No Place Like Home: A Novel

Mary Higgins Clark

Apr 2005 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

In a riveting and unputdownable thriller from the Queen of Suspense, a young woman is ensnared into returning to a place she had wanted to leave behind forever—her childhood home.

At the age of ten, Liza Barton shot her mother, trying desperately to protect her from her estranged stepfather, Ted Cartwright. Despite his claim that the shooting was a deliberate act, the Juvenile Court ruled the death an accident. Many people, however, agreed with Cartwright, and the tabloids compared the child to the infamous murderess Lizzie Borden, pointing even to the similarity of their names.

To erase her past, her adoptive parents change her name to Celia. At age twenty-eight, a successful interior designer in Manhattan, she marries a childless sixty-year-old widower, Laurence Foster, and they have a son. Before their marriage, she reveals to him her true identity. Two years later, on his deathbed, he makes her swear never to tell anyone so that their son, Jack, will not carry the stigma of her past.

Two years later, Celia is happily remarried. Her peace of mind is shattered when her new husband surprises her with a gift—the house where she killed her mother. And it soon becomes clear that there is someone in the community knows Celia.

More and more, there are signs that someone in the community knows Celia’s true identity. When the real estate agent who sold them the house is brutally murdered and Celia is the first on the crime scene, she becomes a suspect. As she fights to prove her innocence, she has no idea that she and her son, Jack, are now the targets of a killer.

Ratings and reviews

This was definitely the best new (relatively - or at least, new-to-me) Mary Higgins Clark mystery that I've read in the last few months. Intricately plotted (with some surprising twists - and some predictable ones) and peopled with likable characters; I had a fun time reading this mystery. It was fast, fun, and hard to put down. I really had forgotten just how much I've always enjoyed reading her books. This was just so thrilling!

It took me a while to really get into it, but when I did I couldn't wait to read it again. Excellent, surprising ending. Never suspected her husband. Good read.

I loved this book. It is an awesome book that kept me thinking at all times. It caused me to think and learn how to read the emotions of others. It was one of those books that lets you exscape into a world just like ours. It is an awesome feeling. It is a must reads if you like Mary Higgins Clark

About the author

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark wrote over forty suspense novels, four collections of short stories, a his­torical novel, a memoir, and two children’s books. With bestselling author Alafair Burke she wrote the Under Suspicion series including The Cinderella Murder, All Dressed in White, The Sleeping Beauty Killer, Every Breath You Take, You Don’t Own Me, and Piece of My Heart. With her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, she coauthored five suspense novels. More than one hundred million copies of her books are in print in the United States alone. Her books are international bestsellers.