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Customer Reviews for David C. Cook A Heartbeat Away
David C. Cook A Heartbeat Away
Brilliant surgeon Tori Taylor now finds herself on the other side of the operating table. After she nearly dies, a heart transplant saves her life---and sparks disturbing memories she can't explain. Why is she remembering a murder she never witnessed? Her search for answers takes her down a dark and dangerous road. Will she discover the truth? 384 pages, softcover from Cook.
Average Customer Rating:
(12 Reviews) 12
Rating Snapshot (12 reviews)
5 stars
9
4 stars
3
3 stars
0
2 stars
0
1 star
0
12 out of 12100%customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for A Heartbeat Away
Review 1 for A Heartbeat Away
Overall Rating:
A Great Suspense Novel
Date:January 20, 2013
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
This is a very well written suspense novel. It is in the medical field but the writer has made the language very simple to understand. The story moves quickly and will keep you interested from the first page. I gave this book 5/5 stars. It is an excellent story. The Christian aspect comes into play but is not over the top. I liked the characters and thought they were believable. The setting really helps in making the suspense in the story intriguing. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a Christian suspense novel.
I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.
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Review 2 for A Heartbeat Away
Overall Rating:
Very good mystery
Date:December 19, 2012
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I shared this book with a friend who read until after midnight. That says how good it is. I hope Harry Kraus keeps writing this kind of book.
I have been a Harry Kraus fan for several years . In one review it was said that this is his best one yet. I agree.
I have been a Harry Kraus fan for several years . In one review it was said that this is his best one yet. I agree.
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Review 3 for A Heartbeat Away
Overall Rating:
A Brilliant Medical Thriller
Date:December 10, 2012
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Harry Kraus in his new book, “A Heartbeat Away book coverA Heartbeat Away” published by David C Cook brings us into the life of Dr. Tori Taylor.
From the back cover: Haunted by memories of a murder she never witnessed
Dr. Tori Taylor rules the operating room with a cold precision that makes nurses cower and her colleagues take notes. But even with her success as a respected surgeon, Tori finds herself alone in her moment of desperation—dying on her own operating table.
Tori needs a heart transplant, but what she receives is far more than just a donor organ. Lying loveless and friendless in the recovery room, Tori experiences flashes of terrifying events she never witnessed. Soon she leaves her controlled world and starts investigating a homicide only she believes happened. Is she hallucinating? Or will someone believe her in time to stop a murderer from killing again?
Dr. Tori Taylor rules the operating room with a cold precision that makes nurses cower and her colleagues take notes. But even with her success as a respected surgeon, Tori finds herself alone in her moment of desperation—dying on her own operating table.
Tori needs a heart transplant, but what she receives is far more than just a donor organ. Lying loveless and friendless in the recovery room, Tori experiences flashes of terrifying events she never witnessed. Soon she leaves her controlled world and starts investigating a homicide only she believes happened. Is she hallucinating? Or will someone believe her in time to stop a murderer from killing again?
Ever heard the expression, “the heart remembers”? Well it seems that medical science has discovered that this is true. The doctors have found memory engrams in the heart similar to those found in the brain, where we normally think of memory. This only goes to prove the Bible is accurate when it tells us, “guard your heart.” Dr. Kraus has given us a page flipping thriller that is ripped from the current medical journals and added in an intense search for a murderer. The character of Dr. Taylor is so well written. First she starts off as a cold controlling person withdrawn from humanity but with the heart transplant she softens as she learns that God has taken from her old heart of stone and given her a new one of flesh. ”A Heartbeat Away” is a very exciting adventure that kept my attention all the way until the end. I recommend it highly.
If you missed the interview for “The Six-Liter Club”, a different story from Dr. Kraus, and would like to listen to it and/or interviews with other authors and professionals please go to Kingdom Highlights where they are available On Demand.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from David C Cook. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Review 4 for A Heartbeat Away
Overall Rating:
COMPELLING AND THOUGHT PROVOKING...
Date:November 15, 2012
A HEARTBEAT AWAY by Harry Kraus,MD is an emotional inspirational suspense. What a roller coaster of a ride. Follow Dr. Tori Taylor on her new chaotic life after having a heart transplant and finding herself with her donor's memories. Filled with suspense, a murder investigation,cancer,faith,transplants,and a few twists and turns you won't see coming. Once again, Dr. Kraus has written a medical plot that is thought provoking,compelling,and emotional with engaging characters,full of strength and heart. A must read for anyone who enjoys suspense,inspirational stories,mystery,and medical plots.Received for an honest review from the publisher and Wynn-Wynn Media. Details can be found at the author's website, David C. Cook and My Book Addiction and More.
RATING: 4.5
HEAT RATING: SWEET
REVIEWED BY: AprilR, My Book Addiction and More/My Book Addiction Reviews
RATING: 4.5
HEAT RATING: SWEET
REVIEWED BY: AprilR, My Book Addiction and More/My Book Addiction Reviews
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Review 5 for A Heartbeat Away
Overall Rating:
Exciting!
