Author: Mary Higgins Clark

Title: I'll Walk Alone

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Is there anything more horrible for a parent than for their child to go missing? Actually, yes—and Alexandra "Zan" Moreland is about to find out what that is.

Zan is a gifted young interior designer whose young son, Matthew, was kidnapped two years earlier in broad daylight in Central Park. Zan is convinced Matthew is still alive out there somewhere. She's never given up on finding him, spending any profits from her fledgling design studio on private eyes, psychics, anyone who can offer a shred of hope.

On Matthew's fifth birthday, Zan meets her ex-husband, Matthew's father, for dinner. After all, they're the only two who really know what they're going through that day. What Zan doesn't know is a bad day is about to get much, much worse. Photos surface that seem to prove she took Matthew from his stroller that day. In the blink of a camera's lens, Zan has gone from victim to prime suspect. With such impressive proof, who can help but believe she's guilty?

Zan knows she didn't do it—or does she? When mysterious charges begin appearing on her credit card and reliable witnesses claim to have seen her in places she hasn't been, Zan finds herself clinging to her sanity by her manicured fingernails. Hounded by the press, schemed against by her former boss, reviled by her ex-husband, Zan tries frantically to stay focused on the ultimate goal: finding Matthew.

Longtime Clark fans will welcome the return of lottery winner and amateur detective Alvirah Meehan. She's a delightfully down-to-earth character who takes Zan's side, even when she privately believes the poor girl suffers from some multiple personality order. Alvirah plays a vital role in unraveling the mystery, though her contribution was a little heavy on coincidence for this reader's taste.

They don't call Mary Higgins Clark the "Queen of Suspense" for nothing. No one is better at taking our deepest fears and turning them into a nightmare. She's also genius at showing how the slightest thing—a bad mood that keeps a witness from sharing a vital fact, for instance—can make or break an investigation. As the reader, we see all the missed connections; it's part of what builds the suspense. Will she pull out of her snit and tell what she knows or will she flounce off leaving Zan in the hot seat? (Honestly, after reading I'll Walk Alone I was amazed any cases ever get solved, human nature being what it is.)

The nice thing about Mary Higgins Clark is that you can always count on her to deliver a solid, easy-to-read suspense story filled with beautiful people caught in ugly situations. She does an excellent job of deflecting suspicion from the real culprit while weaving the story's threads ever tighter. The character-hopping narration is a little confusing at first, but it soon settles down. In the end, you'll find yourself rooting for Zan, a nice girl trapped in every mother's worst nightmare . . . only in Zan's case, the monster lurking in the shadows is real.

*This review first published 4/13/2011