My Review of The Shadow of Your Smile, by Mary Higgins Clark

My flight home from Texas involves a two-and-a-half hour flight, followed by an hour bus ride. My must-have? A book that will keep me riveted. Mary Higgins Clark's The Shadow of Your Smile totally fit the bill.

I've enjoyed every Clark book I've read, but some have been better than others. This was one of the better ones.

Unbeknownst to pediatrician Dr. Monica Farrell, she is the granddaughter of a deceased man who amassed a huge fortune from medical patents. Here's part of the synopsis from Publisher's Weekly:

When a deceased nun, Sister Catherine, becomes a candidate for sainthood in this gripping thriller from bestseller Clark (Just Take My Heart). Monica Farrell, a 31-year-old Manhattan pediatrician, becomes the target of those who don't want her to inherit what's left of a fortune created by her unknown grandfather, Alex Gannon, with whom Catherine had a secret love child before she took up holy orders. That child, given up for adoption, became Monica's father...Olivia Morrow, Catherine's 82-year-old dying cousin, ponders whether to tell Monica she's Alex's granddaughter... Gannon Foundation funds have been steadily siphoned off by greedy heirs and associates who will stop at nothing, even murder, to keep their criminal misbehavior under wraps.

This story has a lot of layers and characters that add substance and interest to the tale, and Clark interweaves them smoothly and masterfully.

I love how Clark gives even minor characters their own voice, highlighting each person's role in the story to make them multi-dimensional and real.

As a person of faith, I appreciated Clark's premise that miracles can and do happen thanks to prayer...miracles that medical science simply cannot explain.

As I said earlier, this is one of Mary Higgins Clark's best. I thorougly enjoyed it and the fact that it made the miles fly by on my journey home!