Product Description

Dean Koontz's compelling and high-concept new thriller is the story of a young man who owes his life to a heart transplant ! but confronts an imminent and far worse death because of whose heart it was. At 34, Ryan Perry never expected to find himself on a waiting list for a heart transplant, with time running out. So when miraculously he receives a new heart and the transplant is a success, he thinks his troubles are over. A year later, he has never felt so good. But then he starts to get mysterious gifts from an unknown person. He has the feeling he is being watched. $100,000 suddenly vanishes from his bank account, donated to the cardiology department of the local hospital. And then comes a terrifying threat: everything he has -- his money, his reputation, his friends, his freedom, and his new heart -- will all be ripped away from him. He is promised a nightmare death. In grave danger, alone with his beating heart and its secrets, can Ryan unlock the mystery of the enemy who threatens his very existence? Prepare for the unexpected in this compelling and fast-paced thriller from the master of suspense.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10368 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Surely an author such as Dean Koontz can afford to relax? After all, every new offering from him always enjoys massive sales, so could it be time to rest on one’s laurels? It’s to Koontz’s credit that he chooses not to do that, and tries to ensure that each new book is subtly different from its predecessor (but not so different that it would alienate his considerable fan base). Your Heart Belongs To Me is close to being vintage Koontz (the title is not romantic, but a piece of macabre wordplay).

Ryan Perry, at 34, is a young man – hardly of an age to be on a waiting list, nervously hoping for a heart transplant. Luck appears to be with him: he is the recipient of a new heart, and (fortunately) the transplant takes, triumphantly. But a year passes, and Ryan begins to receive gifts in the shape of hearts, sent anonymously. A feeling of paranoia sets in – and this feeling is exacerbated when a large amount of money vanishes from his bank account – it has been donated to a local hospital’s cardiology department. Needless to say, all of this is a prelude to something truly horrific: everything he owns – including his new heart – is to be torn from him, and he is informed he will die a grisly death. Who is Ryan’s tormentor?

Readers of Koontz may not know the plot of Your Heart Belongs To Me (the author routinely comes up with fresh ones), but they’ll recognise that cold, unsettling vision that makes his books so grimly compelling. Not subtle writing – we don’t go to Dean Koontz for that – but totally unputdownable. --Barry Forshaw

Review
Praise for Dean Koontz: 'A terrific pursuit story ! clever, up-to-the-minute, and riveting' Guardian 'There's surprise after surprise, including a killer finale ! a read-in-one-go novel' Independent on Sunday 'Velocity hits its pace from the first page and races through to a suitably climactic ending' Sydney Sunday Telegraph 'Dean Koontz is not just a master of our darkest dreams, but also a literary juggler' The Times 'Psychologically complex, masterly and satisfying' The New York Times 'One of the great masters of suspense, Koontz has an undeniable gift for playing on the reader's innermost fears ... What we have come to expect from Koontz are exciting, fast-paced thrillers that make your flesh creep. Once again, he doesn't disappoint' Northern Echo 'A modern Swift ! a master satirist.' Entertainment Weekly 'If Stephen King is the Rolling Stones of novels, Koontz is the Beatles.' Playboy 'Dean Koontz writes page-turners, middle-of-the-night sneak-up-behind-you suspense thrillers. He touches our hearts and tingles our spines.' Washington Post Book World 'Tumbling, hallucinogenic prose. Serious writers might do well to study his technique.' New York Times Book Review 'Fast-paced and dark ! Koontz knows we live in a world where evil delights in justifying itself ! Classic literature that deserves a place on the bookshelf beside Orwell's 1984 and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.' California Literary Review 'Koontz is writing right where popular culture swells into something larger, just as it did for Homer, Shakespeare, and Dickens. He's got the gift.' Australian 'Koontz is a superb plotter and wordsmith. He chronicles the hopes and fears of our time in broad strokes and fine detail, using popular fiction to explore the human condition' USA Today 'Inspires both chills and serious thought ! has the power to scare the daylights out of us' People 'The poet laureate of paranoid pop fiction' Denver Post 'Koontz achieves a literary miracle ! stunning physical description, unique turns of phrase' Boston Globe 'Near Dickensian powers of description' Los Angeles Times

About the Author
Dean Koontz is an international household name whose hugely entertaining parables for our times have been bestsellers in many countries, selling seventeen million copies each year. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, he lives with his wife Gerda, their dog Anna, and the enduring spirit of their dog Trixie in southern California.

Customer Reviews

Oh Dear Mr Koontz
I, like many of the reviewers here, am an avid Dean Koontz reader, and was really looking forward to reading Your heart belongs to me. Unfortunately, I was very dissappointed.
Dean Koontz for me is brilliant in his simplistic style of writing, getting straight to the point and grabbing your attention. Admittedly, the endings of his books can fall flat, but apart from that they are all round entertaining reading. Unlike Stephen King (who I think is also brilliant) who seems to fall into literary floods at times and complicates a simple situation with the over use of wording.
However, YHBTM just didn't do anything for me on this occasion, I actually willed myself to read it, thinking that at some point it will pick up - sadly, it didn't.
I felt no connection with the main character and actually did not care if he lived or died from his heart transplant. I always think that using main characters who are multi millionaires never really appeals to the general public(unless they are being bumped off in an extremely nasty fashion of course!) especially this guy as he is just unlikeable. I found myself thinking this character has all the money in the world and has had a life that most people would never have lived - now kill him!
Sorry to say but it is a real let down. Dean Koontz is still one of my favourite writers and true enough people have bad days. Sorry but give this one a miss!

More Rubbish from a once good author
This book is even worse than The Darkest Evening... and I thought that was Koontz's worst book to date.
Part 1 is tediously slow. Part 2 picks it up ever so slightly. Part 3 leaves you thinking, "Is that it?, what a waste of time!"
Now don't get me wrong, i'm actually a Koontz fan, have read all of his books but lately he has been delivering some garbage...take for instance the "hero" of the present book reflecting..
" Las Vegas offered him nothing more than a games of chance. Already he was in a game with the highest possible stakes, and neither craps nor blackjack, nor baccarat, could distract him from the knowledge that his life was on the line."
What an awful line, cringeworthy. Same goes of the book, don't waste your time, if you are new to Koontz, read some of his older books instead like Dragon Tears or Mr Murder, Ticktock, Wintermoon or even some of his recent ones like the Odd Thomas series or Velocity, The Good Guy and definitely Frankenstein 1 and 2. As for me I'm just waiting for Franky 3 which I'm sure wont disappoint.

Not His Best But Good!
This is a fairly brisk lightweight story. Its split in 2 with the first half being our hero Ryan, taken ill, diagnosed with a heart condition and the treatment. Paranoia creeps in and he believes anyone and everyone could be responsible for him being in this condition.

In the second half of the book he has made a full recovery following the heart transplant but someones starts leaving strange messages in his seemingly impregnable house basically telling him that they want the heart back. At first the thought is that it may be all in his mind but all becomes clearer later.

Theres not a lot of time spent building up the tension in the second half but its still entertaining enough and unlike some of Koontzs books I found the explanation quite satisfying although the final chapter/ epilogue is as corny as Ive come to expect from him with the obligatory Golden Retriever making an appearence.
At 336 large print pages its a book that could be read in one sitting if you have a couple of hours to spare