HEARTSTOPPER
Joy Fielding
Atria
Thriller
ISBN-10: 0743295986
ISBN-13: 9780743295987

HEARTSTOPPER opens with a page out of the killer's journal, in which he describes in detail the girl he is about to murder. This is enough to reel in readers, who will not be able to put the book down until it's over. In the next chapter, high school English teacher Sandy Crosbie has her students take out their journals and asks a few of them to read a page out loud.

When Liana Martin doesn't show up for class and appears to have vanished, friends as well as Sandy wonder if this is more than just Liana skipping school. Sadly, her lifeless body soon turns up, and fellow citizens think that a killer is on the loose. At the same time, a girl goes missing in a neighboring town. Is this merely a coincidence, or might there be a connection between the two cases?

While all of this is going on, Sandy's husband has been having an affair with the mother of one of her students, Delilah Franklin. A quiet, overweight girl, Delilah is constantly taunted by classmates and can never seem to fit in. Sandy tries her best to act sympathetically towards Delilah, but it's difficult as she's constantly reminded of her husband's indiscretions.

As it becomes evident that there may be a serial killer involved in the brutal death of Liana Martin, the reader will be caught up in all the individuals that reside in the town of Torrance, Florida, as they try to piece together the mystery behind the murder. As various characters are introduced and described, including many of the students and at least one teacher, it's apparent that the killer can be anyone.

I especially liked that there wasn't a lot of gore in this book, although there was plenty of opportunity for author Joy Fielding to go into detail concerning the heinous acts performed by the murderer. Instead, she focuses on solving the crime, with viewpoints changing between Delilah, Sandy and various other characters, and the murderer (via his journal) to give perspective on who possibly could be the culprit. As other bodies turn up, the list of potential suspects is narrowed down, but it wasn't until the very end that I was able to figure it all out.

I read HEARTSTOPPER in two days flat and had trouble putting it down. Fielding's books always keep me on the edge of my seat, and this one is no exception.

   --- Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton (Ratmammy@lofton.org)

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