general

I am a fan of Mary Higgins Clark (MHC) so any book that she writes is always a treat. This book is no exception. The book revolves around Jean Sheridan who is attending a class reunion and finds that most of the girls that she went to school with have died under mysterious circumstances. Not only does she have to worry about one of her classmate (Laura) who has disappeared from the reunion but someone is sending Jean threatening notes regarding her daughter, which she gave up for adoption when she graduated from Stonecraft Academy. This book is a little bit different in that MHC gives us many suspects (5 or 6). During this story you are continually trying to guess which of the former classmate is threatening Jean and her daughter.

I only gave the book 4 stars because when the psycho is finally unveiled you are left wondering why was he so obsessed with Jean. Throughtout the story MHC gives us a little bit of what is going on in his head and why he is "loco" but you kinda expect a confrontation with the killer and Jean, who was really his target all along. I enjoyed the book very much but I just wanted the ending to have more of an impact.

Mary Higgins Clark sure doesn't write them like she used to. I remember how suspenseful her first works were and truly miss that. One major problem that I find with this book, and has been the case for the last few, is that she has too many suspects and they are all someone the main character knows. I like the anononymity she once gave her "bad guys". I never felt any suspense in this story, but I kept reading so I could find out which of the many suspicious characters was "the Owl". The overall feel of this book has been the same in the last 3-4 books she has written. They definitly are not page-turners and don't have me wishing I could sit and read more of the book. I have always been a Mary Higgins Clark fan and I guess I will continue to read her books, although they are not my top choice anymore. I keep hoping the next one will be where she finds her stride again.

This book was terrific. There are so many twists and turns that you did not know what to think. The fact that all the girls were friends and that Jeannie had a secret that she thought was safe. All the different personalities were set just right to keep the story alive. This book was a good page turner and had the suspense, action, drama and spicey ingredients to make you keep reading and not put the book down.

Mary Higgins Clark is definitely the true queen of suspense and drama. I can't wait to see what the next novel will bring.