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6th out of 28 books
—
22 voters
A Stranger Is Watching
Ronald Thompson knows he never killed Nina Peterson... yet in two days the state of Connecticut will take his life, having found him guilty via due process of law. But Thompson's death will not stop the pain and anger of Nina's husband, Steve. Thompson's death will not still the fears of Nna's six-year-old son, Neil, witness to his mother's brutal slaying. Not even the lov...more
Paperback, 322 pages
Published
2005
by Pocket Books
(first published 1977)
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I chose to read the book "A Stranger Is Watching" by Mary Higgins Clark. This book follows the story of a man named Steve as well as his son Neil and Steve's girlfriend Sharon. One day when Sharon is watching Neil alone, a mysterious man only calling himself "Foxy" kidnaps them both. From then on, the story follows individual characters ranging from Steve to Sharon and even Foxy himself as Steve tries to save his girlfriend and his son. We are given several viewpoints of the situation through th...more
This was exactly my kind of book a few years ago. But not any longer. I started losing my patience for a whole paragraph that describes how a person stops the car, gets down from it, unlocks the door and kills a stranger. I mean the mundane no longer interests me. I know that after getting down, someone has to walk to the door and ring the bell etc... i also understand that it would be too boring to just write
1) man comes
2) man kills etc.
Am not sure exactly how i would have liked it...
Sorry ab...more
1) man comes
2) man kills etc.
Am not sure exactly how i would have liked it...
Sorry ab...more
This book was very fast paced. Probably one of the more suspenseful books I’ve read in my lifetime, although I wouldn’t really say it was my type of book. The whole book, page by page, you are forced to be on the edge of your seat. I can honestly recall one day in class when I actually quietly said, “come on!” out loud.
I think the Author uses a great amount of secretive foreshadowing because several times in the beginning, quotes and events in the book affected the end of the book. The book was...more
I think the Author uses a great amount of secretive foreshadowing because several times in the beginning, quotes and events in the book affected the end of the book. The book was...more
Mary Higgins Clark is another pop corn read for me and I was lucky enough to pick a bunch of her books at a discount sale. :)
This book deals with a topic i have never been able to make up my mind about - Capital punishment. As a man faces death penalty for a crime he did not commit, the actual murderer is plotting another horrible death in the same family where he wrecked havoc a few years ago. Steve lost his wife Nina 2 years ago to a very angry killer and is only now ready to welcome a new lov...more
This book deals with a topic i have never been able to make up my mind about - Capital punishment. As a man faces death penalty for a crime he did not commit, the actual murderer is plotting another horrible death in the same family where he wrecked havoc a few years ago. Steve lost his wife Nina 2 years ago to a very angry killer and is only now ready to welcome a new lov...more
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Mary Higgins Clark pretty much never disappoints. I was actually surprised to find that this was originally published in 1977. It was only when I found myself asking why the characters were using payphones rather than cell phones that I looked up the publication date.
A good, fast-paced mystery. I picked it up off my shelves of books I pick up at thrift stores for $0.25-$0.50 while trying to decide what to read next, knowing it would only take me a day or two to finish. It was an engrossing stor...more
A good, fast-paced mystery. I picked it up off my shelves of books I pick up at thrift stores for $0.25-$0.50 while trying to decide what to read next, knowing it would only take me a day or two to finish. It was an engrossing stor...more
Strangely enough, I loved this book even though the summary made me cringe. MHC does a lovely job handling a charged political topic in a way that is about the characters and their thoughts/feelings, and not her own, or there's very little authorial hand of God in this one. The storyline is typical but she took time to draw the characters out in a way that made me care about who won/loss and died. I am still not sure why I find this to be a 5 star book other than it kept me up all night like a g...more
Okay, so I needed a book to read....still can't get my hands on the book club book.........so I raided Zach's bookshelves. He likes Mary Higgins Clark and buys them at the .25 cent library sales. He said his teacher read this to them in 10th grade. I had never read any Mary Higgins Clark, as popular as she is. I was hooked! Very well-written and fun suspense story. And yes, I was able to fall asleep. I was worried about that since all of my reading time is usually at night.....as a result I ofte...more
Moi qui jusque là est détesté toute lecture se rapprochant du policier, je dois dire que ce livre m'a tenu en haleine jusqu'au bout, et que je ne regrette certainement pas de l'avoir lu.
