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I Heard That Song Before: A Novel Audiobook
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Publisher Description
In a riveting psychological thriller, Mary Higgins Clark takes the reader deep into the mysteries of the human mind, where memories may be the most dangerous things of all.
At the center of her novel is Kay Lansing, who has grown up in Englewood, New Jersey, daughter of the landscaper to the wealthy and powerful Carrington family. Their mansion -- a historic seventeenth-century manor house transported stone by stone from Wales in 1848 -- has a hidden chapel. One day, accompanying her father to work, six-year-old Kay succumbs to curiosity and sneaks into the chapel. There, she overhears a quarrel between a man and a woman who is demanding money from him. When she says that this will be the last time, his caustic response is: "I heard that song before."
That same evening, the Carringtons hold a formal dinner dance after which Peter Carrington, a student at Princeton, drives home Susan Althorp, the eighteen-year-old daughter of neighbors. While her parents hear her come in, she is not in her room the next morning and is never seen or heard from again.
Throughout the years, a cloud of suspicion hangs over Peter Carrington. At age forty-two, head of the family business empire, he is still "a person of interest" in the eyes of the police, not only for Susan Althorp's disappearance but also for the subsequent drowning death of his own pregnant wife in their swimming pool.
Kay Lansing, now living in New York and working as a librarian in Englewood, goes to see Peter Carrington to ask for permission to hold a cocktail party on his estate to benefit a literacy program, which he later grants. Kay comes to see Peter as maligned and misunderstood, and when he begins to court her after the cocktail party, she falls in love with him. Over the objections of her beloved grandmother Margaret O'Neil, who raised her after her parents' early deaths, she marries him. To her dismay, she soon finds that he is a sleepwalker whose nocturnal wanderings draw him to the spot at the pool where his wife met her end.
Susan Althorp's mother, Gladys, has always been convinced that Peter Carrington is responsible for her daughter's disappearance, a belief shared by many in the community. Disregarding her husband's protests about reopening the case, Gladys, now terminally ill, has hired a retired New York City detective to try to find out what happened to her daughter. Gladys wants to know before she dies.
Kay, too, has developed gnawing doubts about her husband. She believes that the key to the truth about his guilt or innocence lies in the scene she witnessed as a child in the chapel and knows she must learn the identity of the man and woman who quarreled there that day. Yet, she plunges into this pursuit realizing that "that knowledge may not be enough to save my husband's life, if indeed it deserves to be saved." What Kay does not even remotely suspect is that uncovering what lies behind these memories may cost her her own life.
I Heard That Song Before once again dramatically reconfirms Mary Higgins Clark's worldwide reputation as a master storyteller.
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"It's been a very long time since I had time (and motivation)to read a book in its entirety, but it was a pleasure reading this book. I had a hard time putting it down. It was a wonderful "who-dun-it" book that had little twists and turns all throughout it that kept you guessing the entire time...and the ending was far from disappointing. I would highly recommend it."
— Deb (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Clark deftly keeps the finger of guilt pointed in many directions until the surprising conclusion.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Reminiscent of du Maurier’s Rebecca, Clark’s latest intrigues with engrossing suspense when a new bride suddenly finds herself defending her husband, who is accused of murdering a woman 22 years ago. Clark is at the top of her game. Her mystery novels just get better and better.”
— RT Book Reviews (4½ stars, Top Pick!)
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
I Heard That Song Before Listener Reviews
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" The first few chapters were a little slow, but then I could not put it down! "
— Colleen, 2/19/2014 -
" Not bad at all. Not the best book I've read by far, in fact it was quite a slow plod of a story until the last couple of chapters, but the twists and turns in the plot, the character depth, short snappy chapters and multiple view points did make it a good read overall. "
— Rebecca, 2/14/2014 -
" I love all for Mary Higgins Clarks books-even if the plots seem to always seem the same. Easy and fun read. "
— Roxanne, 2/12/2014 -
" Enjoy her stories. Haven't figured one out before getting to the end yet... "
— Bev, 2/3/2014 -
" Great read, clean and keeps you guessing to the end! "
— Juliette, 1/21/2014 -
" I thought it was a pretty good book. I am a big Syndey Sheldon fan, and heard her style was like his. Her style being her own, I did find that she was easy to follow, and her characters were believable. I look forward to reading more of her work. "
— Connie, 1/18/2014 -
" Forgot I had read this until I saw it on Sherae's list. Nothing like a good mystery to sink your teeth in to. "
— Jana, 1/8/2014 -
" A co-worker recommended this book to me...the writing was alright and I was guessing to the end but I guess I just didn't really like some of the characters. I found it hard to sympathize with them. "
— Lindsey, 1/6/2014 -
" As always, Mary has done a brilliant job of writing a thriller/mystery. I wouldn't give anthing to not be able to read her epic tales. "
— Amina, 12/28/2013 -
" This was a good suspense novel. I had a hard time figuring this out before it ended. Kept my interest. "
— Sandigoldberg, 12/15/2013 -
" It was a pretty typical Mary Higgins Clark book. Since i like her books, i enjoyed this one. There was nothing about it that shocked me entirely...but i liked it enough to read it all in one day. "
— karen, 11/24/2013
About Mary Higgins Clark
Mary Higgins Clark (1927–2020) was the author of worldwide bestsellers that sold more than one hundred million copies in the United States alone. Twenty-one of her books reached the #1 spot on the New York Times bestsellers list. She was chosen by Mystery Writers of America as Grand Master of the 2000 Edgar Awards. An annual Mary Higgins Clark Award sponsored by Simon & Schuster, to be given to authors of suspense fiction writing in the Mary Higgins Clark tradition, was launched by Mystery Writers of America in 2001. She was the 1987 president of Mystery Writers of America and, for many years, served on their board of directors. In 1988, she served as chairperson of the International Crime Congress.
About Jan Maxwell
Jan Maxwell is an American stage and television actress. She made her Broadway debut in the musical City of Angels and has been nominated for two Tony Awards and two Drama Desk Awards. She won the 2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Her Broadway credits include Sixteen Wounded, Match, and The Dinner Party. She is the sister of Obie Award–winning playwright Richard Maxwell.