Date:October 18, 2012
Book Nut
Location:Milan, Mi
Age:Over 65
Gender:female
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I enjoy a good medical thriller. This did not disappoint!
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Review 6 for A Heartbeat Away
Overall Rating:
Medical Suspense
Date:September 27, 2012
Harry Kraus has done it again! I quickly became engrossed in this medical-suspense tale. Imagine: a patient receives a heart transplant with a bonus. That bonus seems to be the memories of the organ donor, along with clues to a murder!
Tori Taylor, a surgeon with the reputation of a demanding perfectionist, finds her personality being adjusted while recovering from her heart transplant surgery. I'd love to tell more, but I won't ruin it. Run and buy a copy of this page-turner! You won't be disappointed.
Thank you to Bonnie at Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and David C. Cook for my copy.
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Review 7 for A Heartbeat Away
Overall Rating:
4.5 stars!
Date:September 21, 2012
After reading the blurb on the back cover of Harry Kraus’s latest release, I wasn’t sure what to think. I mean, the idea of a transplant recipient receiving memories from their donor? Weird! I wasn’t sure what to think or if I would even like the book. After reading it, though, I still think the idea of transplanted memories is bizarre, but Harry Kraus’s A Heartbeat Away was incredible!
The book was intriguing from the very start. A surgeon about to undergo a heart transplant, the nurses and hospital staff obviously holding grudges against her, and the running internal commentary of the main character was great! Kraus writes with such detail, and his surgical background gives us as readers a unique perspective on the medical aspects of the story.
While I didn’t fall in love with Tori right off the bat, I definitely came around by the end. I loved how her heart transplant not only affected her physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. Phin was a great character as well! And their chemistry was perfect. I loved that we got to see some of Phin’s struggle as well.
The suspense was intense at times and moved along at a great pace. Fast enough to give me a thrill, while allowing time for other story lines to get their due as well. At times there was so much going on that I wasn’t sure how it would all resolve, but Krauss brought it around to a conclusion at just the right time, and I was even surprised by part of the ending. :)
This was a great blend of suspense, romance, and so much more. I can’t believe I’ve not read Harry Kraus before now, but I will definitely be reading more of his work in the future! [4.5 stars]
I received a free copy of this book from David C. Cook and CFBA in exchange for my fair and honest review.
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Review 8 for A Heartbeat Away
Overall Rating:
A great medical suspense thriller!
Date:September 17, 2012
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Oncology surgeon, Victoria "Tori" Taylor is a well-known for her ability to deal with the issues surrounding her patients. She is precise, methodical, and is successful most of the time. But it is her bedside manner and interpersonal relationships that lack the warm that should be present when dealing with her co-workers and patients. It's that arrogance of being great at what she does that have turned most of her co-workers against her. She is hated by the majority of the nursing staff, her interns cringe when they know they are assigned to follow her on rounds because in her eyes, they will never measure up to her perfect standards. Tori Taylor makes Dr. House look weak.
When fate deals Tori the worst hand possible, she is about to see things from a completely different side of the medical field, when a complication from a virus causes her own heart to fail and requires her to face a heart transplant if she wants to live. Now as she has to deal with those same nurses and staff in her own hospital, she begins to wonder if her own life is worth saving after all. When she wakes up in recovery, she learns how close to death she actually came and learns that she is being placed on a three month administrative leave and has to receive counseling before possibly returning to work. Seems like personnel at the hospital has received quite a few complaints regarding her actions from fellow employees and unless she agrees to change, she will be out of a job.
However, bad news from her employer isn't the only thing on Tori's mind when she awakens from her surgery. She know has memories from a horrible fire, a young women with green eyes and a heart tattoo telling her to remember the numbers 316 as they will be required to punish the men who did this to her. She must remember. Tori wonders just where the memories are coming from and begins to notice more changes in her own life as well. She is now more emotionally connected than ever before, she cries where she didn't feel any emotion to anything before, she is also acutely aware of peoples lives and can sense trouble in their lives without them telling her anything. Is it possible that the person who donated their heart to save hers, has some how transferred their memories along with their heart?
In the novel, A Heartbeat Away by Harry Kraus, MD, the reader is taken into a medical suspense thriller that begins to slow unwind over the course of the novel. Since Harry Kraus is a doctor, his attention to detail allows to reader to immediately get a feel for all the medical procedures that Tori is experiencing without going over the readers head. This makes the novel all the more enjoyable to experience while dealing with cellular memory, the hearts ability to capture memories and retain them, thus transferring a portion of their lives into the heart transplant recipient. But apparently it now puts Tori's life into danger as she works with Phin MacGrath, her counselor to discover who her donor was and what really happened to them.
