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| Heart of the World (Carlotta Carlyle Mysteries) | 
 enlarge | Author: Linda Barnes
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 190785
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.5 x 4.2 x 1
ISBN: 0312362730
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780312362737
ASIN: 0312362730
Publication Date: May 29, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: First Edition.GOOD with average wear. We ship quickly and work hard to earn your confidence. Orders are generally shipped no later than next business day. We offer a no hassle guarantee on all our items.
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Product Description
SHE’LL GO TO THE END OF THE EARTH
When private investigator Carlotta Carlyle learns that Paolina, the teenaged “little sister” she’s been mentoring for years, has gone missing, she immediately starts combing the streets of Boston to find her. Paolina’s indifferent mother, Marta, insists that the girl has run away…but as days pass without word, Carlotta suspects something sinister. Frantically searching for a lead, Carlotta uncovers clues pointing to Paolina’s biological father, a notorious Colombian drug lord named Roldan.
TO FIND THE TRUTH….
Though Roldan is believed dead, Carlotta is convinced he’s very much alive—and that he has abducted Paolina. Searching for answers will take Carlotta from sultry Miami to the Colombian jungle. With each shocking twist, Carlotta is drawn deeper into a labyrinth of conspiracies and corruption…and deeper into the most personal, most treacherous case of her career.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 Series' Absolute Best May 12, 2006
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
For those who follow Linda Barnes' delightful Carlotta Carlyle series, be prepared to be blown away by this latest, absolutely brilliant, entry in the series. It truly marks a step up in talent, plotting, suspense and mystery, and is a page-turner from start to finish.
As fans of the series know, Carlotta has a "little sister," a hispanic girl named Paolina whom Carlotta befriended as a "big sister" when the child was 7. Through the years, their relationship has deepened, and now Paolina is in her very difficult early teen years--and a brat. But Carlotta loves her as much as her own child, and herein lies the plot of "Heart of the World."
Paolina is missing. Did she run away? Was she kidnapped? Did she meet with foul play? Carlotta is frantic, and can get very little information from Paolina's embittered mother, Marta. Obsessed with Paolina's safety, Carlotta pulls out the stops to find her--dead or alive. Her search takes her to the dangerous jungles of Colombia, where Paolina's birth father, a famous drug lord supposedly killed in a plane crash, holds the only possible key to the mystery.
Carlotta puts her own life on the line in a big way as she tries to unravel secret after secret, involving the Colombian government, clandestine American operations, underground business dealings with U.S. corporations, and various guerilla factions--all of whom seem to want her dead. The suspense keeps growing on every page, as the reader joins Carlotta in the steamy jungles with danger at every turn.
The ending is a cliff hanger, and a good one--and left this reader absolutely desperate for the next in the series. That's how good this book is...recommended not only for Carlotta fans, but for new readers as well. This book can stand alone.
A wonderful heroine July 7, 2006
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
This was my first book in Linda Barnes' Carlotta Carlyle series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Carlotta is similar in ways to Stephanie Plum. In this book she follows her "little sister" Paolina to Colombia where she believes Paolina's Father may have taken her following Paolina's disappearance from Boston. I was totally taken in by Carlotta's adventures and the unravelling of mysteries. I look forward to Linda Barnes' next book to see what happens to some of the enticing characters she introduces us to.
A Tale of Love and Loyalty July 16, 2006
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
P.I. Carlotta Carlyle doesn't have a family, so she hangs close to those she calls friends and one person she's been very close to is her sort of adopted little sister Paolina. Paolina's got a mother who, well let's just say Mom has other things on her mind than raising her children, like men and good times. Carlotta has done everything she can to replace the love and affection the girl doesn't get at home. However, Paolina has grown up, she's a teenager now and she wants to meet the father she's never know. He's a Colombian drug lord.
When Paolina's mother calls Carlotta and tells her that her daughter has disappeared, Carlotta at first assumes she's run off with her boyfriend. Then it appears that maybe she's with some people who are taking her to her father. Carlotta is, of course, worried about the child's safety and this is going to propel her into the means streets of crime fueled by drugs to the jungles of Colombia in this tale of love and loyalty. As I said, Carlotta hangs close to those she calls friends.
This book is well into the series, but you can pick it up and start fresh even if you haven't read any of the books by Ms. Barnes. From the streets of Boston to the Colombian jungle, from her life of safety to her kidnapping by Paolina's father, you won't be able to put down this book. It'll grab you by the seat of the pants on Page One and keep you there right up to the end.
Bravo for Linda Barnes! June 7, 2006
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
While I've always liked Carlotta Carlyle as a character, the plots of the mysteries often leave something to be desired. There's usually a wonderful local color of beloved Beantown and crummy areas of Cambridge that make the stories enough fun to keep me coming back.
But with Heart of the World, Ms. Barnes arrives as a mystery writer. It was a great and pleasant surprise that left me hungry for more books in this rich vein.
Paolina has been Carlotta's "little sister" for many years. In this role, Carlotta makes up for the baby she gave away for adoption at 14, and Paolina benefits from having a caring adult nurturing her. Paolina's mother is more interested in finding a new boyfriend than in being a reliable mother. Paolina's father is a remote if significant presence in her life through his involvement with Colombian politics and drugs.
All this goes terribly wrong when Paolina's mom discovers that Paolina isn't with Carlotta after Paolina disappears. From there, it's a Paolina hunt for Carlotta to locate Paolina before something terrible happens to her. Narrators alternate as we also follow what's happening to Paolina. That story-telling device works extremely well in the story to heighten out anxiety and to provide relief from more of Carlotta obsessing on her own.
Carlotta is soon convinced that Paolina's been kidnapped . . . but isn't sure by whom? Is it her father? Is it an enemy? Is the kidnapping related to her boyfriend, Sam Gianetti, and his mob connections?
The story becomes even more intriguing as Mooney becomes extremely determined to help, making Carlotta wonder if he really cares about her.
With that as backdrop, Carlotta follows a thin and intriguing trail to Miami . . . and on to Colombia. But it's not the Colombia of today's newspapers. Instead, it's a timeless place where spirituality, politics, greed and drugs intertwine in unexpected ways. The action and story development in Colombia are marvelously well done. It's almost like an international spy novel at this point.
The book has poetry about it in its focus on what it means to be fully human that will intrigue you. The only downside in this powerful story's journey is the seemingly gratuitous decision by Ms. Barnes to sanction the use of coca leaves for those who are undergoing arduous challenges.
I think this story will haunt you for years go come. Don't miss it!
Carlotta in Columbia July 6, 2006
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is possibly the best in an excellent series featuring Cambridge detective Carlotta Carlyle. It is riveting and gripping and unusually passionate. A difficult book to put down
though you really don't want it to end......
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