laurenjodi's review against another edition
2.0
The Lost Years
2 Stars
Biblical scholar Jonathan Lyons is murdered in his home after consulting several experts on a rare parchment supposedly authored by Jesus Christ. His wife, Kathleen Lyons, an Alzheimer sufferer, is accused of the crime, but his daughter, Mariah is convinced of her mother’s innocence and sets out to prove that her father’s death is related to the missing document.
Mary Higgins Clark was once a must buy author for me, but I appear to have outgrown her writing style. The narrative is ostensibly in the 3rd person, however, it often diverges into the internal musings and recollections of the characters, which appear in 1st person format. This alternating perspective is not only distracting, but results in the characters coming across as self-absorbed and unsympathetic.
Although the murder victim is well-respected and loved by many characters in the book, to me he was nothing short of a selfish and ego-centric adulterer unworthy of the affections bestowed upon him. As a result, it is difficult to care one way or the other whether his murder is solved. The investigation is tedious with detectives leaping to unfounded conclusions and the TSTL heroine’s attempts to uncover the truth are annoying. There isn’t even a good romance to compensate for this fiasco.
The incorporation of the letter to Joseph of Arimathea has potential. Unfortunately, it amounts to little more than a mcguffin intended to lure readers into reading the book with hopes of a compelling story revolving around the missing years of Christ’s life. As it turns out, this plot element is underdeveloped and has virtually no importance in the overall scheme of things.
All in all, MHC has written much better works and this book is unworthy of her repertoire.
2 Stars
Biblical scholar Jonathan Lyons is murdered in his home after consulting several experts on a rare parchment supposedly authored by Jesus Christ. His wife, Kathleen Lyons, an Alzheimer sufferer, is accused of the crime, but his daughter, Mariah is convinced of her mother’s innocence and sets out to prove that her father’s death is related to the missing document.
Mary Higgins Clark was once a must buy author for me, but I appear to have outgrown her writing style. The narrative is ostensibly in the 3rd person, however, it often diverges into the internal musings and recollections of the characters, which appear in 1st person format. This alternating perspective is not only distracting, but results in the characters coming across as self-absorbed and unsympathetic.
Although the murder victim is well-respected and loved by many characters in the book, to me he was nothing short of a selfish and ego-centric adulterer unworthy of the affections bestowed upon him. As a result, it is difficult to care one way or the other whether his murder is solved. The investigation is tedious with detectives leaping to unfounded conclusions and the TSTL heroine’s attempts to uncover the truth are annoying. There isn’t even a good romance to compensate for this fiasco.
The incorporation of the letter to Joseph of Arimathea has potential. Unfortunately, it amounts to little more than a mcguffin intended to lure readers into reading the book with hopes of a compelling story revolving around the missing years of Christ’s life. As it turns out, this plot element is underdeveloped and has virtually no importance in the overall scheme of things.
All in all, MHC has written much better works and this book is unworthy of her repertoire.
amakaazie's review against another edition
3.0
A slow start with too many characters. But I eventually got a hang of the story and it became a pleasant, if not exciting read. Too predictable, but still ok.
I love the way Alzheimer’s was woven into the story. It probably was my best aspect of this book.
I love the way Alzheimer’s was woven into the story. It probably was my best aspect of this book.
sammilittlejohns's review against another edition
1.0
Just overall so terrible and basic? Basic characters, who by the way, everyone is in LOVE with Mariah, like EVERYONE. Predictable plot. Also very amateurish descriptions of archaeology and very little historical detail. You can tell very little effort went into this book, sorry, if I have to read 'ancient manuscripts' 'ancient parchment's 'ancient blahblah' to describe anything archaeological ever again I'm going to be so mad. And, on a side note, how is EVERYONE so rich? That's the biggest laugh in this book that any of the archaeologists are rich.
This book just sums up to me why I really struggle to like any crime or thriller book. They're so boring, predictable and most of the time the author has zero idea what they're writing about.
This book just sums up to me why I really struggle to like any crime or thriller book. They're so boring, predictable and most of the time the author has zero idea what they're writing about.
thegeekyblogger's review against another edition
3.0
Received for Review
Challenges: Audiobook
Overall Rating: 3.75
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 3.50
Audio Rating: 4.00 (Not part of the overall rating)
First Thought when Finished: The epilogue really helped tie everything together!
