Mary Higgins Clark (1927–2020)

This was a heckuva hard but excellent read. Brian is 7 years-old, and his father is in the hospital on Christmas Eve with a scary cancer diagnosis. When his mother drops an item he believes will save his father’s life, he takes after the person who picked it up and walked off with it in busy NYC. And soon he is kidnapped by an escaped prisoner intent on killing him. Brian, and everyone looking for him, are terrified. A masterfully crafted mystery that feels like it really could happen. show more I’ve never read anything by this author before, but I must certainly will now. show less

I thoroughly enjoyed It Had to Be You, the eighth book in the Under Suspicion series featuring television producer Laurie Moran. The Under Suspicion series is a favorite, & I’ve enjoyed following Laurie through the ups & downs of life while solving clever whodunits. This book marks the final mystery collaboration of beloved author Mary Higgins Clark who sadly passed away & wraps up this series with a beautiful bow.

In this latest mystery, identical twin brothers are accused of murdering show more their parents, but were never proven guilty. Now years later, their younger sister is determined to prove her brothers’ innocence & find the real killer. But, will the tv show bring up unwanted publicity from the past & unearth secrets best left buried?

Laurie Moran’s one of my favorite mystery heroines. Because she’s weathered so much in her own life, she makes a compassionate yet tough investigator. After her husband’s murder several years ago, Laurie’s dedicated to solving cold cases & featuring them on her tv show Under Suspicion. She’s finally moved on with her life, but is feeling pressure from a coworker who seems to be out for her job. She’s hoping that taking on the high profile case of the twin brothers will show her boss that her show’s still relevant.

I thoroughly enjoyed this series finale! The mystery had several twists & turns leading up to a riveting ending. I also loved seeing Laurie & her family get a happily ever after ending. This has been such an enjoyable series & I’m sad to see it come to an end. But, so grateful we got one last mystery from the queen of cozy mysteries herself.

Though this book could be read as a standalone, it’s better if you’ve read the previous books in the series. I received an advanced copy from the publisher with no expectation of a review. All opinions are completely my own & provided voluntarily. 4.5-5 stars! show less

DNF @ 9%. Unabridged audio

In my search for a thriller/mystery, this author had name recognition. Considering my DNF at single digits, I am baffled about how she gained such a reputation. I kept tripping over what I suppose was the author’s attempt to be original. It resulted in epic failures that jarred me so thoroughly out of the story that I gave up.

A character whose hair is described as “midnight brown.”
Another tripwire: “what goes up must converge.”

These two gems of show more “literary genius” were so distracting that I missed several minutes of narrative immediately after them, trying to figure out what the heck the author was saying. show less

After writing dozens of damsel-in-distress novels, Clark can probably crank them out in her sleep. In fact, she may have done just that with this one.

Using the country-manor-mystery as a template, the novel plops a dozen main characters on an ultra-luxurious cruise ship as it makes its maiden voyage from New York to Southampton. The all-alone lady of the title is a gemologist fleeing a disastrous wedding supper at which her (now former) fiancé was arrested for fraud. She's looking to get show more away from the media uproar and pay for her passage via a series of lectures on the sumptuous ship. Also on board is an eccentric octogenarian with a priceless emerald necklace which bears a curse and also attracts the attention of an international jewel thief known only as The Man With a Thousand Faces. (Come on, Mary, you can do better than that.) The alert reader will identify the villain almost immediately.

Half the main characters are embezzlers or petty thieves, and the others are so unsympathetic that it's hard to work up much concern over their fates as the danger level ratchets up. Recurring characters Alvirah and Willy Meehan (introduced in her novel The Lottery Winners) make another appearance here, being unbelievably kind and -- in Alvirah's case -- an enthusiastic amateur sleuth.

All in all, it's a pleasant enough fantasy-escape novel that won't keep you awake nights. (And if you can land Clark's agent, your dreams might just yield something equally marketable.) show less