Heartbreaker

By Julie Garwood

In the still shadows of the confessional, the penitent kneels and makes a bone-chilling disclosure: 'Bless me, Father, for I will sin.' Slowly, tauntingly, the man describes his murderous past - how he stalked his victim, worked his way into her life, and then took that life in a violent rage - and his plan to kill again. Only this time, he has raised the stakes in his twisted game, daring authorities to catch him if they can. This time, he has revealed the name of his next intended victim. 'I'm a heartbreaker. And I do so love a challenge.' Agent Nick Buchanan has come face-to-face with society's worst monsters and depraved minds in his work for one of the FBI's most elite units. He's about to take a much-needed vacation from his high-stress job, when he's called on to stop the killer who has mockingly confessed to the deadly crime he's going to commit. Nick can't refuse - for this time the threat has hit close to home. The intended victim is his best friend's sister. Soon he is caught up in an intricate chase with one of the most devious psychopaths of his career - in a case that suddenly, unexpectedly, pulls him in like no other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Aug 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781471104329

Julie Garwood

Julie Garwood (1944--2023) was the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including Fire and Ice, Shadow Music, Shadow Dance, Murder List, Killjoy, Mercy, Heartbreaker, Ransom, and Come the Spring. There are more than thirty-six million copies of her books in print.

Reviews for Heartbreaker

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

He sees them; he wants them; he stalks them; he takes them; finally, he kills them. The dangerous psychopath "Heartbreaker" enjoys murdering his victims. He has already chosen the next woman to add to his demonic list. Father Thomas is in confessional when "Heartbreaker" admits he plans to go after the holy man's sister Laurant. Tommy is so frightened he calls his FBI friend Nick Buchanan for help. Nick promises to serve as Laurant's bodyguard until the monster is caught.

Laurant and Nick, the main characters have lots of sizzle; the plot is very exciting and the action swift. The ending is left wide open for Noah's story, the other hunky FBI agent. If Noah Claybourne doesn't have his own book, I'll be very disappointed.

[Avery Nelson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed immensely. Only wish the author had given a more detailed description of what Nick looked like and also his age. But the story is fantastic.

[nero56 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent start to an excellent series. Fans of Linda Howard will love this!

[archieve_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Noah Clayborne is a good, bad boy in this book. Poor Tommy.

[miyurose_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was Julie Garwood’s first romantic suspense (not to mention the first book of her’s I’ve read), and if you ask me, she hit it out of the park. I really liked this. I liked Nick’s blindspots and Laurant’s straight-forwardness and the quirky cast of characters in Holy Oaks. Though I figured out the identity of the Heartbreaker about halfway through the book, I didn’t know where he was hiding until Nick did. Big thumbs up!

[camethyste_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. It's one of the few books I've read where I didn't figure out "whodunit" well before the end of the story. It was great to read Nick and Laurant's story and I can't wait to read more about this interesting group of people.