I received A Heartbeat Away compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, David C Cook, and Net Galley for my honest review and have to say, I really enjoyed this one. I didn't quite know where it was headed but I was committed for the entire ride. I rate this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars and this is my second book from Harry Kraus that I have completely enjoyed and recommend to those of you looking for a great medical suspense thriller with a twist!
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Review 9 for A Heartbeat Away
Overall Rating:
Oh I'm hooked...
Date:September 15, 2012
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I’m hooked.
I almost didn’t request this title when it came up for review, but something about the plot had me coming back…and let me just say now: in absolutely no way was I disappointed.
In a brand new novel straight from the pen of a medical doctor, comes the thrills of a mystery centered around a woman’s new heart transplant…and the memories that have arrived with it.
The style in which this novel was written was different for me. I almost expected it to keep me, as the reader, at a distance, but instead I had the exact opposite invitation. The characters are fascinating, the plot gripping and the twines of mystery that braid the story together kept me turning pages as quickly as I could read.
I fully expected to dislike the heroine Tori, every other character in the book did, so why should I? But she quickly became the character to love. When strange and mysterious things start happening to her, each one ties into the plot in a larger manner, until I was so taken with solving this mystery I didn’t want to stop reading.
I fully expected to dislike the heroine Tori, every other character in the book did, so why should I? But she quickly became the character to love. When strange and mysterious things start happening to her, each one ties into the plot in a larger manner, until I was so taken with solving this mystery I didn’t want to stop reading.
There wasn’t a single angle of the story I didn’t enjoy. A taste of romance…more than layer of well thought out suspense and characters that ultimately change…combinations of a great novel.
I’m a new fan. Can’t say it better than this: hooked.
This review is my honest opinion. My copy was a free ebook as the review copy from the publishers didn’t happen to arrive in time and I was too eager to wait. ;-)
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Review 10 for A Heartbeat Away
Overall Rating:
Getting a heart transplant and a new "heart"!
Date:October 24, 2012
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
4
out of
5
My first impression of this book was one of piqued interest due to the field of medicine and, particularly of heart surgery. The main character is portrayed as a pure scientist/surgeon who is easy to hate! She seems heartless which is an interesting play on words as she requires a heart transplant early in the story.
That heart transplant opens an entirely new theme of cellular memory and its validity within the "heart" and mind of the heart recipient. Dr. Taylor, unsaved and uncaring, begins to develop compassionate thoughts and a yearning for spiritual insight.
The story bounces back and forth between the donor's past life and Dr. Taylor's present life and requires earnest attention to keep the story lines/characters straight. But the overarching theme of receiving a new heart to replace our old heart of stone at salvation is beautifully portrayed in the context of modern medicine.
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Review 11 for A Heartbeat Away
Overall Rating:
Riveting
Date:October 14, 2012
B Mace
Location:Cable, WI
Age:55-65
Gender:female
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Riveting is the first thought that comes to mind. The author did a wonderful job of combining several subplots all woven together in such a manner that made it difficult to put down. The various medical references increased the interest. Does cellular memory exist? This story certainly puts forth a valid argument in favor of it!
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Review 12 for A Heartbeat Away
Overall Rating:
Excellent Suspense, Engaging Story!
Date:August 12, 2012
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Tori Taylor is an accomplished surgical oncologist, at the top of her game and climbing the professional ladder. Only two things stand in her way: a virus that has substantially weakened her heart, and the staff that she has belittled and criticized in her pursuit of perfection. Now, that same staff is in charge of her own surgery and rehabilitation as she undergoes a heart transplant in the very hospital in which she has previously been untouchable. Once the new heart is in place, Tori begins to change. She has nightmares about things that aren't from her own memories, she cries more, and she has compassion for the people around her. The new Tori wants to understand where these changes came from; whose heart was this before it became hers? Has the new heart changed her? Or has God used the experience to change Tori? As Tori seeks answers, she may find more than she bargained for, and not everyone is happy that she's searching.
This was a fantastically written book. The suspense kept me guessing, but never with blind turns to throw me off course. Information was revealed in a logical way, where I never felt that things were being intentionally hidden; instead, I learned things as the characters discovered them. Even with three stories unfolding simultaneously, I was enthralled with every character in the book. Each time the point of view shifted, I was eager to find out more about that aspect of the story, and I couldn't wait for them to all come together. I know that the science vs. religion conflict is a big one in the medical community, and Tori's initial doubts and inner debates felt very real, as well as her eventual realization that even science requires faith.
A Heartbeat Away is one of the best books I've read recently, and I debated between giving it 4 stars or 5. In the end I give it 4 stars, but it's probably closer to a 4.5. I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a well-written suspense novel, or even to try it if you don't usually!
I have read several of Harry Krause, M.D.'s novels and have enjoyed all of them. This is another author from whom I keep an eye out for new releases. Reading the "Getting to know Harry" section at the book only made me appreciate him and his writing more. I hope you'll try one of his books!
I received this book for free from David C. Cook publishers via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
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