No Place Like Home [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Mary Higgins Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2005

A New York Times Bestselling Author

In a riveting new thriller from America's Queen of Suspense, a young woman is entrapped into returning to a place she had intended to leave behind forever - the childhood home where she had accidentally killed her mother.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Clark's clever use of a bit of New Jersey real estate code fits perfectly into her usual formula for minting bestsellers in a novel about past deadly secrets coming to haunt the present. At One Old Mill Lane, in Mendham, N.J., 10-year-old Liza Barton wakes to find her stepfather, Ted Cartwright, attacking her mother, Audrey. Liza grabs a gun in defense, but in the ensuing melee Audrey is killed and Ted is wounded. Dubbed "Little Lizzie Borden," Liza is taken away and almost convicted of murdering her mother and attempting to kill the lying, scheming Ted. Twenty-four years later, Liza, now known as Celia Foster Nolan, has just been presented with a surprise birthday present from her new husband, Alex: the house at One Old Mill Lane. Alex doesn't know Celia is really Liza, and he doesn't know the house's grim past—but thanks to a real estate code obligating agents to notify prospective buyers if a house could be considered "stigmatized property," he's about to find out about the latter at least. As Celia fights to keep her dark secret hidden, their real estate agent turns up dead. More folks are killed and Celia comes under suspicion. But in typical Clark style, most of the characters look a little guilty. Some readers will get annoyed by Celia's tendency to do things that reinforce the cops' suspicions, but Clark's steadfast fans will suspend all necessary disbelief and play along. Agent, Sam Pinkus. One million first printing; main selection of the Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club, Doubleday Large Print, Mystery Guild and BOMC. (Apr.) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'Clark plays out her story like the pro that she is ... flawless'

DAILY MIRROR --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 555 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (April 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786275359
• ISBN-13: 978-0786275359
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,981,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

If I were to define myself in one sentence, I would say, "I'm a nice Irish Catholic girl from the Bronx."

I was a Christmas Eve baby all those years ago, the second of the three children of Nora and Luke Higgins. Mother was pushing forty when they married and my father was forty-two. My older brother was named Joseph. Nineteen months later I, Mary, was born. Three and a half years later, my little brother, John, came along.

We lived in a very nice section of the Bronx on a street off Pelham Parkway. I loved our house. I still love it. After my father died, when I was eleven, my mother had to sell it.

I went to Saint Francis Xavier Grammar School. Two years ago I went back and was Principal for a Day. Escorted by two of the tiniest children, I was led into the auditorium while the whole student body sang "Hello Mary. You're back where you belong." I still tear up thinking about it.

I was awarded a scholarship to Villa Maria Academy which is in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx, otherwise I couldn't have afforded to set foot in it.

I went to Woods Secretarial School and at eighteen had my first full-time job as Secretary to the creative director of Remington Rand's in-house advertising agency. If I were making that choice now I would have gone to college even though God knows we needed the income. On the other hand the three years I spent in Remington Rand was a tutorial in advertising which served me well when I was widowed with five small children. Another plus was that I left Remington to be a flight stewardess with Pan American Airways and when my contemporaries were seniors in college, I was flying to Europe, Africa and Asia.

Warren Clark and I were married on December 26, 1949 and had five children in the next eight years; Marilyn, Warren, David, Carol and Patricia. Warren died of a heart attack in 1964. The highest compliment I can pay my kids are that they are like him.

I sold my first short story when I was twenty-eight. It was alled 'Stowaway'. It had been rejected forty times before a magazine in Chicago bought it for one hundred dollars.

My first book was about George Washington. It was published in 1969 and disappeared without a trace. Three years ago Simon and Schuster co-published it with the Mount Vernon Historical Society and retitled 'Mount Vernon Love Story', it became a bestseller.

My first suspense novel 'Where Are the Children' was bought in 1974 for three thousand dollars by Simon and Schuster. Thirty-three books later, I'm still with S&S.

