The Touch

July 25, 2011
A gifted young surgeon and a genius biomedical engineer rendezvous in this novel about love, loss, and new beginnings. Andrew Jones has everything going for himâthat is, until his fiancé is unexpectedly killed right before his eyes. Unable to continue as a doctor, Jones resigns himself to teaching until Lara Blair accosts him and asks if he'd be willing to run a trial of an innovative new medical technology device. As the lives of the two begin to intersect in surprising ways, Jones must decide if he can let go of his demons and Blair must choose to open herself up to God. Wallace, screenwriter for the film Braveheart and director of Secretariat, writes a cinematic novel that touches on themes of mortality, grief, and hope. While the book is a bit dry and the characters' personalities are rather muffled, readers who enjoy storytelling with a strong moral lesson may well be pleased with Wallace's first novel.

Starred review from September 1, 2011
Andrew Jones is a gifted surgeon. Some even claim that God has given him the Touch, a special gift for healing. Clearly, he has a brilliant career ahead of him, and he has just married Faith, his beautiful soul mate. Then the unthinkable happens. Andrew and Faith are in a terrible car crash, and she doesn't make it. Unable to save the person he loves most, Andrew lays down his scalpel, refusing to operate ever again, although he works endless shifts at the hospital, helping wherever he's needed. Lara Blair is a wealthy, accomplished surgeon who has inherited a biomedical engineering company and designed a robotic machine that can operate on the brain with far more precision than any human. But it must follow the movements of a surgeon who models the process. Lara is talented, but she has a secret, and she is desperate to find a surgeon whose skills surpass hers. Andrew may be her last chance. Wallace, who wrote the script for the Academy Awardwinning Braveheart, has created a novel about one man's pain and his eventual redemption that is so realistic readers are sure to respond to its overwhelming emotional pull.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)