The #1 New York Times bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark has written thirty-eight suspense novels, four collections of short stories, a his颅torical novel, a memoir, and two children鈥檚 books. With bestselling author Alafair Burke she wrote the Under Suspicion series. With her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, she has coauthored five more suspense novels. Her sister-in-law is the also author Mary Jane Clark.
Clark鈥檚 books have sold more than 100 million copies in the United States alone. Her books are beloved around the world and made her an international bestseller many times over.
鈥淔unny, when you finally faced reality, it was amazing how clearly you could see things.鈥� 鈥� Mary Higgins Clark, Loves Music, Loves to Dance
Updated review:
Anyone remember newspaper personal adds?
Yeah they are all but gone now as the internet continues to take over our lives An online dating has all but replaced the old days of the infamous personal ads.
But once upon a time, they did exist and in "Loves Music, Loves to dance" there's a serial killer lose preying on women who use personal adds.
This is a great whodunit. So many men, so many suspects.
What a mystery! While some may find it dated, I still love this book and read it every so often. It revolves around two best friends, Darcy and Erin who are involved in a research project requiring them to meet men doing these personal adds.
When one of the ladies is murdered, the other finds her death is linked to the experiment and she must find out which "admirer" is the murderer.
So she sets about trying to find the killer. This is a Book that is impossible to put down.
The reader participates in the mystery as well, as the whole story is awash in neon city lights, creepy dates, and a wonderful friend who is determined to find out who murdered her best friend. You won鈥檛 want for suspects, believe me!
This is just a genuine good mystery that features alot of suspects! It's fast paced and involving and I enjoyed it greatly even though I was wrong about who done it.
There are many possible choices, a huge pool of suspects and it really is difficult to figure out!
I have read other books by Higgins Clark but I think this one is my favorite.
Couldn't guess the killer! This thriller and suspense was good. Especially the killer, many of them sounded guilty so I couldn't guess who. The only part was the characters. There were so many characters to keep track of.
I like the story around personal ads.. it's interesting to read books from long ago because I get to see the changes in technology. Now there are dating apps.. personal ads in the newspapers for dating are no more.
The characters are well written. I liked their stories and backgrounds.
I can't wait to read more books from this author.
Thank you Simon Books for the opportunity to read and review. I also listened to an audiobook via Libby App. The narrator sings which was nice.
Enfin,Enfin,j'ai pu finir cet roman. quel magnifique ouvrage ;le style d'茅criture,les personnages bien d茅cri茅s , l'id茅e m锚me est superbe,
pourquoi je prendre ce temps 脿 finir cet roman malgr茅 qu'elle est 277 page seulement.?
car elle est charg茅es des 茅motions forts peur,l'incertitude,doute chez tous les personnages. Anisi le meurtre est un disimulateur-n茅.
Son meilleur livre 脿 ce jour 鉂も潳鉂も潳鉂� un roman 脿 lire bien s没r mais la version fran莽aise ou version originale la traduction on arabe 脿 malcife l'ouvrage .
This is the second Mary Higgins Clark novel I read after a long hiatus of her novels, and I have to say my expectations for this novel were high. It sounded interesting, and when my sister was reading it, she gave it high marks (so did the reviews I read prior to reading this novel). However, when I finally got around to reading it, my sister couldn鈥檛 remember much of the story or any of the characters. That should have told me that my expectations for this novel were too high. And, they were.
The story started out well, but as I kept reading I became more and more disappointed with it. From the start, I did not care much for the protagonist, Darcy鈥� at all. There was just something about the way she came across. I didn鈥檛 care much for her two female friends either. All three gave off the same but wrong vibe.
There are too many characters in this story and some of them had no big impact to the plot that it is obvious they were thrown in the story to be red hearings. And, because of this, whenever they came up in the novel it was like 鈥淲ho cares?鈥�
I read this novel soon after reading Mary Higgins Clark鈥檚 While My Pretty One Sleeps; which is about fashion designers. So, it is understandable that there are many descriptions of the characters鈥� clothes/outfits. However, the constant fashion tidbits gets annoying in Loves Music, Loves to Dance after the first couple of descriptions. It has been awhile since I read Mary Higgins Clark novels, and I can鈥檛 remember if this is something she does in all her novels. It could be.