Mary Higgins Clark nous emmène au coeur d'une course contre la montre d'une soirée, où une femme et un enfant son enlevés par un dénommé Renard, qui n'hésitera pas à les tuer si nécessaire. Steve est un journaliste qui croit en l'efficacité de la peine de mort, suite meurtre de sa femme, quelques années auparav...more
Mary Higgins Clark nous emmène au coeur d'une course contre la montre d'une soirée, où une femme et un enfant son enlevés par un dénommé Renard, qui n'hésitera pas à les tuer si nécessaire. Steve est un journaliste qui croit en l'efficacité de la peine de mort, suite meurtre de sa femme, quelques années auparav...more
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Mary Higgins Clark's A Stranger is Watching was suspenseful and hard to put down at times, but it was nothing earth-shattering. The formulaic plot involves a kidnapping, a possible connection to the murder two years previously of the kidnapped child's mother, and a race against time to save the wrongly accused from capital punishment. It is analogous to a movie that is pure mindless entertainment that is riveting to watch at the moment but not particularly conversation-stimulating afterwards.
المرة الأولى التي أقرأ فيها رواية للكاتبة الأمريكية ماري هيجنز كلارك ..
اعتدت على كتابات أجاثا كريستي البوليسية وهي البارعة في هذا المجال ..
الرواية لم تعجبني كثيرا ..
فهي ضعيفة من وجهة نظري وايضا
مكتوبة وكأنها فيلم
..
فنحن نقفز بين " اللقطات " أقصد الأحداث ..
وهي طريقة صعبة المجاراة ..
المهم انها تتحدث عن قضية إعدام شاب ..
ليتبين عبر الرواية انه بريء ..
مع وجود قاتل متسلسل وقنبلة وقضية اختطاف .
قصة اعتيادية في الكثير من الأفلام الأمريكية .
اعتدت على كتابات أجاثا كريستي البوليسية وهي البارعة في هذا المجال ..
الرواية لم تعجبني كثيرا ..
فهي ضعيفة من وجهة نظري وايضا
مكتوبة وكأنها فيلم
..
فنحن نقفز بين " اللقطات " أقصد الأحداث ..
وهي طريقة صعبة المجاراة ..
المهم انها تتحدث عن قضية إعدام شاب ..
ليتبين عبر الرواية انه بريء ..
مع وجود قاتل متسلسل وقنبلة وقضية اختطاف .
قصة اعتيادية في الكثير من الأفلام الأمريكية .
Enticing. That is one word that sums up this book. I thought it might go a little slower since the ones past have done so. But I was shocked to find out that I was mistaken. I read this faster than any of her others and I liked it meanwhile. I also like that she intertwines her characters and makes them involved in some way, in some aspect of the story. This book makes me want to learn self-defense and how to protect myself in situations like these.
Good book keeps you on the edge of your seat. Neil watches his mother die, but can't remember the killer, Steve falls in love with Sharon. Sharon is a jounalist who becomes involved with Steve and his son and gets tangled up in this web of intrigue. Ronald Thompson is scheduled to die for the killing of Nina Peterson , who he is innocent of killing,,,,. and it is all tied together. Great book. Keeps you on the edge of your seat!!!
Oct 20, 2009
Lisa
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-thriller-suspense,
meh
Read this book as part of my research on suspense writing. I found the characters rather flat and it read like a cheap paperback romance/soap opera script. Although I didn't like her style with this particular book, it is a pretty good example of how to build suspense and a great look at a very successful author's early attempts. (Although, why she made the kind of money she did with this particular book I will never know).
