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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
medium-paced
Fantastic book! I love Mary Higgins Clark's writing.
Quicky easy mystery. Very dated, you can tell it was written in the 80's. Not a keeper.
Changed the rating down to 3 stars. It's very different reading this novel as an adult!
It's still very readable, good mystery, plotting and pacing but is also very much of its time - what with the constant descriptions of how attractive all the women are (or aren't in some cases - we are never allowed to forget how fat Abigail 's mother was) and the questionable romance (an affair between a woman in her mid-20s and a man in his late 40s only scratches the surface tbh).
And I suppose now, being older, I have my issues with the reveal of what happened to Pat's parents.
All and all, I held this book in higher regard before re-reading due to nostalgia and find myself more critical of the writing and story now but still find it enjoyable overall.
It's still very readable, good mystery, plotting and pacing but is also very much of its time - what with the constant descriptions of how attractive all the women are (or aren't in some cases - we are never allowed to forget how fat Abigail 's mother was) and the questionable romance (an affair between a woman in her mid-20s and a man in his late 40s only scratches the surface tbh).
And I suppose now, being older, I have my issues with the reveal of what happened to Pat's parents.
Spoiler
It's troubling to just end up with vague impressions that her mother was depressed and so obsessed with her husband she'd kill him and herself with no further examination.All and all, I held this book in higher regard before re-reading due to nostalgia and find myself more critical of the writing and story now but still find it enjoyable overall.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
[read in the German translation by Ingeborg F. Meier]
This book is a work of its time. It can be charming in some ways, but it can also be very messed up.There's attempted sexual coercion and the protagonist responds by thinking, That happens quite often and the consequences for the attacker are that he won't do it again because she found a lover who would deck him? Oh boy.
Another thing that bothered me were the sudden scene changes. Someone would ask a question or say something, and in the next line, it's half a day later. Often, the scene just felt uncompleted. The protagonist experiences flashbacks. Sometimes, they're in present tense. Sometimes, they're in past tense. Sometimes, they're in first person. Sometimes, they're in third person. Sometimes, they're in italics. Sometimes, they're not formatted differently. Sometimes, a flashback will start one way, then change once or twice.
About the secondary villain:it's a religious nutter who has voices telling him who to kill. It's so clichee - but on the other hand, was it clichee when this book was written already? I have no idea.
The romantic relationship in this story is to cry for. There's a man who wants to get with a woman his daughter's age, and his only reason for rejecting her is that he doesn't want to have any more kids? And her reaction is to think, "I know that your wife had a terminal illness, which also burdened you greatly, but I'd never make you do all the work (because I can most definitely choose not to get terminally ill)"!? But thank God that relationship ends up working!
A few words about the translation:
Größtenteils finde ich die Übersetzung gut gelungen. Die direkte Rede ist jedoch manchmal nicht so gut übertragen. So sagt etwa ein Mann über fünfzig, er und eine Frau wären Freunde, aber nicht boyfriend-girlfriend-Freunde. Würde ein Mann über fünfzig wirklich so etwas sagen? Ich will es stark bezweifeln.
This book is a work of its time. It can be charming in some ways, but it can also be very messed up.
Another thing that bothered me were the sudden scene changes. Someone would ask a question or say something, and in the next line, it's half a day later. Often, the scene just felt uncompleted. The protagonist experiences flashbacks. Sometimes, they're in present tense. Sometimes, they're in past tense. Sometimes, they're in first person. Sometimes, they're in third person. Sometimes, they're in italics. Sometimes, they're not formatted differently. Sometimes, a flashback will start one way, then change once or twice.
About the secondary villain:
The romantic relationship in this story is to cry for. There's a man who wants to get with a woman his daughter's age, and his only reason for rejecting her is that he doesn't want to have any more kids? And her reaction is to think, "I know that your wife had a terminal illness, which also burdened you greatly, but I'd never make you do all the work (because I can most definitely choose not to get terminally ill)"!? But thank God that relationship ends up working!
A few words about the translation:
Größtenteils finde ich die Übersetzung gut gelungen. Die direkte Rede ist jedoch manchmal nicht so gut übertragen. So sagt etwa ein Mann über fünfzig, er und eine Frau wären Freunde, aber nicht boyfriend-girlfriend-Freunde. Würde ein Mann über fünfzig wirklich so etwas sagen? Ich will es stark bezweifeln.
This one takes place in DC with politicians and journalists. I always enjoy her's.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
mysterious
fast-paced