Book Review: Where Are You Now? by Mary Higgins Clark

As a busy mom with a fledgling business, I have to confess that it's been a long time since I simply read a novel. Oh there have been parenting books,and nutrition books, but reading for enjoyment rather than information? Wow, I forgot how good it feels! Since mysteries have always been my favorite genre, "Where Are You Now?" by Mary Higgins Clark was the perfect way for me to get back into reading.

The book begins with widowed mother Olivia MacKenzie and daughter Carolyn in the mother's upscale New York City Sutton Place townhouse as they await long-lost brother Mack's annual Mother's Day phone call. Ten years ago, then Columbia University student Charles MacKenzie Jr. ("Mack') went missing from his "perfect" life and now the only communication his family has is his yearly call. He didn't even break from this routine when his father died in the 9/11 attacks.

Sister Carolyn, now 26 years old and a law school graduate, is torn between love for her brother and a growing resentment for his abandoning the family. As she decides to track him down, she begins her own investigation, retracing his life ten years ago and slowly becoming entangled in a web of mysteries and accusations.

It seems weeks before Mack went missing, a girl disappeared from a club frequented by Mack and his college buddies. One of these friends is Nick DeMarco; owner of the newest hotspot called the Woodshed where the latest victim was last seen. Suddenly Mack is a suspect along with his friends including his former roommates Bruce Galbraith and Nick.

As Carolyn tries desperately to find her brother and clear his name, we are given numerous suspects to consider. For Detective Roy Barrott, Mack is the key suspect and he thinks Carolyn knows where Mack really is. But why are the Kramer's, superintendents in the building where Mack lived, so secretive? What is Steve Hockney, nephew of building owner Derek Olsen, hiding in his apartment? And surely it's not Carolyn's imagination that former roommate Bruce is hostile about her brother Mack - could he have had something to do with Mack's disappearance or the missing girls? Can private detective Lucas Reeves help Carolyn get to the bottom of things before it's too late?

I enjoyed this novel and found it a very quick read. There are quite a lot of characters that the author masterfully weaves into the story. I found I wanted a bit more at the end - the last surprise ending chapters covered so much in so few pages - it seemed too brief. Maybe that's just the sign of a talented author leaving her readers wanting more.