Setting: Rapid City, South Dakota--present day
Sensuality Rating: 7

Popular romance author Kathleen Eagle visits familiar hunting grounds in What the Heart Knows. Returning to the Bad River Lakota Reservation after a 13-year absence, Helen Ketterling has a secret--two of them, in fact. As an undercover investigator for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, she's posing as a blackjack dealer in the reservation casino, The Pair-a-Dice City, to determine whether there's anything illegal going on behind the scenes. When her boss's brother, the former professional basketball player Reese Blue Sky, returns to the reservation to bury his father, Helen's biggest secret of all--her 12-year-old son by Reese--is exposed, while feelings thought long forgotten reignite between the two.

Eagle paints an intriguing portrait of contemporary life on the reservation and its unique issues, with a little mystery thrown in for good measure. In addition, her handling of the understandably turbulent emotions of the former lovers who now share a child is sensitive and astute. All in all, this contemporary draws its audience in, investing them inextricably in the outcome; it's impossible to put this book down. --Alison Trinkle


From Publishers Weekly
The shifting economics and shady business dealings brought to Native American reservations by legalized gambling are the backdrop for Eagle's (The Last True Cowboy; The Night Remembers) latest romantic suspense novel. The protagonist of this leisurely paced story is 38-year-old Helen Ketterling, a white woman who, while working undercover for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (as a blackjack dealer trained to spot corruption in the casinos), is forced to confront her feelings for her Lakota ex-boyfriend, former NBA all-star Reese Blue Sky. Both Helen and Reese have secrets. Not only must Helen lie about her jobAto Reese and his brother Carter, who manages the Pair-a-Dice City casinoAbut she never told Reese that he's the father of her 12-year-old son, Sidney. Reese, meanwhile, is afraid to tell Helen the real reason he retired from basketballAhis potentially fatal heart condition. The two become embroiled investigating the possibility that Reese's father was murdered because of his attempts to oust the criminal owners of the casino, who are white. In the generic romance-novel formula of crossed-signals and push-pull arguments, the lies and mysteries between Reese and Helen are revealed slowly, keeping the two lovers apart till the end. Eagle admirably avoids clich? trappings in her prose, and the reservation setting is well researched and poignantly rendered. These fresh details help to surmount the sometimes lumbering and predictable plot, and enliven the occasionally two-dimensional main characters. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Called home to the Bad River Sioux Reservation by the hit-and-run death of his respected tribal elder father, former basketball star Reese Blue Sky finds he must not only pick up where his father left off and confront the murky issues surrounding the local casino but also deal with Helen Ketterling, the one woman he has never forgotten, who is back in town as an undercover Bureau of Indian Affairs agent sent at the request of Reese's late father to check into the questionable practices of the casino's management. Although the casino/murder mystery plot provides structure and a dash of suspense, the real story is in the renewed relationship between Reese and Helen as they come to terms with a past that includes secrets, misunderstandings, and a teenage son Reese never knew he had. Clean prose, a clear sense of time and place, and realistic, multidimensional characters transform what could have become just another "reunion/secret baby" story into a poignant and unforgettable tale that transcends the type. The award-winning Eagle (The Last True Cowboy) is noted for her sensitive, insightful treatment of contemporary Native American issues, and readers will be waiting for this one. Eagle lives in the Minneapolis area. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Veteran romancer Eagle (The Night Remembers, 1997, etc.) returns to her favorite subject, the trials of modern Native Americans, about which she is well-informed by virtue of marriage to a Lakota Sioux and 17 years of teaching on a North Dakota Indian reservation. Here, Eagles young heroine, schoolteacher Helen Ketterling, is impregnated by her Sioux lover. But the world beyond the Bad River Reservation rises alluringly to draw away Reese Blue Sky before he learns of his imminent fatherhood. Helen leaves too, and 13 years later, when a crisis on the reservation brings her back, she returns as a single parent. Tribal traditions have deteriorated with the rise of casino gambling, among other developments. When Reese, now disillusioned by the outside world, himself reappears, old fires ignite between him and Helen. Both are still single, but Helen decides not to reveal that Reese is her son's father; since Reeses disillusion has spread to include the reservation, Helen thinks he doesn't need to know. Revelation must come, though, for what the heart knows cant be denied. Eagle's rich understanding of Indian lore lends an attractively exotic cast to an otherwise familiar love story. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Helen Ketterling thought she had left the Bad River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota behind her thirteen years ago. Once an idealistic and spirited schoolteacher, Helen was swept into the lives of the Sioux people and the arms of Reese Blue Sky. These fiery opposites attracted with such heat that their love burned brightly—if all too briefly.

Now a single parent with a son—a son Reese knows nothing about—Helen accepts an assignment that brings her back to Bad River and into the realm of the one man she cannot forget.

A family tragedy has brought Reese home to Bad River. And though it has been years since he has seen Helen, Reese immediately recalls the bittersweet memories of a time when he was very much in love. Now the passion he felt for Helen has been rekindled but he senses in her a secret that she will not—or cannot—share with him. Soon, Reese discovers that the life on the reservation he dearly cherished appears to have been threatened. In a world where tradition and ritual face off against development and greed, a proud but lonely man attempts to reconcile his past, hoping to find his place in the heart of his one true love.

