Mary Higgins Clark has always been one of my favorite authors and I've read almost all of her books at least once. She has a way of bringing creepiness and thrills into a book that few others have. To that aspect, A Cry in the Night does not disappoint and calls for a 3.5 star rating instead of a 3.The book gives you enough chills to have you looking over your shoulder and is gripping enough to keep you reading well into the night. Clark's older works were some of her best when it came to the creepy quotient and this book testifies to that fact. It has all the much loved sinister happenings, suspense, and twisted characters you would expect from an older book by Clark. It also has all the things that you may have found missing from her more recent work, giving it a definite edge of her now-available, not too creepy stories.As far as characterization goes, I thought that all the characters were really easy to associate with - their weakness, strengths, and relationships had a nice curve that you could see developing. Jenny, who is forced to live a life all alone finds love in the man who shows her tenderness. While this may seem to some like the attitude of a weak woman, it isn't too unreal to imagine. She doesn't fall for him because he's rich or handsome; she falls for him because she finally meets the man who understands her - a man who gives her all the love and care that she desired from her first husband.The other characters evolve similarly. And the best part of the characterization, in my opinion, was the mind set of a small village that Clark has painted to aptly. An outsider and city girl, Jenny needs to adjust to the lifestyle of a smaller town. Her reaction to the house, the farm, the people, and the town as well as their reaction to her was depicted much like you would expect such situations to play out. Throw in the fact that the story moves quick and is gripping, the book moves along at a fast pace that doesn't really lose its track anywhere.That being said, it still wasn't as good as other books of hers; and that's why I would give it a 3.5 rather than a 4 star rating.The first thing that the book didn't have going for it was, oddly enough, its speed. While it was great that the book moved along at a fast pace, I wish that it didn't do so by simply cutting chunks of time out altogether. In one sentence in the middle of a page, you will read about the present and in the next sentence, it will be a couple of days or even a week later. Those kinds of jumps seemed altogether too abrupt and I would have liked to see a little more continuity in the way that events unfolded.The second thing that pulls down the appeal of the book was its predictability. Maybe it's because you've read too many of Clark's books or too many books in the genre, but the book is highly predictable, down to some very minute details. So in the end, you're not exactly left with a feeling of, 'Did not see that coming!'Even with its jumps and predictability, the book still holds its own thanks to Clark's way of making things really creepy and gripping. In spite of its shortcomings, I did stay up late to know the end. It doesn't matter then if you're awake because you just need to know what happens or because you want to confirm if what you think will happen actually happens. The point remains that you did stay up!All in all, this is one of Clark's better books, reminiscent of her older, trusted style that comes with the right doses of chemistry, story, and chills. If you're a Mary Higgins Clark fan and haven't read this one, then you definitely should pick it up. If you've never read her work before, this isn't the best one to start with but can definitely do if you don't have too many other options. And if you love any book that's in the genre of mystery and suspense, then this one will make an interesting and quick read, even if you probably figure out how it will end much before time.
I read this book years ago and remember it being a thrilling, suspenseful story. When I picked it up to read it again I couldn’t recall the details of it – only that it was a keeper. I’m happy to say it remains one after a second reading. I didn’t expect it to be quite as good the second time. Sometimes books just don’t hold up. But this one still managed to give a good ride despite some very minor flaws. In this wonderfully creepy book the main character, Jenny, is a struggling mother of two young girls. She meets Erich, a man who seems to be her ultimate Prince Charming. After this rich, handsome, and sensitive fellow whisks her off her feet to live in his mansion she discovers he’s far from the man she expected. Her new husband is manipulative, abusive and possibly something even worse. Jenny’s feelings of being stalked, paired with her dawning realization that her children are in danger, comes across with visceral impact. It made me feel positively uneasy. It’s a fast read, and although it starts off slow it does build momentum quickly. Towards the end it’s hard to put down. There are many scary occurrences. When Jenny finds the painting, the horror is detailed so well that I could see it perfectly. The writing is accessible and the dialog is fast-moving, with easily digestible chunks that enhance the suspense and push the story to its frightening climax. This is a good suspense book despite its old-fashioned heroine. I had some minor problems with Jenny that I’m pretty sure didn’t bother me years ago, relating to how weak, naïve, and just plain unlikely she is. Jenny tolerates many of Erich’s growing eccentricities for much longer than I found realistic for this day and age, but then again, this book was written a few decades ago. It’s hard to imagine a modern woman accepting such dependence and isolation and being completely romantically focused on her man despite annoyances such as his continual talking about Caroline. I just had a hard time seeing past that, especially when she’s sick during her pregnancy. On the one hand she’s hard to root for. But on the other hand, reading about what happens to this old-fashioned innocent woman as a result of her rushing into a relationship with someone she barely knows is very suspenseful – scary, inevitable, shocking. The book managed to hook, then disturb me for a second time. It has an effective combination of romance and mystery, and it held my attention throughout.
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The book "A Cry In The Night" by Mary Higgins Clark was an ok book that does leave you confused on what is wrong with her and why is she with men who are mentally instable.The book also has a slow start that got me board after the first few chapters.The book does have a good story plot that has you want to keep reading to find out what will happend next.This book really isn't suspenseful but more creepy because of how her new husband Erich Kreuger has this wierd attachment with his mother and how he keeps everything in the house the same it was before his mom died.Not only does her new husband have a problem but her ex husband also is a drunk lunatic who needs money from her then tries to kiss her as if they where still married.While all this is happenig she has to take care of her two daughters and a dog and the horses, then after finding out all the secrets of her new husband she finds out she is pregnant with Erich Kreuger's baby. While she tries to escape everyone starts dying, the dog, the horses even her ex dies.This book is not scary which did disappoint me but the story and how well the author puts it all together.But not only is the book not scary,it is also boaring the only thing good about it, is that is well put together , that's why im giving it 2 stars.
—Israel
Short review for now.The characters are almost unbelievably stupid, naive, and blissful. However, at the same time, there probably are real people out there as weird and ignorant as the characters in this book.Although the characters made this almost unbelievable, it got better during the second half of the book. The second half were almost realistic repercussions of their previously naive actions. I am only using these words from lack of other ones (it's 2:21 AM right now).I'm not sure why this was a bestseller, but it does have a good element of suspense involved and was, overall, pretty entertaining.Tentative 2.5/5Recommended for a light read if you enjoy suspense and craziness. I might try more of Clark's books, as I've heard that she has better ones out there. Happy Reading!
—Viv
PrevedibileLettura di evasione tecnicamente ineccepibile: prosa fluida ed efficacemente descrittiva, ritmo sostenuto con punte di incalzante tensione, abile dosaggio nell’introduzione degli elementi rivelatori del “mistero”. Peccato però che il soggetto sia tanto sfruttato e prevedibile. L’incontro, all’interno di un thriller, con un partner dotato di tutti i requisiti positivi immaginabili già di per sé risulta sospetto; il fatto poi che questo tema sia stato trattato in ogni variante più o meno credibile e più o meno riuscita in tanti romanzi e pellicole ne limita senza dubbio l’apprezzamento. A meno di non imbattersi in una nuova Daphne du Maurier, e non è certo il caso di questa pur apprezzabile scrittrice.
—Ginny_1807
