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Title: Before I Say Good-Bye by Mary Higgins Clark ISBN: 0-671-00457-3 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 03 April, 2001 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.47 (112 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Plot Lacks Warmth, Characters Lack Personalities
Comment: Before I Say Goodbye is a rather tepid, slow novel that never caught my interest. The main character Nell was much like the plot. They both lacked real direction or warmth.
From the first page I thought that Nell was a bland character. The novel starts by Nell complaining that she is only 'attractive' rather than beautiful or sexy. This sort of character always gets on my nerves as this kind of complaining is ridiculously unnecessary and petty. The novel is fairly slow and the suspense never 'got to me' like it used to with Mary Higgins Clark books in the past such as Stillwatch. Nell reminisced a lot about her past marriage and her dead husband but I didn't think any of this sounded particularly heart felt, instead it came across as boring and only added in out of necessity. Eventually I thumbed to the end and read a fairly good twist in the plot although by then I was past caring about the assortment of characters.
Overall Before I Say Goodbye was fairly tiresome and I could not finish it without skimming vast chunks. In the future I won't be snapping up any MHC books as I don't really like the characters that much anymore and the dialogue always seems strained and slow. The women MHC writes about could all be interchanged from book to book without anyone noticing. In terms of physical characteristics they are mostly tall and athletic and MHC seems to have a thing about making the male characters describe them as 'classy' constantly. The problem seems to be that the characterisations never go very deep and so it's hard to fully understand or sympathise with the female lead character, which is a real shame.
JoAnne
Rating: 3
Summary: Okay. 3.5
Comment: On the morning of Friday June 9th, Nell McDermott and her architect husband Adam Cauliff part on bad terms after an argument about her burgeoning political career. However, soon Nell will come to regret the tone of this parting, as later that day Adam's boat will explode, with he and three others on board. Soon, it will emerge that the explosion was caused by a bomb, and Nell, over the coming days, will find herself in the thick of a construction scandal threatening to blow sky-high. But who wanted who dead? Was Adam the target, or one o the others? And why? And did all the others really die, or did one manage to escape in time?
Wracked with guilt, Nell attempts to unravel the threads of Adam's life and quickly discovers a great deal about him that she never knew, and wishes she never discovered. She becomes even more disturbed when, after encouragement form her aunt, she goes to visit a medium in an attempt to gain some closure, and the medium seems shockingly insightful...
Mary Higgins Clark is okay. And that's really the extent of my opinion on the subject. This book, like the others of hers that I have read (all two of 'em) is a decent enough read to take you away or a day or so. Her plotting is good (if sometimes pushing against the boundaries of reason) and her pacing is excellent. The books move quickly, with short chapters, form scene to telling scene in a way that is well structured and thought out. There are twists throughout, and a nice level of suspense right up to the tense climax. The writing style is also good, with well-written, easy to digest prose, but it never reaches very deeply, remaining mostly floating on the surface of the plot. The same is true o her character development. The lead character (the obligatory strong female) is well characterised - even if I can't really envision her in a real life situation - but the development of subsidiary characters isn't all that great, and most of them are amorphous. The occasional psychological insight she gives isn't really enough to build characters on, and nor is simply showing us how they interact with other characters around them. As a result, they're quite shallow and very samey, and we really need to see inside their heads a little more.
But, yes, I enjoyed reading it. It passed the time of day, the plot was exciting, the surprises adequately thrilling, and it was quite worth the read. And do you know why? Because Mary Higgins Clark is okay.
Rating: 3
Summary: Before I Say Good-Bye
Comment: Although this is not MHC's best work, this book is worth the read. Nell MacDermott is toying with the idea of running for office. Nell has doubts, and her husband's alleged scam is a definite negative obstacle. When he becomes a victim of a boat explosion, Nell begins to look into her husband's life and finds more than she bargained for!
The characters are not as well thought out in this book as they are in most MHC mysteries. However, it is still entertaining.
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Title: On the Street Where You Live by Mary Higgins Clark ISBN: 0671004530 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 02 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: We'll Meet Again by Mary Higgins Clark ISBN: 0671004565 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Daddy's Little Girl by Mary Higgins Clark ISBN: 0743460529 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Second Time Around : A Novel by Mary Higgins Clark ISBN: 0743206061 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 15 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Pretend You Don't See Her by Mary Higgins Clark ISBN: 0671867156 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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