Product Description

New York Times bestselling author Joy Fielding takes readers on a terror-charged hunt for a serial killer holding a small South Florida town in a vice-like grip of fear, suspicion, and violence.

As Sheriff John Weber would attest, the deadliest predators in Torrance, Florida, were the alligators lurking in the nearby swamps. But that was before someone abducted and murdered a runaway teenage girl...and before the disappearance of popular and pretty Liana Martin. The pattern is chilling to Sandy Crosbie, the town's new high school English teacher. With a marriage on the rocks, thanks to her husband's online affairs, and a beautiful teenage daughter to protect, Sandy wishes she'd never come to the seemingly quiet town with shocking depths of scandal, sex, and brutality roiling beneath its surface. And as Sheriff Weber digs up more questions than answers in a dead-end investigation, one truth emerges: the prettiest ones are being targeted, the heartstoppers. And this killer intends to give them their due....

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61021 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 592 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Fielding (Mad River Road) delivers another dependably entertaining thriller. When Sandy Crosbie and her physician husband, Ian, move to Torrance, Fla. (pop. 4,160), from Rochester, N.Y., to make a new start, Sandy quickly discovers that the real new start is Ian's affair with "Barbie clone" Kerri Franklin, whom he met on an Internet chat line. Sandy, who's irritatingly docile about being deserted, trudges forward, getting a job teaching at the local high school and keeping an eye on her two teenage children, Megan and Tim. The author convincingly portrays the Crosbie siblings and other students, while examining in more depth than some readers might prefer teenage angst and puppy love. A popular girl, Liana Martin, disappears and her body later turns up in a swamp. Amid the offstage drama of the school play rehearsals, Sandy's painful blind date and Ian's affair, tension builds and cracks appear within and among local residents. Every few chapters, the anonymous killer offers an entry, which adds to the suspense, though the generous time spent with our mystery villain takes some of the kick out of the ending. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
In Fielding's latest suspense novel set in tiny Torrance, Florida, a serial killer's journal entries are interspersed with the stunned reactions of various of the town's citizens when two teenage girls go missing. Sandy Crosbie, a high-school English teacher and the mother of two teenagers, has relocated to remote Torrance from Rochester, New York, at the urging of her handsome doctor husband. But his reasons for the move soon become apparent when he leaves her for Kerri Franklin, a "Barbie clone and Internet paramour extraordinaire." Sandy, along with the rest of the town's citizens, is jolted out of her self-absorption when the body of the most popular girl in school is found buried in a shallow grave. Now it's up to exhausted, overweight Sheriff John Weber, unhappily married to the TV-addicted Pauline, to calm residents' fears and find out what happened to the pretty blonde teen. But even as he fends off the town's obnoxious mayor, intent on calling in the FBI, Sandy's daughter goes missing. Fielding crafts a suspenseful plot, with a stunner of a twist, while giving her characters a depth of humanity not frequently found in formula fiction. Exciting and unexpectedly touching reading from the talented Fielding. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Thrills and chills...with substance...[A]s much a smart domestic drama as it is a taut thriller." -- "People"

Customer Reviews

SMALL TOWN SCANDALS, BIG TIME SUSPENSE
Packed with plenty of suspense, a plethora of suspects and a look into the mind of a serial killer, HEARTSTOPPER is a book you will find hard to put down once you start reading.

The opening chapter begins with an excerpt from the killer's journal describing the "cat and mouse" game being played with the girl who is about to be murdered. This gambit immediately hooks the reader and you eagerly get on board for the rest of this ride.

Fielding gives us a liberal amount of suspense, but in addition she give us an up close and personal look at life in a small town (pop. 4,160) where every adults sins and foibles are known to the entire community, high school is a place where taunting and humiliation are the order of the day and being different is akin to wearing a scarlet letter on your chest.

The book is written from the perspective of several of the characters, both adult and adolescent, and leads the reader on a merry chase as each new chapter exposes more and more personal truths about the residents of Torrance, Florida that continuously reshape and alter your thoughts as to the identity of the culprit.

I liked the fact that descriptive scenes of actual bloodletting and gore were held to a minimum, and instead the author chose to portray the cerebral by focusing on the thoughts and emotions of the murderer, the victims and the people of the town.

All in all, Heartstopper has a strong sense of character and place, excellent dialogue, and a story that crackles like lightening.

Wow, Wow, Wow !! A DEFINITE PAGE TURNER !!
This latest novel from the always satisfying Joy Fielding is a definite page turner and one of the best from her entire career.

I haven't read a book this fast in ages. I could not put it down. She does a measterful job of incorporating the mystery of some murders taking place in a small Florida community with wonderful three dimensional portrayals of all the players.

These people are real. You care about them. And the suspense grows throughout and is very believable. I was on the edge of my seat and making sure I didn't peak ahead. Try to avoid any reviews here that give away too much of the plot. This is a book you want to unfold in front of you as you can't wait to turn the page.

The ending was totally satisfying. I remember how much I loved SEE JANE RUN which was my introduction to this author. HEARTSTOPPER is even better. She is often put in the same category as Mary Higgins Clark and this is so unfair. The only similarity is that the main character tends to be a woman. Joy Fielding writes with a depth and psychological insight that Clark doesn't come close to.

Thanks Joy for a book I never wanted to end. You are always at the top of my favorite seller's list. Keep em coming !

Kept me on the edge of my seat!
HEARTSTOPPER by Joy Fielding
Amazon Rating: 4/5 stars

Joy Fielding's latest thriller is a page-turner. Starting with the opening chapter that comes straight from the killer's journal, the reader will enjoy HEARTSTOPPER until the killer is finally revealed. In a nutshell, the story takes place in a small Florida town, where a pretty (and popular) young teenage girl has gone missing. When her body turns up, the town begins to talk, and soon people realize there is a murderer on the loose. Signs point to a serial killer, and now it's up to the authorities to find him. In between the murder mystery, the story delves into the lives of several key characters, with varying viewpoints to allow the reader to try to figure out who the killer is. A very enjoyable book!

I've read a few Joy Fielding books, and have enjoyed each one, but this book I think out of all of them had the most potential for some gruesome violent scenes. However, there is not much gore depicted at all, and a lot is left to the reader's imagination, which I found refreshing. Fans of Fielding will enjoy HEART STOPPER. I read it in two days flat, and did not figure out the killer until the end. It's probably going to be one of my favorite Joy Fielding books so far!