The Lost Years, by Mary Higgans Clark

 

The Lost Years

Author:  Mary Higgins Clark

Published By: Simon & Schuster

Date Published: April 3, 2012

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 292

Recommended Age: Adults

Read and Reviewed By:  Me

Rating: B/4

I got the book from the library.

Summary:

Biblical scholar Jonathon Lyons believes he has found the rarest of rare parchments, a letter written by Jesus, which was stolen from the Vatican library in the 1500s.  He has several experts check it out in secrecy. Within days, he is found shot to death in his home office with his wife suffering from Alzheimer’s hiding in the office closet holding the gun and mumbling incoherently.  Did his wife shoot him because he was having an affair?  Or did one of his closes friends murder him for the parchment?

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this book very much.  It’s the first time I ever read a Mary Higgins Clark book and since I enjoyed it I may read more of hers in the future. I found the plot of this story to be interesting.  It is what it intrigued me to pick up Clark’s book and put it on my To Be Read list. It’s an easy read.  The reader will not feel he or she is trudging through a swamp trying to figure out what is going on.  The characters are well-developed and made to be realistic. 

I did not like Detective Simon Benet.  He seemed to have prejudices, which led him to have a one-track mind.  I feel he wanted to choose the most obvious suspect just because it would make his job easier, and he would get annoyed with his female partner whenever she would suggest other possibilities.  I am also annoyed that I was able to pick out the true murderer several chapters before the last chapter and before the pompous detective did.

For these reasons, I gave The lost Years four stars and a grade of B.  Clark has a wonderful imagination and has told us a tale that could be plausible. The reader is not left thinking, “How ridiculous! That would never happen.”  If you are a fan of Mary Higgins Clark already, I recommend reading her latest book The Lost Years.  If you have never read anything by Clark before, but do love mysteries, I recommend giving this book a read.

Parents:

Language: some

Adult Content: None

Violence: Some