Melissa is a blissfully happy new wife and.stepmother to a beautiful three year old little girl named Riley, although she has been dealing from horrible nightmares stemming from the trauma of her abduction as a young child. Melissa and her new family have been helping her mother (Nancy) relocate to a new home in Cape Cod where she will be closer to her daughter and her family. Within a couple days while Melissa and Riley were napping Riley mysteriously disappears. All the doors and windows were locked so things don't look too good for Melissa and she becomes the prime suspect in the case along with her husband although he was away on a business trip so he has a proven alibi while poor Melissa can't believe how the evidence continues to build against her.

Melissa is an attorney herself so she understands how the legal system works and she realizes she's in huge trouble while her supportive husband begins drifting away from her as the harsh evidence against his wife is casting more and more doubt on her innocence along with some similarities from her own kidnapping years ago. In the meantime Melissa is supported by her immediate family and close friends while she is being villainised in the public eye. Her new marriage is crumbling so Melissa struggles with guilt about feeling responsible for Riley's abduction since the toddler was under her care and she doesn't understand how someone could have taken the child without her hearing or feeling the presence of someone in the house even though she was asleep since she has always been a light sleeper and the slightest noises would usually awaken her.




Why does history seem to be repeating itself? Nancy was also the prime suspect in Melissa's and her brother's kidnapping where they were almost murdered although Nancy's husband at this time never doubted his wife's innocence no.matter what evidence was found and stacked against her. If and when Melissa is found innocent in Riley's disappearance will her marriage have even the slightest chance of surviving? This was such an enjoyable and entertaining sequel to the first book "Where Are The Children" written decades ago, although this novel can definitely be read as a stand-alone since the authors did a terrific job filling in all the necessary details needed so any reader won't feel lost or confused. All the important details has been tastefully included. It was fun to see that the story was written in same style of writing that I remembered from all the earlier "Mary Higgins Clark's" books yet this writing was still current and contemporary. I am so pleased that I had the chance to read this novel and I hope the author "Alafair Burke" who was a co-writer on many of the previous books as well will continue to produce similar books in the future. The storyline was wonderful and the plot had many twists and turns right up until the ending which I really appreciated. Just when I thought the story was getting predictable there would be a sharp turn that I didn't see coming and plenty more along the way.

I did have a problem with a couple of characters that I thought were shallow with some of their emotions and I couldn't connect with their feelings. All the words were properly written, but I just couldn't get a sense of the depth of the loss and tragedy at hand. Although, Melissa was a high-powered attorney she seemed a little dimwitted to me at times plus she made quite a few stupid decisions which actually made the story more entertaining but she just wasn't the "brightest crayon in the box" in my opinion. Any of my negative thoughts did not affect the enjoyment factor of the book because maybe the characters were meant to be written that way and I may have interpreted them incorrectly. The story had a complex plot, suspense and plenty of mystery, it was definitely a fun ride trying to find out what happened to Riley and the ending was a very satisfying conclusion when all of my questions were answered.

Highly recommend for both old and new fans of the world famous "Mary Higgins Clark".

It's been several decades since I read Where Are the Children, so some of the parts of that story had faded from memory. It was still very easy to follow the plot here, though, and this novel could easily be read as a stand alone. It was a nice bookend to MHC's writing career. If there is any criticism I can make, it's that at times it seemed as though the authors were trying a little too hard on the technology front. I understand they were trying to be current, but when I start noticing tech for tech's sake in a novel for adults, it's a bit distracting.

What an amazing follow up to the original classic Where are the children now? This book had me on the edge of my seat and absolutely took my breath away.

Wow, I struggled so in not jumping to the end as the suspense was killing me knowing what happened to Riley. So don’t do it yourself just keep turning the pages, this is so worth the suspense. Very well developed characters, one doesn’t have to have read the first book, and the ending is such a surprise. This will make a great movie.

I have been a fan of Mary Higgins Clark since I was young but haven't read her books in many years. This book reminded me of what I have been missing! This was such a great book! I appreciated that it referenced the original book enough to refresh your memory of you read it or to give you enough background if you didn't. Highly recommend this book! You will not be disappointed!

I really enjoyed this book, especially for the sake of nostalgia. I have read every single one of Mary Higgins Clark's books and to find this book after her passing, was especially sweet! It was written so well with pieces of her woven throughout, with the details she always had in each of her books. Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley!

Having not read the first book, I wish I knew this was a sequel. However that being said, you can read and understand the storyline. A child has gone missing and the parent is the suspect.

This is a sequel to the Where are the Children by Mary Higgins Clark. In this book Melissa and Mike are grown and they have spent their life trying to forget what happened to them as children. Melissa had done a pretty good job of it. She is newly married to a wonderful man whose first wife died in a terrible accident. She is step mother to cute Riley. She has everything she could ever want. A successful career and a family. Melissa, Mike and Riley are moving Nancy to her new home on Cape Cod. While there Riley is taken and the authorities are pointing a finger at Melissa and it opens all those wounds from their childhood. But as Melissa investigates more she comes to a startling realization. You will have to check out this book to find out if she finds Riley and who it was the kidnapped her and why.

