Heartless

by Alison Gaylin

Overview

Former investigative journalist Zoe Greene was so traumatized by a serial killer she put behind bars, she vowed never to ask probing questions again. Now writing for a soap-opera digest, she has become obsessed with soap-star Warren Clark, and doesn’t hesitate to join him for several sexually-satisfying weeks at his home in San Esteban, Mexico. But her best friend Steve Sorenson knows something about the charming tourist town that Zoe doesn’t—the brutally mutilated body of a teenage boy was found there recently, his heart torn from his body. And Steve fears that Zoe is headed straight into danger.
 
From the moment Zoe arrives in San Esteban, things go drastically wrong. Warren disappears for long stretches of time.  Other Americans she meets are hiding strange black crosses and blood-tipped cactus plants in their homes. When more people end up dead, their hearts also torn out, Zoe’s investigative instincts kick in. But even as she follows an ominous trail of clues, Steve’s discoveries suggest that she’s next on the killer’s list, and it may already be too late to save her.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440632198
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/02/2008
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	793,828
File size:	395 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Alison Sloane Gaylin is a Shamus Award–winning and national and international bestselling writer of suspense novels and a journalist who has covered arts and entertainment for many years. She graduated from Northwestern University and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and lives in upstate New York with her husband, daughter, and various pets.

Editorial Reviews

Occult horror meets chick-lit suspense in Gaylin's entertaining if formulaic fourth novel. When investigative journalist Steve Sorenson hears that his best friend, celebrity reporter Zoe Greene, has fallen for soap opera star Warren Clark and is ditching Manhattan for Warren's home in San Esteban, Mexico, Steve is alarmed not just because he's secretly in love with Zoe. Not long before in San Esteban, a town full of expat hippies involved in a longevity cult, Sangre Para La Vida("blood in exchange for life"), a visiting NYU student had his heart ripped out. As Zoe's idyllic romance with Warren unravels in Mexico, certain locals show too much interest in Zoe's blood. Zoe's attendance at a scary SPLV party leads to a breathless finale. Avoiding the standard vampire twist, Gaylin (Trashed) opts for Aztec hoo-doo to keep the action hopping in a tale both shocking and silly about the pursuit of eternal youth and romantic obsession. (Sept.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

Edgar Award nominee Gaylin's fourth thriller (after Trashed) features Zoe Greene, an investigative reporter who has turned to writing for a soap-opera digest after experiencing a too close connection with a serial killer. Zoe becomes involved with soap-opera star Warren Clark, but when her affair is discovered by her employer, she quits her job to follow Warren to his vacation home in Mexico. San Esteban appears to be an idyllic Mexican town, but something feels wrong to Zoe. She soon discovers it is the site of the recent gruesome killing of a male teen, and she is drawn to investigate the death. Zoe hears of an identical crime that took place five years ago, which makes her wonder how closely her new romantic interest is involved. With bloody Aztec rituals and a secret cult thrown into the mix, this suspenseful and edgy thriller is hard to put down. Gaylin's background as a reporter contributes to the authentic feel of Zoe's natural instincts. Recommended for most libraries.
—Susan Hayes

Library Journal