A Cry in the Night

I really enjoyed this book to the fullest, and found it hard to put down at all. Jenny MacPartland, a single mother of 2 little girls, meets Erich Krueger, the man of her dreams. Or so it appears. The two hit it off, and they marry quickly in spite of Jenny's friends warnings and first impressions of Eric. So suddenly, Jenny and the girls, along with Erich, move to Minnesota to live in Eric's beautiful mansion. But once there, Jenny discovers what a REAL eye-opener marriage can be. Erich begins acting strangely, and speaks of his late mother Caroline whom he is unaturally obsessed with it seems. Jenny holds an uncanny resemblance to Caroline, and Erich grows more and more possessive of her. He never wants her out of sight, yet, he refuses to sleep in the same bed most of the time. He's busy. In the cabin. What lies behind the walls of the cabin are deadly, horrible secrets. And when Jenny uncovers what Erich is really like after he takes the girls from her, she may need to run for her life.

Jenny McPartland, a divorcee and mother of 2 at 27 lives in a modest Manhattan apartment. She scrapes to make ends meet for her two daughters, Beth 3, and Tina, 2.Her luck seems to change when she meets the charismatic Erich Krueger at an art gallery where she works. She is literally swept off her feet by Erich and subsequently marries him. They leave Manhattan for Erich's ancestral home in Granite Springs, Minnesota.Once in Minnesota, alarming facets of Erich's personality appear. His relentless obsession with his dead mother, Caroline and his constant references to her are alarming. It is interesting that he applies no maternal name to her; she is always "Caroline." Caroline at the start of this story has been dead for over 25 years, having died in 1956 when Erich was then 10. (The story is set in 1981-83). Erich insists Jenny dress like Caroline; wear Caroline's aqua colored gown to bed; use the same pine scented soap Caroline used and in general, replace the mother he lost at 10.More cracks appear in Erich's seemingly flawless armor. Mysterious deaths are part of the Granite Springs home. A young woman disappeared some 10 years earlier and is presumably dead; dogs also were presumably killed and Jenny and Erich's baby dies a mysterious death. Jenny's daughters say that Jenny killed their brother, that she "covered his face with a blanket." But did she? Jenny doubts this. She also has doubts in Erich, who kidnaps the girls and hides even more terrifying secrets on and around the property. Life with Erich, as Jenny was to discover was a chilling portrait etched in terror.Definitely worth 10 or more stars. This is my favorite book by Mary Higgins Clark.

I read this book for the first time when I was in jr. high and it scared me so bad I couldn't sleep. I'm in Grad school now, and every time I re-read A Cry in the Night it still scares me! I think it's scarier that her other books because Erich's obsession is so creepy, and also because children are in danger, not just a woman. Clark writes about kids so well, I wonder why she stopped including them as semi-major characters after Where Are the Children and this book. I highly recommend A Cry in the Night, and I rank it her second-best book after Remember Me. (At the time of this writing, We'll Meet Again is Ms. Clark's latest.) Don't start this one when you're home alone, because you won't be able to put it down, and then you won't be able to sleep!

I absolutely love Mary Higgins Clark and I believe that I have read all of her books, but A Cry in the Night really is the shining star of her collection. She takes a very naive woman who is trying hard, as a single mother and working full-time to support her family, and puts her in this very convienent position that she can't say no to. I was amazed that after the first and second times I read it that I wanted to reread it over so many times. Clark is interesting and beautifully creates suspense and a very real apathy toward the character. Just writing this review makes me want to pick up my very worn copy and start this book all over again. I am impressed by all of her books, but the only problem I have is the lack of originality when it comes to the character's plots. They all seem the same to me. You have this attractive, successful woman who has a great job, is single predominately, and comes across a mystery that she somehow has managed to get herself involved in. Every one of her books, with the exception of this one and maybe one or two others, is like this. Nevertheless, I am still a huge fan of her books and would recommend anyone who loves a great mystery to definitely try this book. It is well worth your time.

After finishing the incredibly stale LET ME CALL YOU SWEETHEART, I was about ready to give up on Mary Higgins Clark. If you're someone who, like me, was beginning to wonder what all the Clark hoopla was about, run out quick and get a copy of A CRY IN THE NIGHT, which can be described as a sort of modern cross between PSYCHO and REBECCA. This is a very well-done book, and it succeeds on many levels.Jenny MacPartland is a divorced mother of two who is swept off her feet by Erich Krueger, a kind, handsome artist who marries her and takes her back to his sprawling farm in Minnesota. Not long after she arrives, she begins to sense tension in the air. Erich begins to behave strangely. Her ex-husband, Kevin, comes down to visit her, stirring up trouble. The whole place is overshadowed by the strange presence of Caroline, Erich's long-dead mother, to whom Jenny bears a striking resemblance. Soon Jenny begins to have dizzy spells and wonders if she is sleepwalking during the night. What began as a dream for both the protagonist and the reader has transformed into a horrific nightmare.Clark handles this transformation with considerable deftness, demonstrating her masterful control of pace and characterization. The plot is especially convoluted and intricate; in fact, there are as many surprising twists as there are pages. Unlike LET ME CALL YOU SWEETHEART and WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN?, in which the terror kicks in only in the last few chapters or so, A CRY IN THE NIGHT turns on the suspense less than halfway through the novel and never lets up the pressure. This is an unusually chilling book, but aside from all the suspenseful pleasures of the story, it is also a very sad and emotionally involving drama. There is no pat resolution or happy ending here, but the denouement, if bittersweet, is wholly satisfying. This reader is, I'm happy to report, an officially converted Clark fan.