Helpful Score: 2
I was disappointed with the book. It is not one of the author's better books. I noticed someone gave it 2 stars. I am being generous with 3 stars. The story revolves around a long held family secret that threatens to emerge and take the life of an unsuspecting heiress.
Helpful Score: 1
This book reminded me of some of her eariler, better (in my opinion) books. Or maybe it is just that I could relate to this one more than her last few. Anyway, I enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to fans of Mary Higgens Clarks's earlier novels.
Good book. I had read every book Mary Higgins Clark has written and had loved them. That is until For the first time I was disappointed by her last book, take my heart, so I was not expecting much in this next book. I was seriously wondering if she had lost the edge. But this one, The shadow of your smile, was much better, a little heavy on the sainthood parts, but a good read.
Great Reading!
NOT one of my favorites by her! There was no suspense at all! It wasnt bad but the only thing that had my attention really was little Sally. Hope the next one is better.
Really enjoyed this one!
Typical Mary Higgins Clark but I liked it more than some of hers lately. Seems a bit "over the top" to have a nun giving birth to a love child but it did add drama to the secret. The characters were believable and I enjoyed the twists and turn of the plot.
I was a huge fan of Mary Higgins Clark 15-20 years ago, but in recent years I haven't found her books to be nearly as compelling. The Shadow of Your Smile was a welcome improvement over recent duds, but it still lacked the character development and punch of some of her former greats. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable read, and I'm glad that she is still writing.
Like most MHC novels, The Shadow of Your Smile centers around a female protagonist who is in danger and features a potential love interest for a romance back-story. While I found the romantic subplot to be very thin -- they fall in love with each other too quickly and without much contact to be emotionally satisfying -- there were enough minor characters that were well-rounded to make the story interesting. As is common in MHC novels, Catholic teaching is a thread that runs through the plot, perhaps even more than usual because the question of a nun's potential beatification is the jumping-off point for the plot. The Catholicism gets a bit heavy-handed even for a reader raised Catholic at times, but is not completely oppressive.
The weakest point of the novel is that every major development hinges on unbelievable coincidences....[SPOILER ALERTS HERE]...that an adopted child ends up working for his father's company, that the father of a baby saved by a doctor is the driver for the one woman in the world who knows her true identity, that another child saved by the doctor is actually related to her, etc. Perhaps that might be plausible if the book were set in Small Town, Montana, but since it takes place in Manhattan, that's three too many coincidences to swallow.
Despite its many weaknesses though, I enjoyed the book. Perhaps it's just out of loyalty to Mary Higgins Clark, and in support of her continuing to write well into her 80's, but I'll happily read whatever she publishes next.
Like most MHC novels, The Shadow of Your Smile centers around a female protagonist who is in danger and features a potential love interest for a romance back-story. While I found the romantic subplot to be very thin -- they fall in love with each other too quickly and without much contact to be emotionally satisfying -- there were enough minor characters that were well-rounded to make the story interesting. As is common in MHC novels, Catholic teaching is a thread that runs through the plot, perhaps even more than usual because the question of a nun's potential beatification is the jumping-off point for the plot. The Catholicism gets a bit heavy-handed even for a reader raised Catholic at times, but is not completely oppressive.
The weakest point of the novel is that every major development hinges on unbelievable coincidences....[SPOILER ALERTS HERE]...that an adopted child ends up working for his father's company, that the father of a baby saved by a doctor is the driver for the one woman in the world who knows her true identity, that another child saved by the doctor is actually related to her, etc. Perhaps that might be plausible if the book were set in Small Town, Montana, but since it takes place in Manhattan, that's three too many coincidences to swallow.
Despite its many weaknesses though, I enjoyed the book. Perhaps it's just out of loyalty to Mary Higgins Clark, and in support of her continuing to write well into her 80's, but I'll happily read whatever she publishes next.
Mary Higgins Clark did not disappoint. Olivia is 82 and dying. She has a family secret. Should she reveal it or take it to her grave. Her cousin, a nun is being considered for beatification-the final step before sainthood. It seems that a 4year boy dying of brain cancer was cured after his mother organized a prayer crusade to Sister Catherine. But Sister Catherine gave birth to a child when she was 17. Should Olivia tell Dr. Monica Farrell that Sister Catherine is her grandmother?
Very enjoyable.
The Shadow of Your Smile, the latest thriller from Mary Higgins Clark, is in almost every way typical of her previous books. I want to say right away that I enjoyed it, much more than her last book as a matter of fact. MHC raises some interesting points concerning the natural conflict between faith and science in this one.
Dr. Monica Farrell, a pediatrician with a successful practice in New York, doesn't know her father's birth mother was a woman who later took vows and is now being considered for sainthood. Miracles of healing have been attributed to Sister Catherine, her grandmother, including one involving a patient of Monica's with terminal brain cancer. Dr. Farrell is no longer a practicing Catholic and considers herself to be a scientist first and foremost. To her, miracles are simply events that will have a logical explanation some time in the future.
