The Heartbreaker A Novel

Deftly combining the sacred and the profanethe unmistakable hallmark of her fiction over the past decadeSusan Howatch gives us a spellbinding, suspenseful and psychologically intense new novel. The financial heart of Londonthe Cityis an adrenaline-charged square mile deep in recession in the 1990s, a place where sex is just another commodity to be bought and sold in the marketplace. And the City is where the life of Gavin Blake, who sells sex to high flyers, is finally about to unravel. In the center of the City is St. Benet's, a church that ministers to the casualties of this affluent but amoral society. Carta Graham, the St. Benet's fundraiser, is at once attracted to Gavin when they meet through a mutual friend, but slowly she realizes that she has entered a relationship far more complex than she could ever have imagined. Gavin is desperate to escape from his world of prostitution, pornography and violence, but as his involvement with Carta and St. Benet's deepens, the dangers that encircle him escalate until his life itself is on the line. Carta is determined to help himbut will their mysterious journey together be lifesaving or soul-destroying? All she can do is fight her hardest to help Gavin survive. Consistently surprising and powerfully moving,The Heartbreakeris Susan Howatch's most gripping novel yet. From the Hardcover edition.

Susan Howatch was born in Surrey. After getting a degree in law, she emigrated to America where she married, had a daughter and embarked on a career as a writer. When she eventually left the United States, she lived in the Republic of Ireland for four years before returning to England. She spent time in Salisbury—which was the inspiration for her Starbridge sequence of novels—and now lives in London.


From the Hardcover edition.