Amazing job! I was very skeptical going into this book that it would do justice to the original. Well, no worries there! Everything from the writing style to the details were very reminiscent of Where Are The Children? The book flowed just like a Mary Higgins Clark novel and the betrayal at the end just crushed me for Melissa! Alafair Burke and Mary Higgin Clark have always written well together and this book was no exception! Perfect sequel!

This book was very twisty and turny! I enjoyed the multiple points of view. Alafair Burke's name is what originally caught my eye. I have not read the original MHC Where Are the Children, but I felt like there was enough information in this sequel for me to follow along quite well. There were definitely some dark and disturbing themes, especially involving children so this might not be for everyone.

Thanks to Netgalley for the book to review.

Love love and loved this book! Can't wait to read more from this author!
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Holy Cow....what a ride. So many twists and surprises. MHC and Alafair Burke are a powerful force! I will read anything these two write. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. Will be recommending this one!! Bravo!

This pair always delivers and this is no exception! Delighted to see them revisit this classic MHC story with a fresh twist. Definitely did not see how this twisty turvy tale would end. Sadly Mary Huggins Clark has died but hope Alafair will keep this great series going (some common characters with the under Suspicion series).

I liked this so much! It made me miss Mary Higgins Clark so much, rest her soul. The characters were so well done in this, and the long time continuation from the first book was well thought out. I loved the setting for this, and it had me stopping to look at maps while reading. I also love when podcasts are brought in to books, so that added to it. I am so glad to get a sequel for one of my childhood favorites!

I remember reading the prequel to this book back many years ago. From there, I read almost all of MHCs books and learned of Alafair Burke from her coauthoring. This book picks up many years after this original novel and focuses on the daughter, Melissa the original child abducted with her brother. Melissa is not a character that I connected with; actually the characters fell flat for me. On the other hand, I did not choose the villain correctly, so- give it a shot! It’s a solid ‘good’ book.

This was a great book, although I didn’t like it quite as much as its predecessor. I figured out the ending partway through, which I’m not usually able to do. It was still an enjoyable read, highly recommended for fans of Mary Higgins Clark.

Mary Higgins Clark was my first introduction to mystery novels back when I was in grade school. I even met her once when I was in my early 20s and she was so gracious. I was both excited and sad. The original novel Where Are the Children was my first MHC book so I was worried what Alfair Burke would bring to the story, but like their other collab books, it was a quick read and enjoyable. I did not re-read the original before I read this one but the summary brought everything back and now I am going to re-read the original.

As a decades long fan of Mary Higgins Clark, “Where Are the Children Now” exceeded my expectations of a years long awaited sequel for “Where Are the Children”. I must credit MHC for my love of thriller books. I started reading her books in middle school and have been a fan ever since. I’m grateful to have had a chance to read her last publication. She is dearly missed but will live on through her books.

Melissa, a lawyer and podcaster, is learning to be happy with life again following the death of her father while trying to cope with being traumatized from a kidnapping when she and her brother were younger. Melissa has fallen in love with Charlie and his adorable daughter, Riley. Things seem perfect but soon after returning home from their honeymoon Riley goes missing. With all fingers pointing to the “evil stepmother that never really wanted kids”, Melissa must set out to figure out the truth about what really led to little Riley’s disappearance and more importantly, whether she’s still alive.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this arc in exchange for a honest review.

Before I read this, I went back and read the first novel, "Where are the Children"? It was really not necessary to read that as this book "catches you up" several times throughout the book so you know what was going on with the characters.

I thought at first it was going to be a rerun of the first book, but it ended up being quite different. There were many twists and turns as I revisited Melissa, her brother, Mike, and their friend Neil.

Without any spoilers, let's just say many of the characters were not who I thought they were - it kept me guessing until the end! It was another great read from two of my favorite authors.

I love MHC books and was looking forward to this book. Unfortunately I had a hard time getting through this book. I found it slow at times and did not keep my interest. Sorry to say….

