Your Heart Belongs to Me - Hardcover

Koontz, Dean

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007267568 ISBN 13: 9780007267569

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2009

Synopsis

A high-concept new thriller from the internationally acclaimed Dean Koontz about a young man who owes his life to a heart transplant ... but confronts an imminent and far darker death

At 34 Ryan Perry suddenly finds himself on a waiting list for a heart transplant. Although he keeps working and looks fit, his condition is deteriorating.

Nevertheless, Ryan manages to remain upbeat, and his reward is well deserved. He receives a new heart, and the transplant is a success.

One year later, Ryan has never felt better. Except for ... troubles connected to the heart. His new, fine, healthy, feel-good heart. It began with gifts from an unkown person, a feeling of being watched. Someone, not Ryan, transfers $100,000 from his bank account to the cardiology department of a local hospital – how is this possible?

Becoming more watchful himself, Ryan more than once glimpses a mysterious woman whom he tries to follow, but she is too circumspect even for the detective he hires to follow her. He has nothing to take to the police.

Instead, by an extraordinary effort, he uncovers the identity of the donor of ... the heart. His heart. A photo shows someone who looks awfully like the mysterious woman ... who now lets him know that everything will be taken from him: his money, his reputation, his friends, his freedom; and ultimately his heart...

Prepare for the unexpected in this compelling and fast-paced thriller from the master of suspense.

About this title

Review:

Surely an author such as Dean Koontz can afford to relax? After all, every new offering from him always enjoys massive sales, so could it be time to rest on one’s laurels? It’s to Koontz’s credit that he chooses not to do that, and tries to ensure that each new book is subtly different from its predecessor (but not so different that it would alienate his considerable fan base). Your Heart Belongs To Me is close to being vintage Koontz (the title is not romantic, but a piece of macabre wordplay).

Ryan Perry, at 34, is a young man – hardly of an age to be on a waiting list, nervously hoping for a heart transplant. Luck appears to be with him: he is the recipient of a new heart, and (fortunately) the transplant takes, triumphantly. But a year passes, and Ryan begins to receive gifts in the shape of hearts, sent anonymously. A feeling of paranoia sets in – and this feeling is exacerbated when a large amount of money vanishes from his bank account – it has been donated to a local hospital’s cardiology department. Needless to say, all of this is a prelude to something truly horrific: everything he owns – including his new heart – is to be torn from him, and he is informed he will die a grisly death. Who is Ryan’s tormentor?

Readers of Koontz may not know the plot of Your Heart Belongs To Me (the author routinely comes up with fresh ones), but they’ll recognise that cold, unsettling vision that makes his books so grimly compelling. Not subtle writing – we don’t go to Dean Koontz for that – but totally unputdownable. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

Praise for Dean Koontz:

‘Odd Thomas is certainly a page-turner – this is a read-at-a-sitting novel – with a terrific final twist’ Observer

‘A terrific pursuit story ... clever, up-to-the-minute, and riveting’ Guardian

‘There’s surprise after surprise, including a killer finale ... a read-in-one-go novel’ Independent on Sunday

‘Velocity hits its pace from the first page and races through to a suitably climactic ending’ Sydney Sunday Telegraph

‘Dean Koontz is not just a master of our darkest dreams, but also a literary juggler’ The Times

‘Psychologically complex, masterly and satisfying’ The New York Times

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0007267568
• ISBN 13: 9780007267569
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352