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A Willows and Parker Mystery #8
Heartbreaker
A day that begins with a petty thief breaking into their off-duty police car and ends with the murder of real-estate agent Zagors Galee sends detectives Willows and Parker on a search for a gorgeous beach bunny named Bo with some "business associates" who will do anything to find her first.
- GenresMystery
272 pages, Hardcover
First published October 21, 1995
About the author
Laurence Gough
34 books8 followersLaurence Gough, who lives with his wife and two children in Vancouver, has written twelve Willows and Parker mysteries: The Goldfish Bowl, winner of an Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel from the Crime Writers of Canada; Death on a No. 8 Hook; Hot Shots, winner of an Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year; Serious Crimes; Accidental Deaths; Fall Down Easy; Killers; Heartbreaker; Memory Lane; Karaoke Rap; Shutterbug; and Funny Money. His international thriller, Sandstorm, won the Author Award (fiction) from the Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Letters in 1991.
Series:
* Willows & Parker
Series:
* Willows & Parker
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 29, 2016
Another fun read from Laurence Gough about his ace detective team of Willows and Parker whose working partnership has developed into a serious relationship outside of work.
As with earlier books the chapters are alternatively divided between the cops and the crooks. It is not that each receive equal time but that their stories are enriched with comic situations and the characterisations are a delight to read and follow into a collision with law enforcement.
Set in Vancouver many of the set pieces which involve driving across the city are so detailed you could even follow then on a map.
Although a police procedural the novels have become a social commentary on petty crime and homicide detectives at work and play. Written with humour and bringing a smile to its readers the author reveals the dark side of crime with lighter moments of incompetence and human error.
Can be read as a standalone book, but part of a terrific series that shows excellent character growth and a unique approach to crime writing.
Warmly recommended especially to breakaway from a range blander similiar crime mysteries that repeat the latest in vogue best seller.
As with earlier books the chapters are alternatively divided between the cops and the crooks. It is not that each receive equal time but that their stories are enriched with comic situations and the characterisations are a delight to read and follow into a collision with law enforcement.
Set in Vancouver many of the set pieces which involve driving across the city are so detailed you could even follow then on a map.
Although a police procedural the novels have become a social commentary on petty crime and homicide detectives at work and play. Written with humour and bringing a smile to its readers the author reveals the dark side of crime with lighter moments of incompetence and human error.
Can be read as a standalone book, but part of a terrific series that shows excellent character growth and a unique approach to crime writing.
Warmly recommended especially to breakaway from a range blander similiar crime mysteries that repeat the latest in vogue best seller.
July 14, 2026
I rarely give one star to a book but this one really deserves it, I think.
I bought a box set of Willows and Parker mysteries 8-13 thinking it was a bargain at $0.98, and before taking a plunge I plonked down additional $0.62 to read the first in the series, which proved to be an OK read and gave me the necessary context. Then I started the eighth book (this one), expecting a story of a now evolved team of murder detectives chasing cunning perpetrator(s) or something like that. How wrong I was!
Warning: Spoiler (sort of) ahead.
This book is more about a shallow, obnoxious, lightweight criminal who doesn’t deserve anyone’s sympathy, than about the detective duo who are supposed to be the protagonists of the series. The author gives this small-time villain an inordinate amount of pages, describing his trivial (and actually despicable) behaviors in sickening detail and glorifying him as a de facto hero. The detective duo do their tangential song and dance but they do not solve the murder mystery: it solves itself.
I regret the hours I spent reading this book, and I had to vent my frustration somehow. I’m reminding myself to give this series a wide berth.
I bought a box set of Willows and Parker mysteries 8-13 thinking it was a bargain at $0.98, and before taking a plunge I plonked down additional $0.62 to read the first in the series, which proved to be an OK read and gave me the necessary context. Then I started the eighth book (this one), expecting a story of a now evolved team of murder detectives chasing cunning perpetrator(s) or something like that. How wrong I was!
Warning: Spoiler (sort of) ahead.
This book is more about a shallow, obnoxious, lightweight criminal who doesn’t deserve anyone’s sympathy, than about the detective duo who are supposed to be the protagonists of the series. The author gives this small-time villain an inordinate amount of pages, describing his trivial (and actually despicable) behaviors in sickening detail and glorifying him as a de facto hero. The detective duo do their tangential song and dance but they do not solve the murder mystery: it solves itself.
I regret the hours I spent reading this book, and I had to vent my frustration somehow. I’m reminding myself to give this series a wide berth.
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March 24, 2023Not in library
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews