Rating:  Summary: an incredibly suspenseful novel Review: "Pretend You Don't See Her" is an incredibly suspenseful novel about a woman who witnesses a murder. The woman being a rising star on Manhattan's high-powered real estate scene, named Lacey. A grieving mother commissions Lacey to sell her dead daughter's condo. Isabelle turns to Lacey as a confidante, telling Lacey she doesn't believe her daughter's recent death was an accident. One afternoon when Lacey is supposed to meet with Isabelle, she is witness to her murder. Her last request to Lacey is to read and then deliver the journal pages to Heather's father, certain that the explanation of the mystery surrounding Heather's death is somewhere in those pages. Lacey is now in desperate trouble. The murderer tries to get the journal, but fails. She makes two copies of it, one for Heather's father and one for herself, then gives the original to the police. After Lacey's young niece is shot, Lacey enters the witness protection program. She is relocated, re-identified, and moved to Minneapolis while the police and federal agents look for the murderer. What follows is a classic hide-and-seek chase with the killer always two steps behind the victim. Of course the killer is caught and arrested which makes a satisfying end to the book. This novel was written using the time period of somewhere between the 1980's to the present time. You can tell this by taking note of the reference to the fashion of clothes, the cars mentioned, the technology being used etc. Using that time period made the novel more appealing to me, knowing that it could happen today. There are several different locations to which make up the setting of the novel, New York City, New Jersey and Minneapolis. Mary Higgins Clark uses lots of vivid language that creates lots of images for the reader. It makes reading it quite pleasant as you can picture what things look like in your head. An example would be "He wore a gray wig over his sandy hair, there was a graying stubble covering his cheeks and chin, and his lawyers suit had been replaced by a shapeless sweater worn over faded jeans." Irony is used to trick the reader into thinking something else will happen or someone else is responsible. An example of this is when Mona and Alex are at the restaurant. When Mona leaves, 20 minutes later, a phone call is made relaying the message that Lacey is in Minneapolis. This makes the reader think that perhaps Alex is the bad guy responsible for hiring the killer. "Pretend You Don't See Her" was in my opinion, a very enjoyable novel to read. I liked being kept in suspense, not knowing what would happen next. It is an unpredictable plot with twists and turns that kept me guessing throughout the entire book.
Rating:  Summary: Can't Pretend You Don't See Suspense Here Review: "Pretend You Don't See Her" is a typical Mary Higgins Clark novel about a beautiful, well-off young woman from East Coast who suddenly finds herself in a death peril but getting through this ultimately stressful part of her life, she even finds a MR. RIGHT in the process. Clark is easy to read for a non-native speaker like myself and fans of classic ol' stories like those penned by Agatha Christie should like her books, as the plot usually teems with many potential villains. However, the actual killer often hails from a circle close to the heroine (or her family), which at times renders the stories less believable, but more satisfying for mystery lovers. This time (apart from a story which formally resembles any of Clark's detective novels like an egg resembles another egg), a reader has a chance to find out how such a thing as witness protection program works, in which a person (the heroine, realtor Lacey Farrell from New York) is given a whole new identity from the police in order to be protected from threatening deadly harm. Despite some false clues Clark deliberately scatters throughout the story, "Pretend You Don't See Her" ranks among her most satisfying detective novels, along with "While My Pretty One Sleeps" and "Remember Me". But my personal favourite by her still remains "A Stranger Is Watching", a tale more psychological than detective, where a murderer is known from the beginning but that does not diminish the suspense. There, Clark got close to the best works of the queen of British psychology-crime fiction, Ruth Rendell.
Rating:  Summary: One of Her Best Books! Review: I liked Pretend You Don't See Her And think it's one of MHC's best, very suspenseful and one that I would keep, It's about a woman named Lacy Farrell who witness a murder and is placed in the witness protection program but gets really sad and mad that her whole life is changed and she can't even see her family so decides to investigate the murder herself. If you liked this book watch out for reruns of the movie on a TV station called Pax, the movie isn't as good as the book because of some changes but it's pretty good and stars Emma Samms as Lacey Farrell.
Rating:  Summary: What? Review: I was very disappointed in this book. I usually enjoy Clark's novels, but this one was sort of a drag. It had a weak plot with even weaker characters. The romance aspect between Lacey and Tom seemed very forced. I wasn't engulfed but the story and plot like many of Clark's novels have done to me. I suggest All Around the Town. I found that novel much more interesting. This book was just dull. Nothing spectacular. Predictable, and very longwinded. I do not recommend this book.
Rating:  Summary: Lacey Farrell, Girl Detective Review: In this suspense tale, Lacey Farrell, a New York realtor, comes face to face with an elderly woman's killer in an apartment she is trying to sell. The woman's daughter recently died in an accident, but she told Lacey she believed it was murder, and gave Lacey the girl's journal to study. The killer now stalks Lacey, who must enter the witness-protection program and begin a new life. Lacey tries to piece together clues about the death of the woman's daughter by reading her cryptic journal. "Queen of Suspense" Mary Higgins Clark writes about attractive, independent young women who are in peril. I always picture a young Jacqueline Smith playing all of her heroines. This novel is not one of her best. It is full to overflowing with a cast of forgettable characters meant to keep us guessing which one could be the villain. The plot unfolds at a snail's pace and is padded with minute and distracting details that lead nowhere. A new character, introduced in the last chapters, changes the outcome, which feels suddenly rushed and trite. Clark has written many nail-biting thrillers; Pretend You Don't See Her is not among them.
