Heartbreaker , Ms. Garwood's first foray into contemporary fiction, just about blew me out of the water. Almost from the beginning I was mesmerized by this story. I've always enjoyed her Garwood s historicals, appreciating her sense of lightness and wholesome escapism. Heartbreaker is neither, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment one iota. What is blindingly apparent in her latest book is that Julie Garwood has earned her best-selling status, whether she's writing historicals, contemporaries or the ad copy for cereal boxes.
Talent is talent, no matter the genre.
Heartbreaker begins with a hook that is so powerful, so compelling that most readers will soon be wriggling. In a sweltering confessional booth that seems hotter than hell, Father Tom Madden is getting a heat rash, and the piddly fan he's using isn't working. He'll soon forget that he's hot, however, as he hears a confession that will change his life. Bless me, Father, for I will sin. In chilling detail the stranger describes his murderous past and that he's going to kill again.