JUST TAKE MY HEART (Mary Higgins Clark)

The quality of Mary Higgins Clark's novels has been somewhat inconsistent. She went through a period a few years ago where her thrillers were less than thrilling, but since then I have enjoyed her books. Just Take My Heart is intriguing in many ways. The main character, Emily Wallace, is a sympathetically drawn attorney who is assigned to prosecute Gregg Aldrich, a successful agent who is accused of murdering his estranged wife, actress Natalie Raines. Emily is a widow (her husband was killed in Iraq) and a survivor of major surgery. Aldrich maintains his innocence throughout his trial despite the testimony of Jimmy Easton, a small-time crook who has made a deal in exchange for testifying against him. There are some interesting twists in this story, some predictable, others, not so much. Overall, you won't be disappointed with this novel if you are looking for decent, clean (i.e. not drenched in blood, foul language, or sexual situations) suspense. The sub-plot involving Emily's neighbor adds another layer of intrigue that will leave you taking extra notice of any strange neighbors on your block!