A wacky adventure that stretches incredulity, Heart Seizure by Bill Fitzhugh would be wonderful for fans of Tim Dorsey or Carl Hiaasen. The campy tone is foreshadowed by a table of contents that all contains references to songs with “heart” in the title. Fitzhugh plies the “racing against time” device to crank up the tension and give the reader the feeling of escalating chaos. The cast of characters bloom into an almost unmanageable number, but the main protagonist in the novel is Spence Tailor. His mother, Rose has been on a long list for a heart transplant and has finally reached the top. Her sons go with her to prepare for the procedure when an unexpected event occurs—placing her claim to the donated heart in jeopardy. Spencer decides he must prevent his mother’s heart from being hijacked. He impulsively steals and flees with the organ. Then, he drags his mother and brother on a desperate search for a surgeon who will agree to do the transplant. Along the way, they pick up a motley crew of kidnap victims that include a doctor, several representatives of US Intelligence, and innocent bystanders. Heart Seizure is definite a classic caper, slapstick and ludicrous from beginning to end. As the reader is carried along by the quest, they must discard skepticism, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Thanks to the author, William Morrow Books and Edelweiss for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. ( )

Another hilarious book by Fitzhugh. Fight over a heart transplant between "rightful" owner, the U.S. president (via his staff), and his election opponent. ( )

A heart seizing good time.

Summary:

All Spencer wants is what most people want. A job that pays the bills, the appreciation of his peers, and someone to share it with. What he has is a one man law firm fighting the good fight against the big corporations and corrupt hospitals that try to deny patients life saving surgeries and treatments. While being a lawyer may pay well, it only does that if the lawyer is charging and Spence doesn’t always have the heart to charge the people that end up in his office. So there goes one and two. The third part is just best not talked about.

Something else that Spence desperately wants is for his ailing mother to receive a new heart. Out of the blue Spence’s prayers are answered and a heart become available that is a good match for his mother. After a previous false alarm Spence knows better than to get his hopes up but this appears to be the real deal. Of course there is a problem, but it is not one of Spence’s making.

The problem comes in the form of a president who suffered a “fainting” spell while out campaigning for his reelection bid. In reality the president has suffered a heart attack and he is neck to neck in the polls and whether or not he will make it to election day without a new ticker to pull him through. It turns out though that a match has just become available that was supposed to go to a certain old lady currently being prepped for transplant surgery.

At least that’s what Spence thought and when a crooked government agent takes his mom’s heart from the operating room for a quick transport to the president’s chest, Spencer does what any loving son would do. He takes the heart back, loads up his mother into his pickup truck and take off on a crazy road trip to save his mother’s life and give her the new she has been waiting for.

Along the way Spencer picks up a diverse crew of… er “volunteers” that include his unwilling and occasionally unwitting brother, the transplant doctor that refused to the let the heart go without a fight, a motorcycle police officer that had a sudden “revelation” about his self, a punk rock skater dude and whole other cast supporting characters that are trying to hinder, help or just get out of his way as Spence makes his way to his goal.
My Thoughts:

This is a great book to pickup when you are looking for a laugh. I’ve read a couple of other books by this author, Pest Control and Organ Grinders, and each new book continues to be as good as the last. This book continues that streak as the story moves at good pace and there were several laugh out loud moments in the story. The characters are memorable for the most part and only a couple are one note. If your looking for a good laugh give this one a look. ( )