always a pleasure.

Mary Higgins Clark is known as the “Queen of Suspense” and for good reason. Her mysteries are always thrilling, and she doesn’t make a habit of disappointing her readers. Daddy’s Gone A Hunting, which came out in April, keeps you on the edge of your seat, wherever that may be.

This particular story opens with a literal BANG when an early morning explosion at a family-owned furniture firm leaves one person dead and another gravely injured. The deceased, Gus Schmidt, was a disgruntled craftsman who was forced into retirement. Found alongside Gus is Kate Connelly, although alive, her condition has resulted in a coma that leaves her unable to defend herself when she becomes a person of interest in the case.

Kate’s sister, Hannah, who is left to pick up the pieces, is no stranger to tragedy. Hannah is a fashion designer with a promising future, and is fully committed to clearing her sister’s name. She only hopes that Kate will survive to tell the truth of what happened that fateful night. Meanwhile, Kate is struggling to overcome a life-threatening fever and regain consciousness. She’s also having flashbacks of events that leave her vulnerable to harm but cannot express this to the outside world, but only to us readers, which isn’t very helpful in this situation. Clark incorporates several other mysteries into the storyline as well, including the disappearances of an aspiring actress and a war veteran. You know, just in case the main plot of the story wasn’t suspenseful enough.