This was one of my MOST anticipated reads of the year !!! So to get this Arc was incredible ! 🙃
I knew it had to be my first read of the 2023 but then I thought why not read the OG first to refresh my memory & oh do I love a good Mary Higgins Clark book .. RIP Queen ❤️
Reading her books is so comforting. My grandmother passed on all her MHC books & insisted i start with Where Are the Children.. I was 12 ?? Still one of the best books I've read & this sequel was fabulous ! True MHC style. I love how she brings the new & old story together .. all the characters & that twist you didn't see coming ! Maybe some of it but never all of it . Her teaming up with Alafair Burke is genius.. I inhaled The Under Suspicion series & now this sequel. This was an easy 5 ⭐ read for me & a great way to start off my reading year but now I'm left sad because no more books by Mary Higgins Clark by herself or with Alafair Burke .
Truly an end of era . 🥺

I read this book in a day—once I started I could not put it down! I’ve read all of Mary Higgins Clark’s books and all of Alastair Burke’s books and loved them. “Where are the children now?” Contained all of the elements that made the series that they wrote together so page-turning: a focus on true crime and popular media, some unexpected twists, and memorable characters and settings. I love a good mystery and this one drew me in right from the start; I know that fans of these authors will love this book too. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book—highly recommended!

As with every Mary Higgins Clark novel, especially with Alafair Burke, I was intrigued the whole time. Suspenseful and when I thought I had it figured out, I didn’t !

My thanks to Net Galley and Simon and Shuster for granting me this arc to review after reading the original back when I was a kid. Very excited to get this.

This story follows Nancy Eldredge and her children now adults as history repeats itself again with another kidnapping. This time it's Missy s 3 year old stepdaughter Riley,who someone is framing Missy for the crime.

Quick and easy read. A bit predictable at points but sad this was the authors last book.

Thank you everyone for the opportunity to read this amazing book! I started reading this book and ended up rereading Where are the Children as I had previously read the first one over 40 years ago. This one does not disappoint. I have read all her books and found this one one of her best. I highly recommend this book!

Mary Higgins Clark cannot do wrong in my mind. Alafair Burke has been a great assets to her. Just sad we won’t be getting more books from MHC.

This book is a stand alone read. I had not read the first book and followed this just fine.

Melissa and her brother Mike were abducted as children. Their mother Nancy, had previously been accused of murdering her children from a previous marriage and suspicion again when Melissa and Mike were abducted.

Years later as adults, Melissa, Mike, and their mother piece their lives back or so they thought. Melissa, a well known attorney just gets mysteriously dumped by her long time boyfriend whom she thought was going to be her life partner. She then meets Charlie and his daughter, falls in love and gets married. She just wants to move forward in her new life.

All is not what it seems when her step daughter Riley, gets abducted. All the surpressed memories Melissa had flood back from the time she was abducted.

This was a very fast paced read for me that I throughly enjoyed.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchang for my honest review.

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

I absolutely DEVOURED this book. After finishing the first book, I was so excited to read this one — especially because it’s a sequel written 50 years after the first, so I had a feeling the modern-day setting would make any story involving the Eldredges even better. I was definitely right! It was just so well done and so well-written. To be honest, I was a little nervous that a sequel with the same characters and *another* kidnapping case would be unnecessary and a mediocre attempt at a similar story to cash in on the success of the first book — but this story is completely its own, even though it often calls back to the first one and its main characters are the same (though this book’s premise mostly revolves around Melissa [Missy], as it’s her new stepdaughter who goes missing). The story keeps you guessing, page after page, and not a single one of those pages is filler. And all in less than 300 pages!! (Authors should take note: you can still have a great thriller without needing another 100+ pages to explain things that don’t need explaining. Just tell us the story!) The entire book is go, go, go, which I LOVE as a fan of good thrillers. And I legitimately had NO IDEA what the twist would be until I reached the last like 20% — and even then, when I had the WHO figured out, I was still shocked to learn there was more to the twist with the HOW and WHY (i.e. motive). The whole story was just very thought out and very smart, and not a single question was left unanswered (highly appreciated). All in all, a big yes from me!

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.