Where Are The Children by Mary Higgins Clark

 

From Amazon:

Nancy Harmon long ago fled the heartbreak of her first marriage, the macabre deaths of her two little children, and the shocking charges against her. She changed her name, dyed her hair, and left California for the windswept peace of Cape Cod. Now remarried, she has two more beloved children, and the terrible pain has begun to heal—until the morning when she looks in the backyard for her little boy and girl and finds only one red mitten. She knows that the nightmare is beginning again...

My Take:

This is one of Mary Higgins Clark's novels that has catapulted her to Best Selling list . Though made in the seventies, I bought this book during my Christmas shopping for 2024. 

Nancy is now happily married with two children with her new husband. Still she could not forget the death of her first children and the subsequent suicide of her first husband when their dead bodies were found.

The reason she was not prosecuted was because the eyewitness who was supposed to give evidence against her suddenly disappears. What made it worse was she apparently was smtten with this good-looking man.

Important points:

1. When her mother was about to visit her to tell her about her new love, she gets into a car accident and dies.

2. Heartbroken for losing her father first then her mother next at such a short span of time,she decides to marry her slightly older professor when she was only barely 18. This union produced her beloved children but for some reason she never warmed up to her husband.

3. When her husband hires a good looking student to fix something in their house, she eventually makes a pass at him but quickly backs out. Though the student mentions she made the first move, he was quick to explain that no sexual encounter took place.

4. Her children disappears and eventually are found drowned in the lake. Her husband, who was seeminlgly distraught commits suicide. Then the eyewitness disappears so she was let go. She quickly left the town and changes her appearance.

She meets a loving man and they eventually marry and have 2 children. Her husband and his secretary knows about her past but when her birthday arrives ( 7 years after her first children died) her past starts careening back to her life. Then the eyewitness also suddenly appears again just when her 2 children are kidnapped.

Tha Aftermath:

The eyewitness had nothing to do with her children's disappearance . What actually happened was her first husband never commited suicide and he was the one who killed their children. He also caused the death of Nancy's mom so that he could "own" her. The reason Nancy was disgusted with him was because he always "observes" her while bathing her ( another term for sexually and maliciously touching her). After the girl was born she stopped having relations with him. This was why she was drawn to the student because her husband revulsed her so much. Still she never cheated on him and quickly snapped out of it when she realized she has become slightly amorous to the student. She also found out her husband was hurting the kids (molesting them) hence her severe contempt towards him. Still, she had no proof. Then the kids die, the husband supposedly commits suicide and the eyewitness disappears.

7 years later the 1st husband appears, kidnaps the kids and seemingly starts to molest them. What's with these molesters' penchance for powder ala P-diddy that they use it when do the "vicious act". '. 

To go straight to the end she manages to save the chldren and have her 1st husband meet his demise by crashing into the icy lake.

Hence the real truth comes out and her blemished reputation is finally vindicated.