Overall, this novel was not one of my favorites. Too many characters take away from the story line, and, after awhile, it starts to become a dull read. Also, if you have read just one of her books, you can immediately tell who the murderer is.
I gave this novel two starts becomes there were one or two characters that were semi-interesting.
Needed a quick easy read for the plane ride...we'll see if i regret my choice
......
Meh. It was an ok book I guess. A few things bothered me about it. I really don't need to know, in detail, what each character is wearing in EVERY scene. I don't care that one guy in this paragraph is wearing dark courdory pants with a white button shirt and a smart jacket. Or that another character went home and changed from a red sweater blouse into jeans and a yellow t-shirt. It's not integral to the plot, and it doesn't build the character at all.
Speaking of building characters, all of the characters in this book were flat.
Oh and I really don't need to know EXACTLY what time every thing is starting. It seems like every new section started with "At quarter of four....At quarter of ten....At ten of nine..." Does it really matter? Can't, after two billion books, can the author come up with a better section opener?
The plot itself was interesting, and the whodunit became a little predictable. (I myself would have LOVED to have had the brother do it...that would have been MUCH more of a surprise).
I can't say I won't ever read a Mary Higgins Clark book again, but I certainly won't expect anything if I do.
If I could, I'd give this a zero. I can't believe she sells. This is the modern-day crap I speak of in my reviws . . . ten fold. Her plots broadcast, the're derived, boring, predictable, stupid, silly, staid . . . I don't have a big enough vocabulary to describe how bad she is. Only read this because it was required for a Lit. class I was teaching at a college that, like a high school, required certian books. I don't teach there any more. Goes without saying. One faculty member even refused to read the book. Just had the students read it and report back to him, nodding his head in acknowledgement like he'd read it. Wish I had done so. Yuuuuuuuuuuuck!
To say that Mary Higgins Clark is a genius at what she does would be a huge understatement. Nonetheless, this novel proves that there is no one better than her at thrillers and suspense novels than her and here is why:
Loves Music, Loves to Dance was published in 1991 and it proved to be one of the biggest bestsellers of that year. It was later turned into a very unsuccessful film but that mattered very little, the novel still sells well and it is a fan favourite amongst the readers. In fact, according to Good Reads, it is the author鈥檚 most read novel after Where Are The Children? Which is not surprising, considering the formula that the writer applies for this brilliant bit of story-telling.
It is also worth mentioning that this the author鈥檚 20th novel and it marks a defining point: before and after. As usual, Mary Higgins Clark gives us a list of character whom we easily identify as good and bad. The good guys are successful, they have good jobs and good reputations, unlike the bad guys, who most often are people that work minor jobs and have committed some sort of felony or are just very creepy. This is the formula that the author uses in most of her books. The exception in this particular work of fiction is that Mary Higgins Clark gives the story a twist that not only does it leave the reader speechless, but it also makes us think about our own prejudices.
Instead of telling us who the killer is, and making the story about the plot line, which is what the author does in most of her books anyways (including Two Little Girls in Blue) the writer points the finger at one of the characters that seems to be cut out for murder, but at the end, the real murderer is revealed. This leaves the reader, stunned and well鈥� surprised.
Love it or hate it, this is what makes this novel so interesting, that by the end of the read, one ends up analysing one鈥檚 own prejudices. Did I think that this guy couldn鈥檛 do the crimes because he was rich and successful?
In true Mary Higgins Clark fashion, at the end, the story is resolved and everyone鈥檚 happy. Afterall, the author herself has said that this should always be an element of hope.
To read the full review on Medium, click on the link below:
芦Shall we dance? Shall we dance? Shall we dance? On a bright cloud of music shall we fly? ... Shall we still be together with our arms around each other, shall we dance? Shall we dance? Shall we dance?禄
[Balliamo? Balliamo? Balliamo? Su una vivida nube di musica voliamo? ...Insieme, abbracciati, balliamo? Balliamo? Balliamo?]
L'assassino lo vediamo fin dalla prima pagina, ma chi 猫 veramente? Tutti i personaggi, vittime e no, ruotano intorno al mondo degli annunci personali, quelli con i quali si ricercano amicizie, compagnia e non solo, se ci scappa. Ambito molto rischioso, perch茅 non si sa chi puoi trovarti davanti. Tra le vittime un punto in comune: lo spettacolo, la musica, la danza, il ballo. E quelle belle scarpette dal tacco a spillo...
