Book Review: Your Heart Belongs to Me

Dean Koontz does a wonderful job developing the newest thriller and wastes no time in grabbing your attention in Your Heart Belongs to Me. The story starts out with a brilliant young man, Ryan Perry who finds himself fighting for his very existence in a battle that starts within his chest. The young Internet entrepreneur has the world in his pocket until the first troubling symptoms appear while surfing the waves at Newport Beach. Within days, he is diagnosed with an incurable heart ailment and finds himself on the waiting list for a heart transplant. After a diagnosis from his cardiologist, he switches to a more reputable doctor in Beverly Hills. As his condition deteriorates, reluctantly a heart is found that is a perfect match for Ryan.

One year later, he has never felt better. His heart has been replaced without complication, business is flourishing and he hopes to renew his relationship with his girlfriend Samantha. Out of nowhere, unmarked gifts begin to appear at his house, a box of Valentine candy hearts, a heart pendant, and most disturbing of all, a graphic heart surgery video on his security camera with the chilling message: Your heart belongs to me.

Your Heart Belongs to Me fits nicely with books such as The Husband, The Darkest Evening of the Year, The Good Guy, and The Taking; stories that deal with psychological suspense, running at one hundred miles an hour, a real page-turner that keeps you up all night. Don’t forget the bad dreams that follow while reading one of these books. They are nail-biting and relentlessly suspenseful. Your Heart is no exception.

However dark as this novel is (and this is one dark book) there is some sense that even when the worst is upon us, there is also a sense that life goes on and something can be made of the fallen pieces. Happily ever after comes to mind, but only after reading the final paragraph. Many of these favorite Koontz books often have deep and intensely loving relationships that sustain them through the horrors they face. Don’t rule out this latest book as I highly recommend it in my library. I anticipate The Other Side of the Woods come spring.