Author Biography: Born in Virginia and raised in New England, bestselling author Kathleen Eagle set aside a gratifying seventeen-year teaching career on a North Dakota Indian reservation to become a full-time novelist. The Lakota Sioux heritage of her husband — and thus of their three children — has inspired many of her stories.

Among her other honors, she has received a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times, the Midwest Fiction Writer of the Year Award, and Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA Award. Library Journal named The Night Remembers one of the five best romances of the year.

With more than thirty books in print, Kathleen takes great pleasure in reading letters from readers who tell her that her books have tugged at their heartstrings, entertained, inspired, and even enlightened them.

You may write to her c/o Midwest Fiction Writers, P.O. Box 24107, Edina, MN 55424-0107

SYNOPSIS

Helen Ketterling thought she had left the Bad River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota behind her thirteen years ago. Once an idealistic and spirited schoolteacher, Helen was swept into the lives of the Sioux people and the arms of Reese Blue Sky. These fiery opposites attracted with such heat that their love burned brightly—if all too briefly.

Now a single parent with a son—a son Reese knows nothing about—Helen accepts an assignment that brings her back to Bad River and into the realm of the one man she cannot forget.

A family tragedy has brought Reese home to Bad River. And though it has been years since he has seen Helen, Reese immediately recalls the bittersweet memories of a time when he was very much in love. Now the passion he felt for Helen has been rekindled but he senses in her a secret that she will not—or cannot—share with him. Soon, Reese discovers that the life on the reservation he dearly cherished appears to have been threatened. In a world where tradition and ritual face off against development and greed, a proud but lonely man attempts to reconcile his past, hoping to find his place in the heart of his one true love.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The shifting economics and shady business dealings brought to Native American reservations by legalized gambling are the backdrop for Eagle's (The Last True Cowboy; The Night Remembers) latest romantic suspense novel. The protagonist of this leisurely paced story is 38-year-old Helen Ketterling, a white woman who, while working undercover for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (as a blackjack dealer trained to spot corruption in the casinos), is forced to confront her feelings for her Lakota ex-boyfriend, former NBA all-star Reese Blue Sky. Both Helen and Reese have secrets. Not only must Helen lie about her job--to Reese and his brother Carter, who manages the Pair-a-Dice City casino--but she never told Reese that he's the father of her 12-year-old son, Sidney. Reese, meanwhile, is afraid to tell Helen the real reason he retired from basketball--his potentially fatal heart condition. The two become embroiled investigating the possibility that Reese's father was murdered because of his attempts to oust the criminal owners of the casino, who are white. In the generic romance-novel formula of crossed-signals and push-pull arguments, the lies and mysteries between Reese and Helen are revealed slowly, keeping the two lovers apart till the end. Eagle admirably avoids clich trappings in her prose, and the reservation setting is well researched and poignantly rendered. These fresh details help to surmount the sometimes lumbering and predictable plot, and enliven the occasionally two-dimensional main characters. (July) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Called home to the Bad River Sioux Reservation by the hit-and-run death of his respected tribal elder father, former basketball star Reese Blue Sky finds he must not only pick up where his father left off and confront the murky issues surrounding the local casino but also deal with Helen Ketterling, the one woman he has never forgotten, who is back in town as an undercover Bureau of Indian Affairs agent sent at the request of Reese's late father to check into the questionable practices of the casino's management. Although the casino/murder mystery plot provides structure and a dash of suspense, the real story is in the renewed relationship between Reese and Helen as they come to terms with a past that includes secrets, misunderstandings, and a teenage son Reese never knew he had. Clean prose, a clear sense of time and place, and realistic, multidimensional characters transform what could have become just another "reunion/secret baby" story into a poignant and unforgettable tale that transcends the type. The award-winning Eagle (The Last True Cowboy) is noted for her sensitive, insightful treatment of contemporary Native American issues, and readers will be waiting for this one. Eagle lives in the Minneapolis area. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/99.] Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Jill M. Smith - Romantic Times

What the Heart Knows continues Kathleen Eagle's impressive tradition of providing her legion of fans with unforgettable characters and multifaceted, poignant stories.

Kirkus Reviews

Veteran romancer Eagle (The Night Remembers, 1997, etc.) returns to her favorite subject, the trials of modern Native Americans, about which she is well-informed by virtue of marriage to a Lakota Sioux and 17 years of teaching on a North Dakota Indian reservation. Here, Eagle's young heroine, schoolteacher Helen Ketterling, is impregnated by her Sioux lover. But the world beyond the Bad River Reservation rises alluringly to draw away Reese Blue Sky before he learns of his imminent fatherhood. Helen leaves too, and 13 years later, when a crisis on the reservation brings her back, she returns as a single parent. Tribal traditions have deteriorated with the rise of casino gambling, among other developments. When Reese, now disillusioned by the outside world, himself reappears, old fires ignite between him and Helen. Both are still single, but Helen decides not to reveal that Reese is her son's father; since Reese's disillusion has spread to include the reservation, Helen thinks he doesn't need to know. Revelation must come, though, for what the heart knows can't be denied. Eagle's rich understanding of Indian lore lends an attractively exotic cast to an otherwise familiar love story.