book is over the top. It's a great "secret baby" book, but the kicker is the baby is a 12-year-old boy who is almost as tall as Reese Blue Sky, his NBA all-star father. Reese is a Lakota Indian and one of the things I especially liked was looking at the world through his eyes. Prejudice and discrimination are all around us, but as a member of the white majority I find it hard to really understand (although I sympathize) with those who have to suffer it. Through this book, I got a close look at the way Indians see white people and how they feel about being stereotyped. But foremost, it's a great love story. Helen Ketterling is the mother of Reese's son and the way she tries to explain her decision to keep her baby a secret is a haunting tale of love gone wrong and opportunities for happiness lost. But maybe not forever. I won't give away the ending. See it for yourself. I plan on buying at least 2 more copies. One each for my niece and my office manager. A great way to "suck up" at work!

hmw

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Fabulous - as always, March 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: What the Heart Knows (Hardcover)

Kathleen Eagle is by far the best romance writer ever. Her stories have characters that you can identify with, and who are very likable. What the Heart Knows is no different. There is no pushing away and pulling back by the characters - it's a love story, without the typical head games characters play. Her male characters are always tender, compassionate, and understanding. They are men you can understand why the women love. Reese Blue Sky is fabulous. He knows what he wants - to do right by his father, to keep his newly found family, to hang on to his lost love - and you want that for him.

Mrs. Eagle - keep up the great work. There's only one book I haven't read and I can't wait to pick it up. I most especially can't wait for your next one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nice return to a familiar setting, June 28, 2000

By 

ladybug10 "ladybug10" (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: What the Heart Knows (Mass Market Paperback)

While I enjoyed KE's last two books, I didn't find them up to the same caliber of her earler work. This book was a nice change. Both hero and heroine have secrets. Both have a Past with a capital "P." Their lives cross after twelve years of separation, and after a halting start, their relationship accelerates - only to take a detour when the secrets are finally revealed. As with her earlier novels, KE manages to impart some useful information about the culture in which she places her characters as she tells her story. It's been interesting to watch how the issues have evolved over time - like reading a little bit of history - and something that I've enjoyed immensely, and that I missed in her last two books. Additionally, she does a good job of telling the story from more than one point of view, without chopping it up or confusing the reader. I appreciated the fact that I didn't have to slog through the love-misunderstanding-fight-make up scenario that seems to be an obligatory part of the plot conflict in countless other works of this genre. KE's characters have depth, affection, sensuality, behave like adults and not spoiled adolescents, and make me want to meet them in person - an impossibility, of course, but a good measure of how well they were created! If you are a fan of her earlier novels, you will probably enjoy this story as well - I'm happy to recommend it.