Heart Failure by Richard Mabry

When her fiancé’s dangerous secrets turn her world upside-down, a beautiful doctor must choose between her own safety and the man she loves—and thought she knew.
 
Dr. Carrie Markham’s heart was broken by the death of her husband two years ago. Now, just as her medical practice is taking off, her fresh engagement to paralegal Adam Davidson seems almost too good to be true . . . until a drive-by shooting leaves Carrie on the floor of his car with glass falling around her.
When he confesses that Adam isn’t his real name and that he fled the witness protection program, Carrie is left with an impossible choice: should she abandon the fiancé she isn’t sure she really knows, or accept his claim of innocence and help him fight back against this faceless menace?
While Carrie struggles to decide whether to follow her heart or her head, the threats against them continue to escalate. Her life—as well as Adam’s—depends on making the right choice . . . and the clock is ticking.

My review:
    I have read all of the books Richard Mabry has written. The first few were good, and I enjoyed them, but they were just that: good, in my opinion. As many authors do though, he has been getting better and better with each book he writes. I thought his last book, Stress Test, was outstanding  and then I read this one. Wow. This is one awesome read. I started reading it the day I got it in the mail, and I could not put it down, so I didn't. I read it through from cover to cover in one day, and thoroughly enjoyed every page.

  Some books start out slow and build up slowly to the exciting parts. Not this one. The reader is thrown into the suspense and action on page two, and it doesn't slow down for the whole book.

  As with all of his novels, one of Mabry's main characters in the story is in the medical profession and a lot of the story revolves around a hospital. I like the fact that he puts everything in terms people like me, who have no medical knowledge to speak of, can understand.

  The Witness Protection Program added even more to the suspenseful plot line, and I learned a little more about how it works.

  I thought I had the guilty party narrowed down, only to be wrong. I wasn't extremely surprised at who it was, but still loved the suspenseful climax of the story.

  I don't have stars on my blog, but if I did, this book would easily get five out of five. It could not have been improved upon. It has it all: great and likeable characters, a terrific plot, a lot of suspense, drama, and action, and a great Christian message. Mabry is another author who isn't afraid to put a strong Christian message in his books, and this one was no exception. I would highly recommend this book to any readers who enjoy suspense. It is worth your while.

About the author: (taken from his website at http://rmabry.com/index.htm under the "about me" section)

      In addition to the practice of medicine, my past includes a stint overseas in the US Air Force,

several periods as an interim music minister, and an all-too-brief experience as a semi-pro baseball player. In other words, there’s more to me than “M.D.” covers. Let me share a little about myself.

Education:

      My BA is from the University of North Texas (which was North Texas State University at the time). I graduated with an MD degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, then obtained my specialty training in otolaryngology (that’s “ear, nose, and throat” to most folks) at two major teaching hospitals in Dallas: Parkland and the VA Hospital.

Air Force:

       I served for almost three years as a Captain in the US Air Force at Lajes Field, in the Azores, a Portuguese possession in the middle of the North Atlantic. I’ve forgotten most of the Portuguese I learned there, but will never forget the friendships I made. Because I was involved in saving the life of a little Azorean girl whose airway was obstructed by a coin, I was written up in Stars and Stripes and received the Air Force Commendation medal. When there’s a recognition on Veteran’s Day, I’m proud to stand beside all the others who’ve served.

 Religion: 

      I’ve been a Christian for six decades. For almost forty years, I was a Deacon in the Baptist church, serving as a Sunday school teacher and singing in the choir. After a recent move across the city, I’m proud to be a member of the Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, where I get to hear Dr. Chuck Swindoll preach regularly.

Medicine:

      During the 36 years I spent in medicine, I wrote or edited eight textbooks, authored over a hundred professional papers, and was an invited guest speaker all over the world. I held the presidency or vice-presidency of three professional societies, and was privileged to receive a number of awards and honors. But if you asked my greatest reward in medicine , it would be in seeing patients get better under my care.

 Hobbies:  

      Primarily golfing, usually once a week with the same golf partner for the past ten years or so. We don’t keep score (heresy to purists, I suppose) and we enjoy the fellowship. I’m also a voracious reader, mainly fiction, although I do read non-fiction books.

 

 

Heart Failure is available from Thomas Nelson Publishing.

 

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the review copy.