In a Heartbeat

January 1, 2004
It does not give away the story to say that John's "In a Heartbeat, "the first in a series with the same title, is about a widow, Rachel Goldberg, who must come to terms with the death of her firefighter husband Vic's death "in a heartbeat." Vic's death and Rachel's grief are handled with great dignity and quiet passion, but the true story is of their strong marriage. Lately that marriage had been under stress because of infertility issues, and these carry beyond Vic's death in surprising ways that will gratify John's many readers and perhaps reassure them following the harsh dose of realism at the novel's center. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)