WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN NOW?

4 stars out of 5

Although I'm fairly sure I read the late Mary Higgins Clark's Where Are the Children? many years ago (1975??), I have to be honest and say I don't remember a thing about it  - heck, I can't even remember where we lived that long ago, much less a book that's been superseded by hundreds of others I've read over the ensuing years. So I'm glad that this one, billed as a follow-up, has enough explanatory references to that one to keep me from being totally lost. But despite being thoroughly engrossing, it's not on my Top 10  list of favorite MHC books.

In part, that's because it's not a favorite topic; I've never really enjoyed reading about children who have been kidnapped, murdered or otherwise abused. But here we are, and in this case, history seems to be repeating itself. Speaking of repetition, I must say there's plenty of that here, although in fairness some is necessary so readers can relate both to this story and its predecessor. In that book, the two children of a young Nancy Harmon were murdered, and she was convicted of killing them. While she "got off" on a technicality (a good thing because she really didn't do it), few believed in her innocence, and ultimately she relocated from California to Cape Cod, remarried and had two more children, Mike and Melissa - who would themselves become the victims of a cruel kidnapper.

That was something like 40 years ago, and now grown-ups Mike and Melissa are leading their own lives - Melissa as a lawyer with a successful podcast, a relatively new husband she loves and a 3-year-old stepdaughter Riley she adores and Mike as a charter boat captain. They're all getting together to help their mother Nancy move to a swanky spot on Long Island. Readers soon learn, of course, that all this sweet bliss is about to turn sour.

And it does, when Riley goes missing right from under Melissa's nose as she sleeps in her mother's new house. Of course, for Melissa and Mike, it's sort of deja vu all over again - and for her husband Charlie, it's the continuation of a nightmare that started with the unexpected death of his first wife, Riley's mother, from a freak accident not all that long ago.

The police, though, follow a path similar to the one police carved with Nancy's case all those years ago; Melissa, the evil stepmother, must be the prime suspect (aided and abetted by all those awful experiences from her childhood). Even Melissa's good friend and podcast assistant, attorney Grant Macintosh, gets in on the act, but we've all heard about the road to good intentions. 

For the most part, Melissa second-guesses herself and everybody else with more fervor than I'd expect from a competent attorney, but then wishy-washy, questioning females just aren't my thing no matter what their background. The only characters who seem reasonably tuned into reality in this one are her brother Mike and her mother Nancy. As for the ending, well, once again not exactly what I'd expect from a successful professional, but there's something to be said, I guess, for Melissa's mantra that happiness is a choice. All in all, it's an enjoyable experience, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Where are the Children Now? by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke (Simon & Schuster, April 2023); 288 pp.