Lights Out Tonight

I am certainly not going to go into plots or story lines here, as that has been done by others, so don't worry about spoilers. This is a fast reading thriller just stuffed with little intrigues and sub stories. It holds you attention from cover to cover quite well, and is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The writing is clear, with clever syntax and the story line is quite easy to follow and without a myriad of characters to sort out and wade through. This is just the type of novel that is just simply fun to relax with and to enjoy. Job well done Ms. Clark! Recommend this one highly.

First rate author Mary Jane Clark not only knows how to craft a spellbinding thriller (Dancing In The Dark) but she's also particularly skilled at drawing authentic female characters. This time out heroine is 34-year-old Caroline Enright, a theatre and film critic for TV's KEY To America. She's recently wed to Nick, father of college-age Meg, who is not too thrilled about her new stepmother. Caroline is also an admirer of Oscar winning actress Belinda Winthrop, which makes her the perfect candidate to cover Belinda's performance at the Warrenstown Summer Playhouse in the Berkshires. Caroline couldn't be more pleased - it's summer in the city (too hot), this will be an opportunity for her to be in a romantic setting with Nick, and maybe if her luck holds out she can even bond with Meg, who has a small part in the play. As it turns out, Caroline is going to need a great deal more than luck. Suddenly Belinda, an actress idolized by millions, disappears and a pair of Meg's friends are killed. Caroline's reportorial skills tell her this is more than coincidence and that in all probability the deaths were not due to any accident. As bucolic and peaceful as Warrenstown is it soon becomes evident that there's a crazy on the loose. But, who and why? Tony nominee Isabel Keating allows suspense to build with her carefully paced narration, and her rich voice adds a vividness not found in the printed word. Enjoy! - Gail Cooke

Mary Jane Clark's "Lights Out Tonight" features thirty-four year old Caroline Enright, film and theater critic for the morning news broadcast "KEY to America." Caroline has a great deal on her mind. Linus Nazareth, her executive producer, is condescending, sarcastic, and demanding, and her brand new stepdaughter, twenty-year-old Meg, despises her. However, Caroline adores her new husband, screenwriter Nick McGregor, and she hopes that Meg will soon warm up to her. Caroline and Nick will soon be traveling to Massachusetts to see Meg, who is an apprentice in the Warrenstown theater program. In addition, Caroline has been assigned to interview one of her favorite actresses, Belinda Winthrop, a veteran of thirty-two films who is about to star in a new play at the Warrenstown Summer Playhouse. When Caroline sees Meg, she finds her stepdaughter as hostile as ever. However, Caroline distracts herself with work, interviewing not only Belinda Winthrop, but also playwright Victoria Sterling and director Keith Fallows. Living on Belinda's estate are a menacing caretaker and ex-con named Gus Oberon, and Remington Peters, a talented but tormented artist whose unrequited love for Belinda has haunted him for years. The inhabitants of Warrenstown are stunned when two college students, one of whom was a close friend of Meg, are killed in a car accident. Shortly thereafter, the town librarian is murdered, and following Belinda Winthrop's triumphant debut, she suddenly vanishes. Caroline branches out of her area of expertise to cover these breaking stories, and she quickly realizes that a clever and malicious killer is on the loose. Before the assailant is unmasked, Caroline and her daughter will also be targeted for death. Mary Jane Clark has written a tidy thriller with a lively cast, fast-paced dialogue and action, and enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing. The details about life on the stage are immensely entertaining, with behind the scenes details on makeup, costumes, and directing. Clark also provides an engrossing look at the ego, ambition, and jealousy that afflict so many people in show business. The author, who writes and produces for CBS News, skillfully shows Caroline experiencing her baptism by fire as a reporter in Warrenstown. "Lights Out Tonight" has short and crisp chapters, clear and precise prose, an engrossing plot, and lively characters, making it an ideal summer read.

What great characters - all involved in an intricately exciting plot that keeps you guessing until the last pages! KEY News' relatively new entertainment correspondent, Caroline Enright, has more than one reason for traveling up to northwest Massachusetts' bucolic Berkshire Mountains. Tony- and Oscar-winning actress Belinda Winthrop is appearing in a Pulitzer-worthy new play at the Warrenstown summer theater festival and Caroline's planning on doing a pull-out-all-the-stops set of on-air reviews. What she doesn't know is that a sociopath is already on the loose: two playhouse interns have been murdered, and a librarian's throat has been cut. So, when Belinda ups and disappears after an opening-night bravura performance, Caroline sets out to investigate. Set against this harrowing backdrop is Caroline's desire to bond with her "difficult" new stepdaughter who is apprenticing at the theater. Together, they manage to get into the murderer's crosshairs, slated to be victims #4 and 5. Suspects aplenty, believable red herrings, and a behind-the-scenes look at the off- off- off-Broadway theatre world, Lights Out Tonight is the full package. Very fast. And very, very satisfying. Mary Jane Clark has a real winner here!

What a great, great book this was. I was flying through the pages as fast as I could to figure out whodunnit. There were all the necessary elements to make this book a light, summer beach thriller. The characters were well-drawn, the plot was super interesting, and the ending was fulfilling. What more does one need? I would recommend this book to almost everyone, there is no gratuitous sex scenes so even your old granny would enjoy it. Be warned: once you start reading it's really hard to stop and put it down. Block out a good chunk of time and dig in!