The Second Time Around

"The Second Time Around" is a great hammock-read for summer time as Mary Higgins Clark delivers again, with a suspenseful story, a plucky heroine, and a revengeful killer. In true MHC style, she's plugged into the trends of the times, letting us know that if answering machines ring four or more times, the person being called has probably left home only recently; if there are any messages, the machine will ring twice only. She's aware of hotmail.com and its uses for email anonymity. Mary Higgins Clark is a storyteller in the great tradition; her stories unwind effortlessly with expertly-timed plots, well-defined and identifiable characters, and trendy touches like those mentioned. Kudoes to her for another page-turner!

Mary Higgins Clark has done it again with this subtle mystery. Carley DeCarlo is young, sensitive, and ambitious. Her stepsister, Lynn, is conniving, manipulative, and cold. The sinister Ned Cooper is a scary character and his delusions were realistically portrayed. The only weak character was Carley's boyfriend, Dr. Casey Dillon, who isn't very involved in her life until close to the end of the book. Still, Clark doesn't disappoint and I found this to be a really good read. No wonder she's always a bestseller - her books are still fresh and not as stilted or burned out as other bestsellng authors tend to become.

We can't really remember Clark's first dozen or so books that well, but her novels from this latest decade invariably feature high-achieving leading ladies who prevail above all to solve the mystery at hand. If we have a peeve, it's that these "wonder women" do so while looking glamorous at all times, while outsmarting every other character in the book (including almost always the police), by outrunning or outgunning everybody intent on doing them harm, etc. You get the drift -- interesting fiction but hardly real life. So it was good to read a story, featuring leading lady Carley De Carlo, a financial free-lance writer and new employee of "Wall Street Weekly", where the plot and main premise are not overshadowed so totally by the star woman at hand. Our interest was captured at the outset in learning that Nicholas Spencer, CEO of a firm close to a cancer vaccine solution, has died in a small aircraft crash, after absconding with what millions were left in the company, having discovered that the vaccine is a failure. But then he is spotted in Switzerland?The book alternates between searching for Spencer (or at least the truth) and a series of serial killings (done with little explicit action, mostly away from the narrative) by one of the numerous investors, large and small, who were stung by the company financially as well as disappointed by the lack of the promising vaccine, often the only hope of their loved ones. The killer eventually sets his sights on Carley, and it remains til near the end to see who comes out with the real story about everything.Clark has served up exactly that for which she is well-known: a well-crafted tale, complete with heroes and villains and more than enough suspense to hold our interest; intriguing characters we care about -- it's even a little tough not to empathize with the killer; and a mystery that moves along smartly enough to entertain without divulging too much too soon. We commend the author on one of her better recent works, and suspect that most readers will thoroughly enjoy this novel, finding it an appealing contribution to the genre.

This was a great book. I have read all of Mary Higgins Clark's books and am amazed that she can still keep her plots unique as well as the reader guessing who the "bad guy" is. I found the characters (and romantic interest) appealing and the whole New York atmosphere intriguing..something that added charm to this fast-paced mystery. Thank you, MHC!

Everyone who met the charismatic Nicholas Spencer felt drawn to him so it isn't too hard for him to get people to invest in his medical research company Gen-stone. He was very excited that his company had developed a vaccine that would prevent cancer or cure people who had it. A few weeks before it was supposed to be given to the FDA for testing, Nick's plane crashed and though his body wasn't found, he was presumed dead.A couple of weeks later, it is discovered that funds are missing from the company and Gen- stone's test results prove that the miracle elixir doesn't work. Most people believe that Nick was a con artist who defrauded innocent folks and that his wife, Lynn was part of the scam. Lynn asks her stepsister Carley, a financial reporter for the Wall Street Weekly, to help her clear her name. Coincidentally, Carley is assigned to do a profile of Nicholas Spencer. The deeper she gets into her investigation the more she's convinced that Nick was just as much a victim as the company's stockholders, a theory that could get her killed if she isn't careful.Mary Higgins Clark can always be counted on to write an entertaining thriller and she doesn't disappoint her fans in her latest work THE SECOND TIME AROUND. The protagonist is likable and her actions make sense within the context of the plot. The novel moves along briskly so that readers never lose interest in the tale. The only quibble with the novel is that the stalker-subplot feels like filler so ignore it and enjoy a relatively taut and exciting thriller.Harriet Klausner