I am not a huge fan of Mary Higgins Clark. I find her plots to be contrived and the characters thin. But I have to admit that she is easy to read. Short chapters and no long dialogs. I read this book in less than a week, which is fast for me given all of my other interests and activities.
The protagonist in this mystery is Emily Wallace, an assistant DA who is both a war widow (her husband was killed in Iraq) and a heart transplant survivor (hence the title). She is given a plum assignment: prosecuting the husband of a prominent stage actress who was accused of murdering her in a fit of rage because she was leaving him. The key witness was a scumbag jailhouse snitch who had a meeting in a bar – witnessed by the defendant’s friends – and, he claimed, a subsequent meeting in the defendant’s home where he remembered many details of the living room, including, most significantly, a side table drawer that squeaked when pulled open. The defendant had a plausible explanation for the first meeting but could not explain how the snitch knew about the squeaky drawer. He was convicted, over the protests of the victim’s mother, who believed him to be innocent. And Emily, rather than being jubilant over her big victory, found herself wondering whether she had sent an innocent man to jail for life.
But there were no other suspects… or were there? The victim had a roommate many years earlier who was dating a married man. The victim never met this man but did, just once, see a photo that the roommate had secreted in her purse. When the roommate was brutally murdered she had the police draw a composite sketch based on her memory of the photo, but the culprit was never identified. When Emily’s doubts about the guilt of the husband grew, she decided to reopen the investigation into the earlier murder and found that the sketch in the original homicide file did not match the one they had obtained when investigating the later murder of the actress. Why were the sketches different? The answer to that question, of course, led to catching the guy who murdered both women.
Meanwhile… and this is where the implausible Mary Higgins Clark plot emerges – Emily’s neighbor, who is a serial killer, is stalking her for no good reason, it appears, other than the book needed another villain. He almost gets her, but doesn’t, due to another killer showing up at the same time. Uh… yeah. Well, it is implausible but an easy read.
The heart transplant is another plot device that has no real use other than to give the book its title. It comes into play in a twist at the very end, also in a most implausible way.
Silly plot twists, but very readable.
7 out of 10.
Red Apple Farm
Beer barn and livestock pen
New England is littered with roadside farmstands. Most are quite good, with fresh vegetables, fruits and, in some cases, homemade jellies, jams and pies. A few offer self-picking of apples, blueberries, strawberries and other fruits. Some are so good with so many products and activities that they become destinations. Red Apple Farm, in Phillipston MA, is just such a place.
Red Apple Farm has some kind of vague familial association with Lamb City Campground, our seasonal home. We were told, by an employee at Red Apple, who really wasn’t too sure, that perhaps the owner of Red Apple was the son of the owner of Lamb City. What is absolutely indisputable, though, is that they are adjacent to each other and Lamb City prominently advertises Red Apple in its literature and runs hayrides through the connecting fields so that campers can shop at Red Apple. It is certainly a cozy relationship.
I visited Red Apple four times this summer. The first visit was a brief lets-see-what-they’ve-got visit with Jett. It was pre-July 4th so it wasn’t very busy and the shelves were only partially stocked. Still, we were impressed by the variety and quality of the merchandise.
The second was a mid-summer visit with Rusty and Ray and Kim’s three neighbor kids, Connor, Riley and Levi. We walked the connecting road with Rusty leading the way. They went into the store and spent some money on fudge, to which they gave high marks. They also enjoyed the animals in the livestock pen – lots of goats plus a few ponies and steers. Finding and eating wild raspberries on the way home was a bonus.
Red Apple General Store
Jellies and jams
The third visit was on Labor Day with Jett and her sister Sybil. Our intent was to get a meal (they have a BBQ shack) and a beer (from the beer barn). However, both closed at 4pm, which was the precise time that we arrived. So we were forced to switch to Plan B – dinner and drinks at the King Phillip Restaurant (to be reviewed soon) which we enjoyed very much. I got a beer at the beer barn before we departed. But I was disappointed to find that no beer is actually brewed there and the offerings, while interesting, were limited. The whole visit was a bit of a downer, but King Phillip saved the day.
The fourth visit was just a couple of weeks ago, with my wonderful granddaughter Lili. She was not impressed by the merchandise in the store but enjoyed picking a bag of apples which were ripe.
Four visits, four pleasant days. If you get to Phillipston, check out the Red Apple Farm. Recommended.
Tree with – what else? – red apples
Picking wild berries