Time to wind up - at least for the present. As soon as I sold 'Children' I enrolled in Fordham College. Went there for five years at night and earned a B.A. in Philosophy. Summa cum laude, if you please.

I never thought I'd marry again but ten years ago I threw a cocktail party on St. Patrick's day. My daughter, Pat, urged me to invite John Conheeney. Her opening words about him were, "Have I got a hunk for you!" He came to the party and we were married eight months later.

I'm Honorary Chairman of FraXa Research. My grandson, David, has the Fragile X syndrome, which is the second leading cause of retardation after Downs Syndrome. Basically the brain of the people who have it can't send out the proper signals because there's a kind of short circuit in the synapses that carry the signals. We raise money for research with the goal of finding a medication that will work around that short circuit. I go all over the country to the fund-raisers as new chapters of FraXa are opened.

I'm always asked to name my favorite book. They're ALL my favorites. If there is one book that is very special to me, it is my memoir 'Kitchen Privileges' because writing it made me relive my early life including those first struggles to become a writer. I think 'Kitchen Privileges' is both tender and funny and it's me.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent mystery with many twists and turns, April 9, 2005

By 

N. Larrabee (Tarrytown, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: No Place Like Home: A Novel (Hardcover)

Alex Nolan saw the house in Mendham, New Jersey and bought it as a surprise for his wife Celia as a birthday present. Celia is shocked and speechless because it is the same home where she grew up in until she was 10 years old. Her mother, Audrey Barton was accidentally shot by Celia, known back then as Liza Barton, and her stepfather, Ted Cartwright was seriously wounded. There was a trial, but Liza was acquitted. She was adopted by distant relatives and relocated to California. Liza returned years later as "Celia Kellog" to New York to attend the Fashion Institute and fell in love with her first husband Larry Foster. When he died, Larry left his estate to his wife and son, holding her to the promise that she would never reveal her true identity. She met Alex Nolan and a romance very quickly blossomed. Living in Mendham was a chance for them to start fresh. Alex was a successful attorney and was going to head his firm's New Jersey office. Alex seemingly did not pay attention when his realtor Georgette Grove tried to disclose the story of Liza Barton to him. Their house over the years had become known as Little Liza's place and had been recently vandalized. As police try to follow up on the vandalism, two murders take place. Celia is suspected in both, especially as her former identity is disclosed. As she is haunted by her own memories, Celia becomes more determined to reveal the truth of what happened 24 years ago. Well-done, nicely tied together, with great twist at the end.

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing to rave about, but an enjoyable read!, April 13, 2005

By 

Syrielle (Suburbs, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Place Like Home: A Novel (Hardcover)

I love Mary Higgins Clark books. I have read every single one. With that said, I can't say this is her best, or even in her top 15. But I did read it all the way through, and it was entertaining, though somewhat unbelievable.

Positive points: admirable protagonist, beautiful and smart (typical, of course!) Many characters to draw suspects from, several twists and turns that keep you reading. Also, family-friendly writing; you can always lend MHC books to your teenager and your grandma without worrying about the content.

Not so great points: The "coincidences" that were pretty hard to believe. Also, the circumstances that the storyline takes place within are also questionable. You may question the main character's judgment at times and wonder what she was/is thinking. As long as you don't think about it too hard, you'll be able to look past these things.

Bottom line- if you like a quick mystery/thriller and aren't bothered by glitches in the storytelling or circumstances, then you'll enjoy this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book! Excellent entertainment as always!, March 31, 2006

By 

Deborah K. Taylor (tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Place Like Home: A Novel (Paperback)

My husband and I listened to the unabridged audio cd of this book on a car trip and we were captivated! This author is exceptional. We couldn't wait to hear what happened next as we listened to each mesmerizing chapter. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good old fashioned mystery filled with intrigue. Great character development and the reader was terrific. Don't hesitate... buy this one!