The man who fathered Catherine's child was an inventor whose patents provided an enormous income he willed to "any issue" of his, not knowing what had happened to the child Catherine bore in secret. The default heirs are two brothers whose greed and dishonest business practices have resulted in the necessity for multiple murder to keep their house of cards from collapsing. After the suspicious death of a close friend of Dr. Farrell's, one who was trying to help her find her father's parents, Monica is marked to be the next victim.
As with all other MHC books, there is no bad language, no descriptions of heavy sex or blood or violence, although obviously bodies do turn up - proof that a good thriller doesn't have to commit assault and battery on the senses. The female characters, whether eighteen or eighty-eight are all lady-like, dress conservatively, drink pots of tea and come from solid Catholic families. Come to think of it, the male characters are like that, too. But MHC is no lady when it comes to plotting. "Shadow" has some very ingenious twists and turns, and the steady pacing kept me turning the pages well past my bedtime.
Dr. Monica Farrell, a pediatrician with a successful practice in New York, doesn't know her father's birth mother was a woman who later took vows and is now being considered for sainthood. Miracles of healing have been attributed to Sister Catherine, her grandmother, including one involving a patient of Monica's with terminal brain cancer. Dr. Farrell is no longer a practicing Catholic and considers herself to be a scientist first and foremost. To her, miracles are simply events that will have a logical explanation some time in the future.
The man who fathered Catherine's child was an inventor whose patents provided an enormous income he willed to "any issue" of his, not knowing what had happened to the child Catherine bore in secret. The default heirs are two brothers whose greed and dishonest business practices have resulted in the necessity for multiple murder to keep their house of cards from collapsing. After the suspicious death of a close friend of Dr. Farrell's, one who was trying to help her find her father's parents, Monica is marked to be the next victim.
As with all other MHC books, there is no bad language, no descriptions of heavy sex or blood or violence, although obviously bodies do turn up - proof that a good thriller doesn't have to commit assault and battery on the senses. The female characters, whether eighteen or eighty-eight are all lady-like, dress conservatively, drink pots of tea and come from solid Catholic families. Come to think of it, the male characters are like that, too. But MHC is no lady when it comes to plotting. "Shadow" has some very ingenious twists and turns, and the steady pacing kept me turning the pages well past my bedtime.
I think this was one of the first MHC books that I wasn't compelled to devour in one setting. There really wasn't much suspense. The characters didn't draw me in and the storyline just plodded along, much too easy to guess what was going to happen.
But, she still remains one of my favorite authors.
But, she still remains one of my favorite authors.
Read this for July's "Humor" theme in my online book club, The Reading Cove. It revolved around a long-held family secret. Dr. Monica Farrell doesn't know who her blood grandparents are and there are many who never want her to find out. They go to great lengths to ensure she stays in the dark.
It had its moments, with a touch of romance with Monica and Ryan, but in the end, there were just WAY too many characters and associations, and far too many pointless tangents. It felt like the author was trying to confuse readers so they wouldn't notice the plot was being stretched much too thin. 319 pages with maybe 250 pages worth of plotting.
So when the end finally comes, it's disappointingly anti-climactic. I'm a fan of Mary Higgins Clark's earlier works, but I can't really say I'd recommend this one. C+
It had its moments, with a touch of romance with Monica and Ryan, but in the end, there were just WAY too many characters and associations, and far too many pointless tangents. It felt like the author was trying to confuse readers so they wouldn't notice the plot was being stretched much too thin. 319 pages with maybe 250 pages worth of plotting.
So when the end finally comes, it's disappointingly anti-climactic. I'm a fan of Mary Higgins Clark's earlier works, but I can't really say I'd recommend this one. C+
I could hardly wait to get this book but once I started reading it, I thought I never would get through it. The characters were hard to distinguish who was who and there were just too many of them. The story line did not hold my interest. I would not recommend this book.
I cannot even finish this book,it is so boring and predictable. I'm almost half way through and am still not interested. The characters are lackluster, the plot is boring and I can't find anything good to write about it. I'm giving up on it getting any better and will not finish reading it. What a disappointment.
Another enjoyable book.
enjoyed the book. A quick read but reminded me of the Harliquin romances. Defintely knew what was going to happen. Just nice to read a book that is not so serious sometimes.
A very interesting and tidy mystery reminiscent of the earlier Mary Higgins Clark novels. The Shadow of Your Smile has several interwoven plots that tie together nicely with a few red herrings thrown in to keep the readers guessing. Fast-paced and hard to put down.
I truly believe that it would be impossible for Mary Higgins Clark to write a bad book. I don't know how she does it but I am attempting to read all of her books and have read about 10 and there wasn't a bad one in the bunch. This one I really enjoyed too. It concerns lawyers and doctors and I love both fields. It centers around a young female doctor who is an heiress and doesn't know it. These deceitful doctors and lawyers who are aware of her lot in life therefore are out to destroy her as they have gotten their dirty fingers in the money years ago. They prefer to have her out of the way so as not to ruffle their feathered nests. Thus you have an all out mystery of the ways they attempt to kill her and all of those who come in contact to her and are getting to close to the truth. Read it !!! You'll love it!! On to the next Mary Higgins Clark
Mary Higgins Clark never fails to amaze me with her knack for writing such exciting, suspenseful books. I think that this is one of her best!
Great read!