Rating:  Summary: Great Mary higgens clark novel! even for an 11 year old Review: Mary Higgins Clark has done it again, and produced a novel with the perfect blend of drama, action, murder and suspense.
Lacey Farrell (Manhattan Real Estate Agent) is an attractive young woman with a fairly simple life. This all changes when she witnesses the murder of Isabelle Waring - mother of recently deceased Heather Waring, is placed in the witness protection program, and forced to give up her identity to become Alice Carroll of Minneapolis. In an effort to piece together the clues derived from Isabelle's dying wish, and the journal bequested to her, Lacey struggles to solve the Waring murders despite the danger to her own life.
There are many ways an author can tackle a murder/mystery novel - some prefer a complex approach, while Higgins Clark uses a style which is more simplistic. Despite the intense themes and actions within 'Pretend you don't see her', Higgins Clark has approached the novel in a way that still makes it a light easy read. The plot flows along nicely, and keeps you guessing right up to the very end.
Overall a great read, on par with the author's many other novels. Recommended to any Mary Higgins Clark fans, and others who love books filled with suspense, drama and a happy ending.
Rating:  Summary: Satisfying mystery Review: There's something infinitely satisfying about turning the last page of a good mystery novel and sighing in satisfaction. Mary Higgins Clark's PRETEND YOU DON'T SEE HER offers exactly this kind of contentment. Lacey Farrell has a job she enjoys, selling real estate in her beloved New York City. When the apartment of a singer who had died in a car accident is put on the market, Lacey is glad for the opportunity to sell it. After all, it's in a great part of Manhattan, the asking price is six hundred thousand dollars, and it's sure to earn her a decent commission. She becomes friends with the late singer's mother, and one night as she goes to pay her a visit, she also unwillingly becomes a witness to her murder. Unfortunately, the killer sees Lacey as well, and she's then forced to join the witness protection program, where she struggles to make a new life for herself, constantly watching over her shoulder on the off-chance that the murderer may have finally caught up with her. PRETEND YOU DON'T SEE HER kept me turning pages well into the night. I finished it quickly, as I found the fast paced writing style enjoyable. The characterization was intriguing. I genuinely liked Lacey, who came across as courageous, caring and altogether realistic. Her genuine feelings for her family and her attraction and unwillingness to lie to a man she met while in the witness protection program made her even more endearing. I found myself wishing that the relationship between her and Tom had been more detailed, but that's what I get for reading a mystery novel rather than a romance! This was my first experience with one of Mary Higgins Clark's books, and it certainly won't be the last. She's indeed just as talented as her reputation led me to believe, and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Rating:  Summary: A Suspenseful Murder Review: This book is about a girl named Lacey Farrell, a real estate agent in Manhattan. She gets offered a co-op and she is witness to a murder. The dying person, Isabelle Waring, is sure that the murderer was trying to get her dead daughter's journal. Lacey makes a copy of the journal, which turns out to be very dangerous. This is an example of foreshadowing because as the book goes on Lacey is almost shot three times and almost killed in a woman's house in the end. This book created a sense of suspense because as I was reading I began to think Lacey might actually die and it made the book very good to read. Lacey had to go into the witness protection program and goes off to live in Minneapolis. She gets a fake name, which is Alice Carroll. She joins a gym and even meets a guy named Tom Lynch that she begins to date on and off. Eventually she has to break it off because she can't bear lying to him. She finds out that the killer knows of her whereabouts. Lacey heads back to New York to find out the truth and solve the murders before she becomes the next victim. This book also used a lot of imagery. A good example of imagery would be "He wore a gray wig over his sandy hair, there was a graying stubble covering his cheeks and chin, and his lawyers suit had been replaced by a shapeless sweater worn over faded jeans." My opinion on this book was that it was very good and I always wanted to keep reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. It was very suspenseful. It was long but easy to read and had good vocabulary that I didn't know yet.
Rating:  Summary: A suspenseful novel a woman who witnesses a murder Review: This exciting novel is about a woman named Lacey Farrell, who lives in Manhattan and is a real estate agent. One day she is witness to the murder of Isabelle Waring, whose daughter, Heather, was killed in a car accident. Lacey is placed in the witness protection program, and sent to live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Before Isabelle died, she made Lacey promise to give her daughter's journal to her father, and asked her to read it too. Isabelle was convinced that Heather's death was not an accident. So Lacey takes the journal, gives the original copy to the police, gives a copy to Heather's father, and makes a copy for herself. But then she gets into trouble with the police, because they say that she could be charged with removal of evidence from a crime scene. While Lacey is in Minneapolis, somehow the murderer of Isabelle Waring has managed to track her down. I enjoyed reading this novel, because I liked being kept in suspense and not knowing what would happen next. I recommend this book to people who like to read suspenseful books with unpredictable plots. This novel is so unpredictable, it will keep readers guessing throughout the entire book.
Rating:  Summary: It was ok Review: This is my first Mary Higgins- Clark book, and I did not find it that great. I liked how she developed Lacey's character, but the so called romance betwwen her and Tom was nonexistent. Also I thought that there would be a more important reason for the murders of Heather, Isabelle and Max. Personally, I found it a bit dry. Although, I was not fascinated by this book, I will try another Higgins-Clark book!!
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