The Blurb:
“At age eighty-three and in failing health, Olivia Morrow knows she has little time left. The last of her line, she faces a momentous choice: expose a long-held family secret, or take it with her to her grave. Olivia has in her possession letters from her deceased cousin Catherine, a nun, now being considered for beatification by the Catholic Church. These letters reveal that, at the age of seventeen, Catherine gave birth to a son and gave him up for adoption and they identify the father as Alex Gannon, a world-famous doctor, scientist and inventor of medical patents. Now, two generations later, thirty-one year old paediatrician, Dr. Monica Farrell, Catherine’s granddaughter, stands as the rightful heir to what remains of the Gannon family fortune. But in telling Monica who she really is and getting what is lawfully hers, Olivia would have to betray Catherine’s wishes and reveal the story behind Monica’s ancestry. But as the pressure of Olivia’s impending choice weighs down on her, little does she realize that Alex Gannon’s grand-nephews – who are currently exploiting the Gannon inheritance to fund their profligate lifestyles – will stop at nothing to silence Olivia and prevent Monica from learning the secret, even murder.”
What I thought:
What an absolulute treat reading a Mary Higgins Clark book is! I always know I’m in for a good read when I pick up the Queen of Suspenses books.
In this book, her latests (published last month), thirty-two year old Dr Monica Farrell is at the centre of a plot to keep her from what is rightfully hers. Although she doesn’t know it (as her father was adopted as a baby and never knew his real family) she is heir to The Gannon Corporation, run by a quartet of greedy, cheating men who will stop at nothing to make sure Monica doesn’t find out that the corporation belongs to her, including murder.
Monica, who is a Pediatrician at a Manhattan Hospital, recieves a tip that an elderly lady, Olivia Morrow, may have some information regarding her fathers birth family and agrees to meet her at her appartment. However, when she arrives the next day she is too late; Olivia is already dead. When several others also turn up dead, and Monica herself appears to be the next target, it’s the old race against time to see who will triumph.
As with all her books, Higgins Clark, manages to entice you to keep turning those pages by way of short chapters and no uneccessary detail. There is, however, one thing that does bother me at the end which I can’t really go into here as it may spoil the book for some people. It is something that is revealed in the letters at the end of the book and if anyone reads this and wants to discuss please do contact me as I would like to see if the same thing bothers you as it did me.
That said, this book still gets full marks from me. I have been ill the last 2 days and MCH’s books are exactly the tonic I need.
Simon and Schuster kindly sent me my copy of this book for review. Thank you!
I will be posting my interview with Mary Higgins Clark this weekend so please look out for that!
Oh, my, now I must move this one up on my stacks! I have several I should read first…but you know how it goes.
Thanks for a compelling review.
Oh yes, I do know how it goes
Too many books, too little time!
It’s a really great one; hope you enjoy.
don’t think this is one for me boof ,but will look forward to interview boof ,all the best stu
I didn’t think that this would be your cup of tea, Stu. Thanks for stopping by though
I love stories with letters!
And this sounds like a mysterious one- thanks for the great review Boof and I can’t wait for the interview…
Thanks Lua – I should post it tomorrow or Sunday I think.
MHClark is my favourite author, I totally agree with you, she is a treat to read.
I have to be honest I skimmed your review so I didn’t read a spoiler. I received it in the mail about 2 weeks ago can’t wait to read it.
She’s great, isn’t she Marce? Never lets you down.
No spoilers in my review, though – I hate it when I read them in other peoples.
I admit to never having read MHC, probably because of her popularity. I can be that way sometimes. But you write such a compelling review that I may end up adding this to the list of books to read. I’m pretty open to trying anything so I can say why I like or don’t like it!
PS. Do you know, being ill is the worst. And yet I had a twinge of jealousy when I read that you were. I thought, oh, if I were ill, I could read!!
Ha ha, yes, I do understand that, Steph. I quite often get jealous of people who are off work sick because I imagine them being able to lie in bed all day reading.
I’ll let you know what I think when I read it Boof so that we can discuss over it !!!I still have to buy it, I am going to the Docks 76 (a shopping mall in my area) later in the afternoon and will try to find it at the Virgin Magastore, they have an English books section (a very small one though but sometimes I find books that I want, need, want, need……….;-D).
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I have heard a lot of good things about this book and your review has convinced me that I definitely have to check it out. If you are ever interested in reading another great medical thriller, you must check out J. Thomas Shaw’s latest book, “The Rx Factor.” It is pretty fast paced with non-stop action, and a touch of romance.
Thanks again for suggesting “The Shadow of Your Smile.” I can’t wait to check it out.