It’s not often that a sequel is written over four decades after the original. But in WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN NOW?, that is exactly what Alafair Burke has done with Mary Higgins Clark’s WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN?, which was published in 1975. While some might want to reread the first book, it’s really not necessary as Burke does a masterful job filling us in on what transpired all those years ago, while making the sharing of that backstory completely natural and a part of the story.
“The final twist is one that only the most hardened thriller aficionado will have seen coming. I certainly didn’t. This sequel is extraordinarily entertaining and an intriguing thriller that does, indeed, stand on its own.”
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The first quarter of WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN NOW? moves at a leisurely pace as we are introduced to the characters and realize what Melissa and her brother, Mike, went through when they were children. Their mother Nancy, whose tragic life was the basis for WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN?, is grieving the death of her second husband, Mike and Melissa’s father. But we are happy that she had a wonderful, loving marriage and finally was able to enjoy life with her new family. Her controlling, abusive, amoral first husband killed their two children and framed her for the murder. After Nancy moved across the country, changed her name and made a fresh start, Mike and Melissa were kidnapped. She was the immediate suspect. The true abductor was her first husband, who had faked his death and decided on revenge.
Mike and Melissa are still dealing with the trauma of what happened in their childhood. Melissa represses all memories, but now they are starting to surface. It’s interfering with her “choose happiness” motto, and she becomes angry when Mike mentions that terrible time. So when Melissa is struggling after the death of her father and she meets Charlie, a widower, at a group grief counseling session, the attraction is immediate. She also is enchanted by his two-year-old daughter, Riley. Within a year he proposes, and at the beginning of the book they are planning their wedding. The only sticking point is Rachel, Charlie’s sister, who refuses to attend the ceremony after not being at all welcoming to Melissa.
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Mike expresses concern that the whole thing is happening too quickly, and he’s suspicious about the speed with which they’re getting married. Melissa is hurt by this and a bit angry. She dated her last boyfriend, Patrick, for six years before he ended their relationship. That rejection was heartbreaking, and she thought she’d never find someone she could trust with her heart. Charlie seems like the perfect husband – loving, attentive and thoughtful. She thinks so, and we do too.
When Riley is kidnapped after we strongly suspect that Melissa was drugged, the atmosphere of the novel changes, and we are on high alert. It brings back all the horror of Mike and Melissa’s abduction, and Nancy is reliving the stress and heartbreak that the disappearance of any child might bring. But it feels personal to her, occurring all these years later. Does this have something to do with what happened to Mike and Melissa all those years ago? We wonder why these other characters who seemingly have nothing to do with the story are making an appearance. Is Riley’s kidnapping a deed aimed at Charlie or Melissa, or is it something else?
As we struggle along with the characters to figure out what happened and who is responsible for the kidnapping, Burke surprises us with the actual perpetrator and the motive. We’ve been looking in one direction while the real reason is coming up on us from behind. The final twist is one that only the most hardened thriller aficionado will have seen coming. I certainly didn’t. This sequel is extraordinarily entertaining and an intriguing thriller that does, indeed, stand on its own.
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Category: WHERE
