All Through the Night »

Mary Higgins Clark likes to delve into different worlds in her crackerjack novels of suspense; but while the milieus change, her stories are always compelling. As she puts it: "I write about people going about their daily lives, not looking for trouble, who are suddenly plunged into menacing situations."

Mary Higgins Clark, the reigning queen of suspense, gives her millions of fans an early Christmas gift with All Through the Night. Clark's new novel is an engrossing suspense tale that reunites readers with Alvirah and Willy Meehan, that lucky couple who won 40 million dollars in All Through the Night and decided to do what any other multimillionaire couple would do: solve deadly crimes. All Through the Night gives the Meehans their most interesting case yet -- one of a possibly fraudulent will, a stolen treasure, and a young girl with a very mysterious past. While this is lighter than the usual Clark fare, its holiday theme and involving story line make it a wonderful stocking stuffer.

Library Journal

Clark's popular lottery winners, amateur sleuth Alvirah and her husband, Willy, are getting ready for Christmas. When the local after-school center is threatened and a friend's will is contested, Alvirah goes on the job. Before long, she also finds herself trying to locate a child abandoned seven years earlier by a young mother and trying to solve the mystery of a stolen chalice. Normally known for her suspenseful stories, Clark (You Belong to Me, Audio Reviews, LJ 6/1/98) doesn't quite deliver. The listener isn't all that surprised at any of the revelations at the end of the program. The reading, by the author's daughter, best-selling writer and actor Carol Higgins Clark, is lively. However, numerous characters and little voice differentiation make the narrative difficult to follow. The author is always popular, but this is not an essential purchase. Recommended for larger collections.--Adrienne Furness, Lockport P.L., NY