Review: Nighttime Is My Time by Mary Higgins Clark

I believe that I got this book from my mother-in-law.

She had brought over a bag of books that she had finished, because she knew I loved to read, and I think this must have been among them.  It is not something I would have chosen for myself, but I really enjoyed it.  I've always heard of Mary Higgins Clark, but I'd never read any of her work.  I wouldn't call it light, since the themes are actually very dark, but I guess it's fair to say it was an easy read.  Not scary, per se, but pretty suspenseful.  I finished it on Wednesday (it only took me two days - which is easier now that I'm not working), so I guess that speaks to how much I liked it.  It was definitely hard to put down.

The book is about Dr. Jean Sheridan, returning to her hometown of Cornwall-on-Hudson, which she was all too happy to move away from and forget, for her 20th class reunion.  She arrives in town, along with several other members of her graduating class, including all of our (male) suspects and one or two potential victims.  See, someone has been killing off girls from their graduating class, but the murders were done in such a way that they were never labeled homicides.  They were made to look like accidents or suicides, and they happened in diverse locations over a 20 year period, so no one ever put it together that these girls all used to sit at the same lunch table in high school.  Until the reunion.

The Owl is the name the murderer has given himself.  His identity is hidden until the very end of the novel.  I was so sure I knew who it was halfway through the book, but it turned out that I was completely wrong.  Guess I wouldn't make a great detective.  The man investigating the case is Sam Deegan, who is haunted by a 20-year-old local murder that he could never solve.  He learns that Jean (and her SECRET BABY THAT SHE GAVE UP FOR ADOPTION!!!) is at risk of becoming The Owl's next victim, and he sets out to solve the case.

Yes, it was kind of a potboiler.  Yes, it was kind of cheesy.  Yes, there were so many crazy coincidences.  Yes, it was kind of impossible to believe that anyone would put all this together in just the right way.  But it was FUN.  And I needed a good, fun, easy read after my last bit of non-fiction, as much as I liked it.  Four out of five Whatevers.  It is by no means a great flight of literature, but it served its purpose and entertained me for about 24 hours.  And I'm all about every kind of writing, no matter what.  Recommended for those who are already Mary Higgins Clark fans, for those who like quick suspense novels, and for those who need an easier read to sandwich between two great works of literature or non-fiction reads.

2015-7