Mary Higgins Clark was one of my all time favorite mystery writers until her death she was “The Queen of Suspense” This story brings back from her first book “Where are the Children “ featuring the children of Nancy Harmon all grown up and again in peril. We last saw Nancy Harmon when tragedy struck her family as she suffered the heartbreak of her first marriage and the deaths of her two children hostile media coverage and the criminal charges against her. Years later Nancy relocated on Cape Cod remarried and had two more children but her worse nightmare resurfaced when they disappeared as well. This was a very enjoyable story following Nancy’s now grown up children and how someone is tormenting them. I would recommend this to all mystery readers and if you have not read “Where are the Children” read that first then Where are they now”

This book ties old and new together to form a fascinating mystery. There is a plot twist that left me gasping. This will appeal to all fans of mystery, whether or not one has read the original.

Perfect followup to what happened to the children! I read "Where are the children" long ago and was able to feel right back to the story. Mysterious and gripping, must read for Mary Higgins Clark fans. Recommend!

I am definitely a lifelong Mary Higgins Clark fan and I'm happy to see this work hit the shelves. Not to spoil the first, but once again, a child has gone missing and a parent is the main suspect.

As far as sequels go, this pulled in the drama, suspense, and emotion from the first while still being a fresh story.

I reread the first book again since it had been so many years ago, but this second book does a great job catching you up. It gets 5 stars from me! I really enjoyed how this was made more modern (i.e. the podcast). This gets a 5 star rating from me!

I remember reading the first book years ago and hoped this one would live up to the suspense of that one. It does! The characters are good (though there are a lot of them and sometimes it takes a minute to remember who is who) and the story is excellent. To me, the ending was totally unexpected. I love it when a mystery stumps me!

Who else can bring back a well-known story from 40 years ago and still make it all end with a bang? This story is great and finishes a story I didn't even realize how much I truly wanted more to.
Now I want to go back and read both of them again. Run to get this book and read it. You won't regret it!

I have been reading Mary Higgins Clark's novels since I was a child. My sister and I would spend our summer vacation at our grandparent's house in the middle of nowhere, Michigan; population 720. My grandparents had plenty of property for us to explore, and that we did, but when the temperature would approach sweltering, you could find me curled up on the couch in front of the fan with one of my grandmother's books. She must have stumbled across one of those subscription services they had back in the day where you paid them $x.xx every month and they would send you the latest hardcover thriller from your favorite authors because she had a copy of everything James Patterson and Mary Higgins Clark published up to that point in time. 11 year old me was a bit of a literary snob (and a feminist in the making) and turned up my nose at Patterson and his overly macho male leads. So I spent my summers reading and rereading Clark's work, despite the fact that these creepy tales would send me scurrying to the safety of my grandparents' room in the middle of the night with a pillow and a blanket to sleep on their floor.

"Where are the Children?", the prequel to this novel, was one of my absolute favorites. I was a little hesitant when I learned that this novel was written by Alafair Burke after Clark's death. But I have to say that I was really impressed by how true Burke was to Clark's voice. I highly recommend picking this one up, although rereading "Where are the Children" before diving in is pretty much mandatory.

Great story and well written. It starts with the main character getting dumped and finding a new love with a daughter. Their relationship moves so quickly. They help her mom to from cape cod to Long Island where her new step daughter Riley goes missing. As the police investigate she becomes the main suspect.

Where are the children now is a sequel of sorts for Mary Higgin's Clark book Where Are The Children. I was so excited to read this book, as I recall really enjoying Where Are The Children, and all of the twists and turns of that novel where Nancy Harmon lost her two children to murder, was convicted of the crime and let go on a technicality. She changed her name and life to begin again, only to have history repeat itself and her kids disappear, with her racing against a clock to find them before worse horror befalls them. Where are the Children Now has Nancy as a side character, and her daughter Melissa takes center stage in this book. Her stepdaughter goes missing in this book and again, the story makes it look to others like Melissa might have wanted her stepdaughter to disappear, so she could have her newlywed husband, all to herself.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time putting my disbelief aside while reading this novel. It certainly provided its share of twists and turns, but the story for the beginning seemed weak to this reader. What is the likelihood that another child in this family would be kidnapped? I mostly liked the character of Melissa and her husband Charlie. They didn't feel like the most developed characters, but I certainly felt for their plight. I found Nancy to be lacking in this novel and for the most part, she was only there to link the past to the present. Beyond that, she really did not serve much of a purpose to this novel. While I enjoy the twists and turns in a novel, especially when they come as a surprise, most of the twists in this novel felt contrived. I would say more about this, but I do not want to give anything away to other readers. I am sure this book will be loved by some. For this reader, I was left disappointed at the end of the book. Perhaps my expectations were too high and that was a bit of a set-up

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. .

Where are the Children Now? is an excellent suspenseful read. Great characters and a great sequel. Alafair Burke does a wonderful job keeping the spirit of Mary Higgins Clark alive and well.

This is a wonderful way to wrap up a classic Mary Higgins Clark novel! Thank you to Alafair Burke for doing such an amazing job! It’s 40 years later and Melissa is happily married with a 3 year old step child. While her husband is out of the country, their child goes missing inside locked home. Great development of characters with a plot good twist at the end. Thank you to net galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book