I read the original Where are the Children way back in junior high and it was my first Mary Higgins Clark and my first real mystery/thriller and I was hooked from then on. When I saw that there was a sequel of sorts I jumped at chance to read an advance copy and I was not disappointed. The story kept me guessing right up until the end and I stayed up late to finish it. Is is a fast paced read with great characters and I edge of your seat plot. This is a worthy successor to the original with just enough background from the first book to draw everything together.

Mary Higgins Clark was a favorite author of mine growing up. The sequel has big shoes to fill. And it succeeds! “Where are the Children Now” has been done with incredible taste, true to the spirit of Mary Higgins Clark’s style, and the story captivated me through to the end!

I did do a re-read of “Where are the Children” as I didn’t remember any of it from the two decades ago plus that I had previously read it. Too much life has happened between then and now! That said, this totally could have been read as a stand-alone without missing a beat. I did love that there was so much consistency between the two books and some fun easter eggs, which I could appreciate more having just done the re-read.

In the first story, Nancy Harmon is convicted and subsequently exonerated in the death of her two children. She moves to Cape Cod to start a new life, and history repeats itself, although the two children were found safe.

The second novel picks up with the two children, Mike and Melissa as adults. They have dealt with their trauma in very different ways. But when Melissa’s step- daughter goes missing, they come together. A psychological thriller dealing with generational trauma, this book does not let up until the end, and is a satisfying continuation of the original story that was years ahead of its time.

I highly recommend this book, and am grateful to Alafair Burke, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for providing an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Where Are The Children was published in 1974. Today we have a story continuing on the classic. Nancy Harmon has moved to the East Coast, she has gotten married and has an adult son Mike and daughter Melissa. Melissa is a lawyer and has a podcast. And now Melissa is getting married. When another child goes missing Melissa is accused because she had been missing herself.
Great mystery. A must if you like Mary Higgins Clark. I cannot give this book enough stars.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and to the publisher Simon and Schuster.

I loved the original book Where Are The Children and couldn't wait to read this! It didn't disappoint and I did not expect the twist at the end! I would read anything this author wrote!

Loved! Captured the essence of the original book with the MHC vibes but updated the story well! I look forward to more from this author.

I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Growing up my moms favorite author was Mary Higgins Clark so she bought and read every book she ever wrote, which meant I’ve read them all too! When I got this ARC I was so excited and a bit nervous to see how it would turn out. And while this isn’t necessarily the genre I read anymore it was great! This was a wonderful sequel and Burke kept the feel of Clark’s writing alive with this novel!

I read “Where Are the Children” after it was first released way back when. It was my first introduction to domestic suspense and I remember really enjoying the it. The current novel is a wonderful sequel and a real tribute to Mary Higgins Clark. This story features Nancy Harmon and her now grown children Melissa and Mike, the main characters in the original novel. There are numerous characters and suspects who might be involved in the kidnapping of recently married Melissa’s stepdaughter. Well-plotted with lots of suspicion cast on different characters throughout. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy in return for an honest review. This one was a special treat!

In the original story Where are the Children?, a young California mother named Nancy Harmon was convicted of murdering her two children. Though released on a technicality, she was abandoned by her husband and became such a pariah in the media that she was forced to move across the country to Cape Cod, change her identity and appearance, and start a new life. Years later her two children from a second marriage, Mike and Melissa, would go missing, and Nancy yet again became the prime suspect—but this time, Nancy was able to confront the secrets buried in her past and rescue her kids from a dangerous predator.

Now, more than four decades later, a lawyer turned successful podcaster, Melissa has recently married a man whose first wife died tragically, leaving him and their young daughter, Riley, behind. While Melissa and her brother, Mike, help their mom, Nancy, relocate from Cape Cod to the Hamptons, Melissa’s new stepdaughter goes missing. Melissa and Mike race to find Riley to save her from the trauma they still struggle with.

I remember reading "Where Are the Children" when I was younger and falling in love with thrillers after that. So...when I saw that there was a sequel to one of my all time favorite books, I knew that I needed to drop everything to ready it, and I am so glad I did. The nostalgia I felt reading this book was unmatched. I loved how even though this story followed many of the same patterns as the first book, it was still its own story. I was not expecting that ending! Great story.

In 1976 I was 11 years old and already a voracious reader. When I found a copy of Where Are The Children sitting on a shelf in Brookline Booksmith. It was my first adult read and it was the book that began my love of psychological thrillers. In Where Are The Children Michael And Missy go missing from their backyard late one morning.. suspicion quickly falls on their mother Nancy after it was discovered that she'd been convicted of murdering her first two children. She was later released on a technicality.
In Where Are The Children Now we meet back up with Nancy and Michael and Missy ( Now Melissa ) Melissa is lawyer and a popular podcaster. Newly married to Charlie and a stepmother. to his 3 year old daughter Riley. Riley goes missing from her pack n play while under Melissa's care Suspicion quickly falls on Melissa as the clues get more and more terrifying. Soon Melissa's fighting for both her marriage and her life I thought I had guessed correctly who the villain was and I was wrong. Twice. The twists come heavy and fast. There's more than one villain here. And the final reveal is a whopper. I waited for this book for over a year and was not disappointed. It is a more than worthy sequel and a thrilling and evocative read all on it's own. Though I do recommend reading the first book it's not a necessity. It will just give you lovely nostalgic vibes and make you wish you lived on the cape. Though the second book takes place in Long Island. Five enthusiastic stars. Thank You Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an Arc of this book

Wow, this is a really great read! Where Are the Children Now? by authors Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke is the sequel to her earlier famous novel titled Where Are the Children?. This story is about the same characters, Nancy Harmon and her two children Mike and Melissa, but it takes place about 40 years later. Melissa is now a lawyer and a very popular podcaster. She marries and becomes a stepmother to a beautiful 3 year old girl named Riley. And that’s where all the trouble starts! Riley turns up missing and the hunt for where she is and who has taken her begins. This is a story that’s filled with suspense and it keeps you guessing the entire way through. There are so many twists and turns in the storyline that I wasn’t sure who to trust or who to believe. It just goes to show that sometimes the people you think you are the closest to might just be deceiving you for their own personal gain. This was a very exciting story and I’d like to thank Simon & Schuster for accepting my request and NetGalley for the arc to read and review. I really enjoyed reading this, the suspense had me feeling like I was on the edge of my seat and it’s a book I’m recommending to all my reader friends. Although it’s a sequel, I do believe it can be read as a standalone. I’m rating this with a well-deserved 5 stars and look forward to reading more by these authors very soon!

