NIGHTTIME IS MY TIME by Mary Higgins Clark
When Mary Higgins Clark first burst on the scene, several years ago, her novels were chilling mysteries with multi-faceted plots. The books were so good they earned her the title of "Queen of suspense." Now Clark still writes thrillers but they are less cutting edge than pleasant diversion. Her latest
NIGHTTIME IS MY TIME is a perfect example.
Clark's heroine in this novel is Jean Sheridan, a successful historian and writer, who returns to her hometown in New York to attend the twentieth reunion of her high school graduation. Jean arrives bearing a heavy secret. Immediately upon graduation she discovered she was pregnant. A local doctor arranged for her to go to Chicago where she worked until the child was born and placed with an adoptive family.
Jean never saw the child she called Lily, but now someone is sending her threatening letters about the girl. The correspondence says Lily is in danger. Jean hopes while she is attending her class reunion that she will discover who is contacting her and what they want.
It also comes to light at the reunion that a large number of a group of girls, who shared a lunch table, are now dead. Only Laura Wilcox and Jean are alive out of their "group." The others have been in accidents that resulted in their deaths. Local detective Sam Deegan thinks maybe the "accidents" aren't so accidental and begins looking into the circumstances of these deaths.
When Laura disappears it turns up the heat, and makes Jean especially fearful for herself and Lily. Then other deaths occur in the area and it looks like a serial killer is one the loose.
Clark handles all of these gruesome occurrences with a steady hand and a deliberate style. She adds new levels to the mysteries with the introduction of a character who calls himself "the owl." He reveals himself as the killer but his identity is kept secret until the very end of the story. Trying to guess his identity heightens the fun of the book.
Clark loves to mislead her readers in the identity of the killer. She sprinkles false clues in abundance. When the killer is finally identified it is not something the reader could have figured out in advance and this diminishes the overall enjoyment of the book.
This is an enjoyable Clark book but not one of her best. Her loyal fans still are hoping for a return to the style of the earlier days when the plots were more complex and the chases for the killer more invigorating.
NIGHTTIME IS MY TIME is published by Simon and Schuster. It contains 320 pages and sells for $25.95.