Romanzo che pian piano intriga, una pagina dopo l'altra. Anche dai capitoli si avverte il serrarsi della storia e l'avvicinarsi dell'epilogo perch茅 si fanno sempre pi霉 corti, quasi fossero un respiro mozzato.
E poi, mmm... c'猫 anche quel pizzico di "rosa" che nulla toglie alla trama, anzi.
馃摉 GdL GR - La parola del mese (gen. 2018): MUSICA (nel titolo) 馃摎 Biblioteca
This is one of the creepier books that I have read. I picked it up off a pile of books my grandmother was giving to us and low-and-behold was this catching, poetic title. It was too disturbing the first time I tried so I put it on my shelf and waited about a year. After all that time It still was bugging me that I didn't know what was to happen. So I picked it up, read it again. And I absulutely loved it. It was a great plot and it had a satisfactoringly twisted murderer. It had so much emotion packed into this murder mystery also. I reccomend to just about anyone who still loves a night filled with jumping and looking outside your window for that burgular you just KNOW you heard. Read it, love it, reccomend it. Repeat.
Darcy has got to be dumb as a rock. You know how a killer is finding their victim. Why do you think you're better than the other victim and won't get backed into a corner. 馃檮馃檮 Fafo
I also was quite annoyed by who ended up being the killer. I hate thrillers where the killer is just suddenly there and there hasn't been any actual clues that it's them. That ruins the fun of trying to figure out who it is while you're reading.
I read this several years ago as a teenager and kind of remembered who the killer was, but I have to admit I was still enthralled. They don鈥檛 call the author of the queen of suspense for nothing. It is a little heavy handed, especially with who the killer turns out to be, but it鈥檚 definitely an enjoyable book.
Added 7/19/15. This mystery started out fine but it got impossible to follow after too many characters were introduced. It was ridiculous! I bailed out after reading half of the story.
A GR reviewer wrote: ================================== "There are too many characters in this story and some of them had no big impact to the plot that it is obvious they were thrown in the story to be red hearings [sic]. And, because of this, whenever they came up in the novel it was like 'Who cares?' ... Too many characters take away from the story line, and, after awhile, it starts to become a dull read." ABOVE IS FROM: /review/show... ================================== I agree.
I threw the book in the garbage because I didn't want anyone else to waste their time trying to read this book.
I really love Clark's older books, which were suspenseful psychological thrillers. I also like the fact that her murderers are always people with deep psychological disorders. Her later books concentrated on normal people but that didn't work for me.
In this book is a creepy serial killer, who meets women through personal ads kills them and puts dancing shoes on their feet before abandoning them where they could be found. A man who starts this spree when a woman rejects him, a very entitled man. Darcy Scott decides to chase him after her best friend is also murdered. She meets a variety of people who quickly become suspects.
Clark's characterisation is always weak, but that doesn't matter so much in this book where the suspense is pretty high. I simply wanted to know who the real killer is behind the mask of the amiable man. It's a quick and fun read.
*4.5 stars I read a lot of Mary Higgins Clark's books when I was in High School/College, but I had never read this one. I really enjoyed reading this one and enjoyed reading another Mary Higgins Clark book after not picking up one of her books in years. I will definitely be reading more.
A great little suspense mystery. Two women are working on a documentary , on people who place personal ads, finding the right one or exposing a serial killer.
Si muove a scatti, nervosa, la narrazione di 鈥淟e piace la musica, le piace ballare鈥�. Ho apprezzato molto la struttura in capitoli brevi, a volte brevissimi; una raffica di flash in cui il lettore 猫 chiamato a rimanere sempre vigile e attento. Non si perde in chiacchiere la Higgins Clark, non le interessa annoiare con troppi particolari o con uno stile che non sia schietto e diretto.
C鈥櫭� una storia da raccontare, in un crescente clima di tensione; c鈥櫭� un lettore da confondere e spiazzare, al quale non bisogna dare troppi indizi altrimenti si rischia di rovinargli il finale. Sicuramente questo suo modo di approcciarsi alla scrittura l鈥檋a resa una delle autrici pi霉 amate per il genere.