For those readers unfamiliar with Mary Higgins Clark, a little history. …Clark, who died in 2020, has been attributed with creating the modern suspense novel. Of her 50+ bestsellers, her first, “Where are the Children?” (1975) sold the most and is still in print, it’s 75th edition.

Clark was one of my mother’s favorite authors. I have read all her books and, out of sentimentality, continue to do so as a matter of routine, and also because I like them.

In the first Where are the Children? a mother in California was convicted of killing her two children and then released on a technicality. Abandoned by her husband, she changed her identity, moved to Cape Cod, and remarried. Her two children from this second marriage then went missing. Suspicion again fell on the mother, but eventually the children were rescued and the true perpetrator identified.

In this sequel, decades later, the daughter, Melissa, who had been kidnapped is married to a widower with a young daughter. When that child goes missing, suspicion falls on Melissa and it is up to her and her brother to solve the case, while also confronting their unresolved issues related to their early experience.

There are twists and turns and the suspense of wanting to find the truth kept me glued to the book that I finished in a day, eschewing all outside interruptions including a beautiful day outside! MHC books do have a bit of a fairy tailish quality to them. With some very likable characters, they all seem to end with something positive coming out of something terrible.

It has been so many years (and so many books!) since I read the first book, I remembered no details from it; that did not interfere with being able to pick up the past history as it related to this story.

I was SO EXCITED to read this book. Come to find out, I completely forgot what happened in the first book. The authors did a great job of providing the back story but I would have enjoyed this book more if I had re read the first one.
Otherwise great story, great characters and I didn't know who "did it" until the very end.

This is the long-awaited, eagerly anticipated follow-up to Mary Higgins Clark’s, Where are the Children? That book sold millions of copies which contributed to the “Queen of Suspense.” title bestowed upon Mary Higgins Clark..

The first book was the poignant, heartbreaking story of Nancy Harmon, whose children were kidnapped and killed. Nancy was wrongly convicted of the crime but through a technicality was later released. Upon being exonerated of the crime, which was committed by her husband, she was persecuted by the media and moved from California to the east coast where she reinvented herself with a new identity. She even got married again and had two more children. At the same young age, Nancy’s current children, Mike, and Melissa, were also kidnapped and were nearly killed, however, Nancy was able to rescue them.

Fast forward forty years and Nancy’s daughter, Melissa who is an attorney and a successful podcaster is married to Charlie, whose wife died in a tragic accident, leaving him with a three-year-old daughter, Riley. Melissa and her brother Mike are helping their mother move to a smaller house on Long Island from Cape Cod where, upon the death of her husband, she has sold their family home. While busy with the move, Riley mysteriously goes missing after a nap. Reliving their own childhood trauma of when they were taken, Melissa and Mike are frantic to discover any clues that will lead them to Riley.

This is a riveting, intriguing, fast-paced story that captured my full attention right from the start. Long ago secrets are revealed, and several relationships prove to be not as they seem. Just as the original Where Are The Children, I was not able to put this book down until the last page was turned and, I could not turn the pages fast enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Simon & Schuster for a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions and comments are my own.

I started reading the book but felt that I really needed to read the first book before reading this one.. I felt it was
not a smooth entree into the background

This one had me guessing to the end with lots of plot twists. This is the sequel to Where Are the Children written 40 years ago looking at the lives of two children who went through a horrific event, now grown. Full of suspense and that great Mary Higgins Clark character paranoia!

I have always loved Mary Higgins Clark's books and this one is no exception. I somehow missed Where Are the Children but was able to pick up quickly with this one and not be lost.

This book focuses on Melissa and her new life now. Melissa meet a guy when she was going to counseling named Charlie. Melissa and Charlie end up getting married and Melissa gains a 5 year old step-daughter that she adores. Melissa has taken her training as a lawyer and now does a podcast and has many followers. They discuss crime cases and Melissa gives her opinion as an educated lawyer on many situations,

Melissa takes her step-daughter to the park one day and then they head back home for a nap when tragedy strikes. Melissa is immediately throw back into her past when she and her brother were taken and did not know if they were going to be found before they died. Charlie is out of town but when he gets home, he is told to stay away from Melissa until they can find his daughter.

Things begin to be strange and not add up for Melissa with Charlie. Does she really even know who she married? This book is full of suspense and will keep you turning the pages until the very end. I thought that this book was well written and kept your attention until the very end.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book.

Really great novel to read! Full of twists and turns. You can't guess until the very end. The end was weak but the of the book was good.

The next chapter of this story about 2 kidnapped children who are now grown up. The woman marries a man with a child who is then kidnapped. Brother and sister grown ups help figure out what happened.

I was a bit nervous to Read this one after the success of the original decades ago. Melissa and Mike are adults and Melissa’s worlds collide in coincidental ways when she finds herself wrapped up and the prime suspect in a kidnapping. All the characters except Ray are back and I enjoyed closing out their story. Alafair Burke did a great job bringing it all back to life!