I had to read this in French for my French class but it's originally written in English so not to worry if you guys want to read it (which I highly recommend you to)!
It's a bit confusing at first because there are just SO MANY characters to keep track of but then you kind of get to know everyone better and how to differentiate between them which is when you start to genuinely enjoy this suspense-filled novel.
It's a bit confusing at first because there are just SO MANY characters to keep track of but then you kind of get to know everyone better and how to differentiate between them which is when you start to genuinely enjoy this suspense-filled novel.
I had forgotten how long ago this book was written until I picked it up off my bookshelf and started flipping through it. Somehow, I managed to not read this book way back when, when I used to read every thriller I could get my hands on. Oh well.
This book was really nothing special as far as thrillers go, but it was a well-paced read. Clark certainly refined this art a long time ago, and it shows. Seemed a bit formulaic at times, but it's definitely well worth the read.
This book was really nothing special as far as thrillers go, but it was a well-paced read. Clark certainly refined this art a long time ago, and it shows. Seemed a bit formulaic at times, but it's definitely well worth the read.
I just finished "A Stranger is Watching" and I can highly recommend this book to everyone. Ms. Clarke has held true to her writing style and once again given us an exciting, fast paced, hard to put down, page turner not to be missed. A large cast of characters that do not get lost in the story but each play their important part of the storyline. A great read do not miss it.
I loved MHC in jr high and high school. Over the years I have shied away from her as her formula in writing is very predictable. I revisited this book and the magic is just not there. Written in 1977, the police work is archaic and dull as was the plot line. I guess it is time to move on. However i cant deny that MHC is still a fun choice for a quick, light read.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Honestly, It's been a while since I read this book but I am a big fan of Mary Higgins Clark and read a lot of her books. I love her suspense thrillers.This one stands out to me as one of my favorites.
Ronald Thompson knows he never killed Nina Peterson... yet in two days the state of Connecticut will take his life, having found him guilty via due process of law. But Thompson's death will not stop the pain and anger of Nina's husband, Steve. Thompson's death will not still the fears of Nna's six-year-old son, Neil, witness to his mother's brutal slaying. Not even the love and friendship of Sharon Martin, a journalist who is slowly becoming a part of their world, will ever erase their bitter me...more
This one was about a man that had killed a man's wife a few years ago and now kidnapped his son and current girl friend. It was down to the wire for them to get to safety. Happy ending.
I went through a Mary Higgins Clark kick last spring. I'm over it. They're pretty interchangeable. And the women always wear caftans. I didn't even know what a caftan was.
Dec 16, 2012
Amy Wolff
added it
Read this a long time ago (probably in high school), and thought I would read it again for fun. Some of the plot is predictable, but still an enjoyable book and easy reading.
This was the first MHC book I read back when I was 13. I loved it so much. I've read it again since then and it's a little formulaic like her other stuff, but still entertaining.
Believe it or not I had to read this in my Freshman (9th grade) literature class! I just remember plowing through it. One of many examples of why I now homeschool my children.
This book was a mystery that kept my attention but I cannot say that there was any profitt to reading this book. My teacher friend wh is my workout partner loaned it to me.
A standard Mary Higgins Clark book. I read this one and realized that I had read it before. A quick and easy read without too much guesswork as to who the bad guy is.
The first one I've ever read from Mary Higgins Clark.
I thought this suspense was very good. It kept me hooked until the end and I was very satisfied with the end.
I thought this suspense was very good. It kept me hooked until the end and I was very satisfied with the end.
Mary is the queen of suspense! I was hooked and on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. Great if you are looking for a good mystery/thriller.
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Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins Clark Conheeney, best known as Mary Higgins Clark, (b December 24, 1927 in the Bronx, New York) is an American author of suspense novels. Each of her twenty-four suspense novels has been a bestseller in the United States and various European countries, and all of her novels remain in print as of 2007, with her debut suspense novel, Where Are The Children, in its sevent...more
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