All鈥檌nizio entrare in confidenza con tutti i personaggi che la Higgins Clark porta in scena non 猫 stato facile, mi sono munita di carta e penna per non perdermi nemmeno un passaggio! Andando avanti nella lettura, quando gli incastri e le relazioni si fanno pi霉 familiari e ognuno di loro si delinea maggiormente, non ne ho avuto pi霉 bisogno e ho iniziato con i primi sospetti.
Devo dire che la dinamica del thriller non si basa su elementi particolarmente originali. Il pluriomicida viene allo scoperto quando il suo ultimo delitto, a oltre 15 anni dal primo, viene considerato l鈥檕pera di un imitatore, almeno cos矛 titolano i giornali, e lui a quel punto decide di 鈥渕ostrarsi鈥� ai familiari delle vittime, dichiarando anche il suo intento finale al lettore. Un modus operandi gi脿 visto, ma che comunque non ha diminuito la mia curiosit脿, merito come dicevo prima dello stile dell鈥檃utrice che ha saputo catturarmi.
Erin 猫 l鈥檜ltima vittima del serial killer e la sua amica Darcy 猫 intenzionata a fare giustizia. Finir脿, manco a dirlo, per mettersi nei guai鈥� Quando, a trenta pagine dalla fine del libro, dice: 鈥淪ei la mia ancora di salvezza. Che fortuna鈥�, vorresti gridare 鈥淣ooooo! Non salire su quell鈥檃uto!鈥�. Un po鈥� come quando nei film dell鈥檕rrore (almeno cos矛 ho sentito dire, dato che non ne ho mai visti) c鈥櫭� uno dei personaggi che scende nella cantina buia dove 猫 sicuro che succeder脿 qualcosa.
Siamo a trenta pagine dalla fine e solo in quel momento i nodi si sciolgono: quel piccolo colpo di fortuna aiuter脿?
La polifonia dei personaggi a cui accennavo prima rende tutto pi霉 complesso: il lettore non sa mai da che parte guardare per cercare il colpevole. Devo dire che da questo punto di vista l鈥檃utrice ha fatto un ottimo lavoro di incastro. Arriva un momento in cui sono tutti dei possibili indiziati, tutti sono in qualche modo legati alla vittima (o alle vittime), e la lettura si fa sempre pi霉 smaniosa.
S矛, il dubbio ti viene, anche pi霉 di una volta; ti chiedi: 鈥淓 se鈥�?鈥�, per poi ripensarci e magari rivalutare l鈥檌potesi iniziale e poi scartata. Ci sono degli indizi qua e l脿, ma la Higgins Clark 猫 un鈥檃utrice che sa il fatto suo e ne lascia sempre di deboli, di effimeri. Bisogna andare avanti per sapere, per sperare che Darcy alla fine non sia l鈥檈nnesima vittima鈥�
鈥淟e piace la musica, le piace ballare鈥� non brilla certo per originalit脿 ma l鈥檌mpianto narrativo e lo stile dell鈥檃utrice sono assolutamente promossi. Mi sa che della Higgins Clark legger貌 in futuro qualcos鈥檃ltro!
I have been trying to read more of Clark since I was too young too read them in the 80s/90s but my mom devoured these books during that time. Clark's books are like a time machine to those years and I am here for the ride!
While her books are dated, I still enjoy the fast pace of them and she keeps me interested the entire time. The only big fault with this book was that it had way too many characters that I kept getting all the people confused.
Just some funny things I had noticed is that she is strangely descriptive of people's clothing and of rooms. It feels like she is trying to make the main characters super trendy and fashionable but it ends up just making me laugh at their style and decorating taste. The amounts of scarves these people wore made me chuckle.
She also kept mentioning the rich people having a black Mercedes station wagon which I just couldn't imagine what that high end car would look like. I ended up googling it to see what this amazing car looked liked. Of course they were so rich they had a phone in the car which everyone was impressed by.
I will definitely keep reading the classic Clark books so I can get a feel of what it would have been like to be a cool, fashionable adult during that time.
Even though this is an older book, I couldn't put it down! Thank God dating isn't through newspaper personal ads anymore but still there are some messed up people out there. Not being able to get a hold of people right away on a cell phone definitely added to the suspense. There was no shortage of creepy suspects for who the serial killer could be.