Silent Night (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "It was Christmas Eve in New York City..." (more)
Key Phrases: Jimmy Siddons, New York, Mort Levy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Clark's favored theme of endangered kids (Where Are the Children?, etc.) meshes here with a parable of faith; but, despite swift pacing, the predictability of the story line undercuts the suspense. Catherine Dornan is in Manhattan with her two sons because her husband, Tom, an Omaha pediatrician, is hospitalized there for leukemia and has just had his spleen removed. When a troubled stranger, Cally Hunter, makes off with Catherine's wallet, seven-year-old Brian Dornan doggedly pursues her because the wallet contains a St. Christopher medal that saved the life of his grandfather in WWII, by deflecting a bullet. Brian believes that the medal will save his dad's life, too, as his grandmother has predicted, and he is determined to get it back. Enter Jimmy Siddons, Cally's brother, a cop killer escaped from Riker's Island prison, who abducts Brian, holding him hostage at gunpoint as he heads for Canada in a stolen car. In the finale, as Catherine prays during Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, the cops and Siddons, Brian at his side, engage in a high-speed chase, in which the St. Christopher medal becomes vital to the boy's safety. Clark blatantly, if cleverly, pulls all the sentimental strings here, but most readers will find this a heartwarming, affirmative tale of the power of faith. 750,000 first printing; Literary Guild main selection; simultaneous S&S audiotape.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA?It is Christmas Eve in New York City when Brian, a determined seven year old, follows the thief who took his mother's wallet, hoping to retrieve the St. Christopher's medal that he believes will save his father, who has leukemia, just as it saved his grandfather in World War II. However, the child is kidnapped by a vicious escaped convict who needs a hostage. The central characters come to life rapidly as the fast-moving story quickly builds suspense. Teens will appreciate the realistic, paradoxical description of the relationship between Brian and his older brother: caring, concerned, and name-calling at the same time. Although readers know that the ending will be a happy one, they won't expect the coincidences and the touching holiday details.?Claudia Moore, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 154 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st Ptg edition (October 16, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684815451
• ISBN-13: 978-0684815459
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,258,547 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GOOD HOLIDAY READ!, January 2, 2004

By	Dana Y. Bowles "DYB" (West Chester, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Silent Night (Mass Market Paperback)

Catherine Dornan appears to have it all--a comfortable lifestyle, a loving husband and two wonderful little boys. Then her physician husband falls ill with a life-threatening illness. The boys' grandmother gives them a St. Christopher medal--that saved her husband's life in World War II--and instructs them to give it to their father, and it will make him well. Although skeptical, Catherine Dornan does as her mother instructs and places the St. Christopher medal in her wallet for safekeeping. Little Brian Dornan however, the youngest of the two boys, is relying on that medal to make his father well again. So when he spots a woman pick up his mother's wallet from off of the ground while at Rockefeller center listening to Christmas carols, he takes off in hot pursuit. Brian has no idea what is waiting for him when he finally catches up with the young woman; and it soon becomes clear to Brian that St. Christopher may save not only his father's life--but perhaps his own.

DYB

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of Her Best, January 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Silent Night (Mass Market Paperback)

This is one of Mary Higgins Clark's best books. Although short, it packs action and suspense onto each and every page. The child-hero was terrific--a real boy any of us could identify with. I really cared and I thank the author for that. I just wish Ms. Clark would stop making her female heroines (i.e., the child's mother) so physically gorgeous! Can't we have someone ordinary for a change?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The powers of love, faith, and courage., April 2, 2002

By	Laura (Van Nuys, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent Night (Mass Market Paperback)

The powers of love, faith, and courage have rarely been tied together in an exciting suspense story. But in the novel "Silent Night" by Mary Higgins Clark, she managed to do just that.

The setting in Christmas Eve in New York City. After Tom Dornan arrives there to recieve a life-saving operation for his leukemia, his wife Catherine and two sons come to visit from Omaha. While Catherine and her two boys watch a musician on the street, Catherine's youngest son, Brian, witnesses someone taking her wallet without her realizing it. The wallet had a St. Christopher medal in it that saved his grandfather's life in World War Two. Brian hopes that giving it to his dad will save his life as well.

Brian follows the woman to her apartment and gets caught up in something far bigger than he expected. When kidnapped by escaped murderer Jimmy Siddons, Brian find's his courage and faith tested in this heartwarming novel that is great for all ages.