Where are the Children Now - by guest reviewer Christina Brown

 

This was a a fast read for me, with well described characters and interesting details to set the scene, as is typical from Clark. Immediately prior to reading this, I reread Where are the Children? but found that I didn’t really need to as this book had plenty of context/back story for Nancy and her children’s history included - which was primarily meant to highlight how bizarre (and traumatic) it was for this family to be dealing with another missing child case in their lifetime. 

While I found myself suspicious of a few characters even early on, I was still surprised by the story’s twist in the end for who was actually behind Riley going missing. Which is what usually happens when I read Clark’s books- her character and intricate scene development leave you wondering who is truly to be trusted and what is even true. 

I found a few style differences in how the book was written as compared to other Clark books but it wasn’t anything bad per-say (just different) and I couldn’t quite discern if that was due to Alafair Burke’s contributions, the current/modern time period references or something else entirely. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and found it on par with Clark’s other books! Oh, and the original Where are the Children? still holds up as a really great book- only some references and details (ex: commonplace cigar/cigarette use in public) felt dated despite this being written in the 1970’s. My suggestion: read them both!

My two cents...

I agree...this is vintage Mary Higgins Clark. I totally enjoyed reading a traditional mystery where the plot is linear and the clues logical.  Predicting the ending is half the fun or reading mysteries, isn't it?  I never - and I mean NEVER - get it right, be it a novel or a TV show.  The trend in twister mysteries, started with Gone Girl, I guess, frustrate me.  They jerk me around, lead me hither and yon, and then, in the last twenty pages, they tell me they were just kidding,  Hidden clues, minor characters, and tons of red herrings make it nearly impossible to solve the mystery.  But they sure are popular so it's probably just me...too old fashioned for these new fangled styles.

Christina Brown has joined us as a now and then reviewer.   Let me know if you are interested (Steve? we miss you).  The marvelous perks include Advance Reader Copies (ARC) of books, continued pressure to get your review to me, and of course, a review on our blog is sure to make you famous.  Thank about it. 

Spring...yes, we see hints that it will surely arrive soon.

Stay safe, Stay healthy, Stay happy. Stay groovy.

Thanks for stopping by.