What I Loved: I will admit that this is my first Mary Higgins Clark book and it won't be my last. I really enjoyed MHC's story telling ability. I loved how she took what seemed like an open/shut case and had enough twists/turns to make it interesting. Not a single character was just good or bad but full of shades of grey. That is always fun to read in a mystery. My favorite part was the lottery winning couple! They cracked me up at times!
What I Liked: Mary Higgins Clark did a good job of weaving everyone's stories together in a way that made them connected but not necessarily friends. While there were times I questioned the motivation behind certain characters thoughts by the end I was convinced that they acted accordingly. The mystery itself was interesting enough but don't think it is like a wide sweeping DaVinci Code. This mystery is about a murder and I think you will enjoy it more if you remember that!
What made me go huh?: I loved the lottery winning couple but I was amazed at often the police let them interfere. In the real world, I have a feeling the police would have put the hammer down on that pretty quickly.
Audio Review: Jan Maxwell did an excellent job with the rhythm and pace of the story. I would listen to a book read by her again.
Final Thoughts: This was a good murder mystery that was perfect for a weekend listen while working!
Challenges: Audiobook
Overall Rating: 3.75
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 3.50
Audio Rating: 4.00 (Not part of the overall rating)
First Thought when Finished: The epilogue really helped tie everything together!
What I Loved: I will admit that this is my first Mary Higgins Clark book and it won't be my last. I really enjoyed MHC's story telling ability. I loved how she took what seemed like an open/shut case and had enough twists/turns to make it interesting. Not a single character was just good or bad but full of shades of grey. That is always fun to read in a mystery. My favorite part was the lottery winning couple! They cracked me up at times!
What I Liked: Mary Higgins Clark did a good job of weaving everyone's stories together in a way that made them connected but not necessarily friends. While there were times I questioned the motivation behind certain characters thoughts by the end I was convinced that they acted accordingly. The mystery itself was interesting enough but don't think it is like a wide sweeping DaVinci Code. This mystery is about a murder and I think you will enjoy it more if you remember that!
What made me go huh?: I loved the lottery winning couple but I was amazed at often the police let them interfere. In the real world, I have a feeling the police would have put the hammer down on that pretty quickly.
Audio Review: Jan Maxwell did an excellent job with the rhythm and pace of the story. I would listen to a book read by her again.
Final Thoughts: This was a good murder mystery that was perfect for a weekend listen while working!
dianashadel's review against another edition
3.0
The author always writes well, but this one was a bit slower than her others. Still worth reading!
panicked_manic_writer's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This book is the bane of my existence. I guessed the murderer by pg 200. When she writes in the killer's pov she uses third person, not first. She uses he/him pronouns too so it's fairly easy to narrow it down. The names are just ridiculous. There are random mentions of poc characters that scream "white woman author desperate to prove she isn't racist". One of the detectives is described as latina upfront, as though it wasn't obvious from the fact that her last name is rodrigues and the book is set in america. Another nurse is described as a "petite asian woman named emily lee". As though the name isn't ridiculous and the author doesn't know the nationality of her own character because she "shouldn't make assumptions". Details which are not necessary are constantly thrown in. The dialogue is awful and sounds ai generated. She keeps using the term "computer software". I know the author was like 70 when she wrote this but like, come on. All in all, terrible.
76carrieanne's review against another edition
3.0
A fairly standard book for MHC. BUT - Alvirah seemed so ODD and just stuck in there. Why anyone felt that had to include her in the investigation, answer her questions, or entertain her in this book in the least was odd...
mrmarshall591's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
While I did enjoy reading through most of the book, in terms of it being interesting and all, so much made no sense including the big reveals that usually tie things up. I was disappointed by how anticlimactic the ending was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Medical trauma
Minor: Blood
shighley's review against another edition
3.0
We read this for my church book club. The premise was very intriguing.
felinity's review against another edition
3.0
If you've read MHC before you'll be familiar with the formula. I've only read a few, and I rarely guess correctly, but I'd nailed the villain about halfway through. (If you want a MHC hint: look for the good person it couldn't possibly be.)
Aside from that, this review sums it up for me.
Aside from that, this review sums it up for me.