WHAT BARB IS READING TODAY

I did manage to do some reading for fun on my cruise. But I didn't complete this book until I returned home. When I tell you the book was published in 2000 you all will probably groan. I do read more current material but when I find an author I enjoy I go back to find his/her other books. Elizabeth Adler is one author I intend to read until I have exhausted her publications--which from her website: www.elizabethadler.com means I will be reading for a long time.

This book I read was "In a Heartbeat", a book I would catagorize as romantic suspense but others might say is mystery. Whatever you call it, it is one great read:

The opening is only two pages and does grab you but the beginning of the second chapter pulls the reader right in: "He's not going to make it." The "he" in this case is Ed Vincent who has been shot four times at blank range and, although in a coma and unable to speak at this point, hears and understands every word spoken around him. When the police detective, who will be your favorite secondary character ever!-asks him who killed him, he manages to utter one word, "Zelda." The race is on to find a shooter, possibly a murderer, because it is doubtful whether Ed Vincent is going to live.

The story is told from three viewpoints--Ed's, that of Homicide Detective Marco Camelia, and the voice of "Zelda" (Melba Eloise Merrydew). It is a rush to find a killer and all the intrigue of who, what, why, is there but the story of the unforgettable connection between a man and a woman is what kept me reading to the more than satisfying ending.
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Until I read the first book I can't remember seeing the name before. But since Random House is her pubisher, I am just behind the times. The author lives in Southern California somewhere and the first book I found listed was "Fleeting Images" (1987). "Meet me in Venice" (the first one I read by this author) seems to be the last--or at least the last listed online. I have a lot of catching up to do.