"The fourth installment in the Lone Star Country Club saga"

HEARTBREAKER is Laurie Paige's contribution to the Silhouette series Lone Star Country Club, but does stand alone. While the premise of the story is promising, problems such as a heroine with an overblown case of denial and questionable medical ethics prevent me from fully recommending it.

Susan Wainwright is the prima ballerina with the Houston Ballet. Plagued since childhood with heart trouble, she has defied the odds to pursue her career well into her late twenties, a feat that most healthy ballerinas never achieve. While her determination is admirable, it is also detrimental to her health; something Susan just doesn't want to accept. Weeks before the story opens, Susan collapsed on stage during a performance and was placed on leave from the company until her doctor okays her return. The only viable medical treatment is a heart transplant; something to which she is strongly resistant, claiming that she has survived this long with her too small heart, she can keep going as long as she takes care of herself.

Dr. Michael O'Day is a well-known Houston heart surgeon who first meets Susan when he nearly runs her over in his car. A fellow member of the Country Club, he meets her again, this time with her mother, and learns of her condition. Though Susan's own doctor has referred her to Michael, she has been reluctant to make an appointment (see above paragraph, re: denial). Susan's mother and grandmother finally convince her to return to Houston with Michael for medical tests. As for Michael, he is battling an attraction to Susan, one that could cross over that ethical line. Every time they come close to intimacy, he asks her to let him put her on the donor list. This makes me wonder if his attraction is based on his own sense of her fragility and his ability to save her through a transplant. It also makes me question his professionalism with getting involved with a patient. Susan herself suspects her own attraction to Michael is based on the doctor-hero syndrome.

A big saving grace for this book is Michael's relationship with Texas Mafia boss Carmine Mercado, who himself needs a heart transplant and wants Michael to perform it. Michael's ethics reemerge when he refuses money to operate using a heart bought on the black market. The scenes between these two show a depth of character to Michael that I wish was more evident in his dealings with Susan. His light-hearted exchanges with Carmine's goons provide an amusing side story to the seriousness of the main plot. Although these scenes provide a good balance to the story, they are not enough to overcome the difficulties I had with the relationship between Susan and Michael.

Nonetheless, I like Laurie's style. Her scenes progress smoothly, without any sudden jumps between points of view, and the story is not inundated with passive actions. She is definitely a pro at dialogue. So, while I can't strongly recommend HEARTBREAKER, I will be on the lookout for future works by this author.

Reviewed by Kelly Jones
Posted September 25, 2002

Summary

LSCC Member: Brooding heart surgeon Michael O'Day

Social Status: Single, successful . . . and sinfully rich

Method of Seduction: What this doctor does with his strong capable hands makes the women of Texas swoon.

His skills in the operating room and his prowess in the bedroom made Michael O'Day one of the most sought-after bachelors in Texas. But the solid walls erected by the legendary surgeon prevented anyone from getting too close -- until Susan Wainwright. Her onstage collapse proved the fragile ballerina desperately needed a new heart. Now the man who once placed power and prestige above a soothing bedside manner had to fight the demands of the Texas underworld, and race to save the woman who'd found the key to his impenetrable heart.