"Heart of a Killer"
By David Rosenfelt
A woman in prison for murdering her husband wants to kill herself to save her daughter in David Rosenfelt's latest page-turner, "Heart of a Killer."
A young attorney named Jamie Wagner gets a case dropped in his lap that he doesn't want to pursue.
Sheryl Harrison has served only a portion of her sentence for a crime she says was to protect her and her daughter from an abusive spouse.
Then her daughter is diagnosed with a heart defect. She will die without a transplant, and Sheryl is her closest match.
Sheryl asks to be the donor to save her daughter's life. Jamie cannot obtain approval for what is essentially suicide, so he decides to pursue the case against Sheryl and force a retrial.
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The controversial case causes rifts in both his professional and personal life. And the more he digs, the more he starts to believe that Sheryl is innocent.
Rosenfelt has crafted another terrific thriller that will keep the reader up late at night.
The characters and the moral dilemma that create the hook raise some serious questions. As a result, even a somewhat weak payoff doesn't lessen the impact of the journey.
• David Rosenfelt is slated to participate in next month's Tucson Festival of Books.
"Oath of Office"
By Michael Palmer
A doctor violates his oath to save lives in the latest shocker from Michael Palmer.
Dr. John Meacham was given a second chance after he overcame his addiction to prescription drugs, thanks to his counselor, Dr. Lou Welcome. Then one day, Meacham, now in private practice again, upsets a patient. After the patient storms out, Meacham starts saying he cannot have any witnesses. He shoots all his staff members and the patients in his waiting room. Then he turns the gun on himself.
Welcome's reputation as a counselor is ruined, and what triggered Meacham's outburst becomes an obsession. As Welcome investigates the cause of the violence, the path leads directly to the White House - and a president bent on re-election.
Palmer knows how to get the reader to turn the pages, and the science behind the conspiracy proves to be timely and controversial in "Oath of Office." Some of the story elements don't come together like they should, including a forced romance.
Minor criticisms aside, Palmer has crafted a book that will have readers fearful of doing something as simple as taking a bite of food.
• Michael Palmer is scheduled to participate in the Tucson Festival of Books.
"The House I Loved"
By Tatiana De Rosnay
The French novelist Tatiana De Rosnay rocketed to worldwide prominence after the well-deserved success of her best-selling "Sarah's Key." Her 2007 book tells a captivating tale about the roundup of Jewish immigrants in France and the daring locals who hid them during World War II.
"The House I Loved" again takes place in De Rosnay's homeland, this time in Paris during the 1860s when much of the city is destroyed to make way for its rebirth into modernity. Against this backdrop, Rose Bazelet tells the story of her life and her dedication to her home in the form of a love letter to her long-dead husband.
The novel provides a fascinating glimpse into a little-known (at least by many Americans) time in Napoleon's Paris when hundreds of houses, shops and restaurants were destroyed to redesign the city into its 20 spiral-arranged arrondissements. As a love letter to Paris, the novel succeeds.
But the few characters feel flat and hastily drawn, and Rose's dedication to her husband's family home feels forced and artificial.
Her devotion seems even more ill-placed when readers discover the great secret that happened inside the structure.
The writing, however, is lovely - despite the jarring backward-looking use of the past tense throughout - and the sentiment thought-provoking.
For the true Francophile, it will be enough.
On StarNet: Read about the "Bad Girls of Arizona" in e-books culled from some popular "Tales from the Morgue" series at azstarnet.com/ebooks
The 4th annual Tucson Festival of Books
• When: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. March 10-11.
• Where: University of Arizona campus. Attendance and parking are free.
• What: About 450 authors, book discussions, workshops, literary activities for the entire family - and food.
• Sponsors: The UA and the Arizona Daily Star. University of Arizona Medical Center is the presenting sponsor. Net proceeds will promote literacy in Southern Arizona through the Tucson Festival of Books Foundation, a nonprofit organization.
• Information: tucsonfestivalofbooks.org Follow the festival on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tucsonfestivalofbooks and go to www.twitter.com/tfob to follow on Twitter. Apps are also available on the website for iPhones and Android devices.
Jeff Ayers, for The Associated Press Jeff Ayers, for The Associated Press Kim Curtis, for The Associated Press
