by Mary Higgins Clark
Clark’s debut novel has a decent premise. After her guilty verdict for the murder of her two children is overturned, a young widow flees California, changes her identity, and begins life anew in New England. Seven years later, her new children also go missing. Guess who the cops consider their prime suspect.
That’s an intriguing plot. Unfortunately, too many other elements of Children cry out, “first-time novelist.” Clark’s characters are shallow and dull, the dialogue is often stilted, and the atmosphere is dated (the book was published in 1975).
At times, I felt like I had stumbled onto an ABC movie of the week from 50 years ago. Not exactly boring, but also not memorable.
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