tags: mystery, sequel
⭐⭐
The legacy of the “Queen of Suspense” continues with the highly anticipated follow-up to Mary Higgins Clark’s iconic novel Where Are The Children?, featuring the children of Nancy Harmon, facing peril once again as adults.
Of the fifty-six bestsellers the “Queen of Suspense” Mary Higgins Clark published in her lifetime, Where Are the Children? was her biggest, selling millions of copies and forever transforming the genre of suspense fiction. In that story, a young California mother named Nancy Harmon was convicted of murdering her two children. Though released on a technicality, she was abandoned by her husband and became such a pariah in the media that she was forced to move across the country to Cape Cod, change her identity and appearance, and start a new life. Years later her two children from a second marriage, Mike and Melissa, would go missing, and Nancy yet again became the prime suspect—but this time, Nancy was able to confront the secrets buried in her past and rescue her kids from a dangerous predator.
Now, more than four decades since readers first met Nancy and her children, comes the thrilling sequel to the groundbreaking book that set the stage for future generations of psychological suspense novels. A lawyer turned successful podcaster, Melissa has recently married a man whose first wife died tragically, leaving him and their young daughter, Riley, behind. While Melissa and her brother, Mike, help their mom, Nancy, relocate from Cape Cod to the equally idyllic Hamptons, Melissa’s new stepdaughter goes missing. Drawing on the experience of their own abduction, Melissa and Mike race to find Riley to save her from the trauma they still struggle with—or worse.
Just like the original, Where Are the Children Now? keeps readers guessing and holding their breath until the very last page.I can't remember when I read and what was the last book I read by Mary Higgins Clark. It was so long ago. Where Are The Children is the most memorable of Mary Higgins Clark's books. When a sequel popped up in the library's recommendations, I had to borrow it although I have stopped reading her books more than 15 years ago.
Mary Higgins Clark's writing style was simple without using big words but she had the ability to create complex interesting characters, although sometimes the stories are too forced. What I liked was her great sense of humor which is lacking in new novelists.
I already had low expectations before reading so I don't get disappointed. Alafair Burke did her best but she is no Mary Higgins Clark. Her main character Melissa, the girl who was abducted in the previous book almost has 2 personalities, one was brilliant and the other was brainless. How can she marry a guy and not meet any of his family and friends. She hardly knew what he did for a living, never noticed his home office desk is almost empty. She only started looking at his past after the child disappeared. SMH.
The police were incompetent and never bothered to investigate meticulously if Melissa was indeed guilty of child murder.
Knowing Clark's usual suspects (hint: close friends and even family), I guessed correctly who was one of the culprits. Why was this sequel even written after more than 30 years and the original author already dead?
Not recommended
