Just Take My Heart
A Novel
The latest thriller from America's #1 bestselling Queen of Suspense
In her new thriller, Mary Higgins Clark delves into a legal battle over the guilt or innocence of a man accused of murdering his wife. Woven into her plot is a little-understood, eerie but documented medical phenomenon-the emergence of a donor's traits and memories in the recipient of a heart transplant.
Natalie Raines, famous Broadway star, is murdered after accidentally discovering who killed her former roommate, Jamie Evans. Natalie's estranged husband, theatrical agent Gregg Aldrich, was known to have stalked Natalie to find out if she was seeing another man, and becomes "a person of interest" in her death. After a career criminal comes forward to claim that Aldrich hired him to kill his wife, a job he decided to turn down, a Grand Jury indicts Gregg for the murder of his wife.
Emily Wallace, an attractive thirty-two year old widowed assistant prosecutor, is summoned by her boss, Edward "Ted" Scott Wesley, who tells her that he wants her to handle the case, a plum assignment. She spends increasingly long hours preparing for the trial. A seemingly well-meaning neighbor offers to take care of her dog in her absence. Unaware of his violent past, she gives him a key to her home...
As Aldrich's trial is making headlines, Wesley warns Emily that this high-profile case will reveal personal matters about her, such as the fact that she had a heart transplant. And, during the trial, Emily experiences sentiments which defy all reason and continue after Gregg Aldrich's fate is decided by the jury. In the meantime, she does not realize that her own life is now at risk.
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Book details:
- Simon & Schuster Audio |
- 7 disks |
- ISBN 9780743579674 |
- April 2009
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Mary Higgins Clark
Summary
When Natalie Raines, one of Broadway's brightest stars, accidentally discovers who killed her former roommate, it sets in motion a series of shocking events that puts more than one life in extreme peril. A few days later Natalie is found in her home in Closter, New Jersey, dying from a gunshot wound.
The case remains unsolved for two years, until Jimmy Easton, a career criminal, comes forward to claim that Natalie’s husband had hired him to murder his wife. Assistant prosecutor Emily Wallace is assigned to the case. As she spends increasingly long hours preparing for the trial, a seemingly well-meaning neighbor offers to take care of her dog in her absence. Unaware of his violent past, she gives him a key to her home.
As the murder trial makes headlines, her boss warns Emily that this high-profile case will reveal personal matters about her, such as the fact that she has had a heart transplant. During the trial, Emily experiences sentiments that defy all reason. Woven into the 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.
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. Gregg Aldrich, Natalie’s husband, recounts that after driving by Natalie’s house in New Jersey, he felt that their relationship was truly over. Do you think that Natalie had see more

Mary Higgins Clark, Queen of Suspense













