I was very excited to read this book as I have just discovered the Fremont Jones series by the same author. Dianne Day calls her book "Cut to the heart" a fictional work set within a historical framework. Its main character is Clara Barton, founder the Red Cross. Ms. Day uses Clara's unpublished diaries and other historical papers in this book. While I enjoy biographies and mysteries I felt that this book did not mix the two together very well. I found that the book was very slow and not very mysterious and I had to force myself not to skip to the ending. I also found myself indifferent to Clara Barton.