Where Are You Now- Mary Higgins Clark- A Thriller!

        Where Are You Now by Mary Higgins Clark is a great book, the kind of book that is difficult to put down. The premise of this story is the disappearance ten years previously of a college student by the name of Charles MacKenzie junior, affectionately known as Mac. Mac, a great son and brother disappeared during his senior year in college, when he was twenty one. Carolyn, Mac’s older sister an attorney in New York City, is determined to find out what happened to her brother all those years ago.

            Although she is determined to find her brother, Carolyn is getting increasingly frustrated with his yearly calls home on Mother’s Day, where he tells his mother “I’m okay, but don’t look for me.” Even though Mac’s father was killed on 9/11, he doesn’t seem to care, and his routine never changes. Because of this, Carolyn is upset and she feels her brother is torturing them. She wants to find him and put a stop to it.

            Carolyn asks for help from the police, but they say there is nothing they can do since Mac contacts his family, and therefore he must not be in danger. Mac even leaves a note in the collection basket at church asking Carolyn to stay away. Things get dangerous when another college student disappears and Carolyn realizes that two more have disappeared over the past few years. The police believe that Mac is somehow related to the disappearance of this woman.

            Nick DeMarco, a former roommate of Mac’s and a man that Carolyn is interested in also becomes a suspect in the disappearance of the latest college student. Another of Mac’s former roommates married a woman Mac had been interested in is also thrown into the mix.

            This is a very interesting book and my favorite book written by this author. The mystery leaves you wondering if Mac is alive or dead, and if he is alive, if he is a serial killer. The author throws in several red herrings, making the reader wonder, just who is responsible. In her attempts to find her brother, we see that Carolyn is quick tempered and impulsive and she manages to put her own life in danger.

            The book keeps your interest as Carolyn questions people she feels might know something about what happened to Mac. Mac’s former landlords, the Kramers seem to be hiding something, and Carolyn’s honorary uncle Devon doesn’t seem to want Mac found.
Will Carolyn’s life be threatened by someone close to her, someone she might never suspect?  Why is Mac hiding and what is is he hiding? All of the questions are answered in a quick fashion and a somewhat surprising climax.

            This book was a little different because it started off in the first person with Carolyn speaking and then switched out of it and into different points of view in subsequent chapters. Ms. Clark’s character development adds to the enrichment of the story. This was a riveting mystery, and one of my all time favorites. It kept my interest much more than any of her other books.