Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
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The Second Time Around by Mary Higgins Clark
Oh - I wanted to like this novel - but I just didn't. The Second Time Around was my first Mary Higgins Clark novel, and I can't say I'll be looking forward to another. She feels like a less-gifted Nora Roberts or even Danielle Steel. Her characters seemed so obvious to me, figuring out things that the reader knew instantly fifty pages before. She also writes this book in alternating first and third person, which felt awkward. First person novels usually feel so intimate when they work. This one just didn't.
The Second Time Around is the story of a young reporter's look into the disappearance and presumed death of Nicholas Spencer. Spencer was the kind of man everyone liked immediately, which is partly why so many people invested in his company which was rumored to have discovered the cure for cancer. When he disappears and the cure seems to be flawed, the plot only gets worse when investors realize money has been embezzled from the company.
I'm sorry I can't recommend this book. I know so many people who love this author - maybe this was just not one of her best efforts. On the paperback bestseller list, I would vote to avoid Mary Higgins Clarks' The Second Time Around. On the Book Beat for KSL Newsradio 1160, I'm Amanda Dickson.
