Book Review: The Second Time Around

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Second Time Around     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Mary Higgins Clark
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Simon & Schuster, April 2003, $26.00, 302 pp.

Everyone who met the charismatic Nicholas Spencer felt drawn to him so it isn't too hard for him to get people to invest in his medical research company Gen-stone. He was very excited that his company had developed a vaccine that would prevent cancer or cure people who had it. A few weeks before it was supposed to be given to the FDA for testing, Nick's plane crashed and though his body wasn't found, he was presumed dead.

A couple of weeks later, it is discovered that funds are missing from the company and Gen- stone's test results prove that the miracle elixir doesn't work. Most people believe that Nick was a con artist who defrauded innocent folks and that his wife, Lynn was part of the scam. Lynn asks her stepsister Carley, a financial reporter for the Wall Street Weekly, to help her clear her name. Coincidentally, Carley is assigned to do a profile of Nicholas Spencer. The deeper she gets into her investigation the more she's convinced that Nick was just as much a victim as the company's stockholders, a theory that could get her killed if she isn't careful.

Mary Higgins Clark can always be counted on to write an entertaining thriller and she doesn't disappoint her fans in her latest work THE SECOND TIME AROUND. The protagonist is likable and her actions make sense within the context of the plot. The novel moves along briskly so that readers never lose interest in the tale. The only quibble with the novel is that the stalker-subplot feels like filler so ignore it and enjoy a relatively taut and exciting thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner