Daddy's Little Girl

Rating:
Summary: About not one but two of daddy's little girls
Review: When Andrea Cavanaugh was 15 years old, her little sister Ellie was 7. The sisters, though 8 years apart, spend time together and share secrets. When Andrea is brutally murdered, the daddy that Ellie adores makes Ellie regret keeping her sister's secret by saying, "if only you'd told us..." and the seed is planted in Ellie's mind that it was her fault that her older sister had to die. Ellie sees her father grieve but cannot reach out to him to share her own grief; she spends time remembering how special Andrea had been to her daddy and her grief is further complicated by guilt and longing to be able to touch her daddy.

At least she is able to help put the man who killed her sister, Robson Westerfield, behind bars. But that doesn't keep the family together, and Ellie and her father become estranged.

When her sister's killer is paroled and for reasons you'll discover in the book, wants a retrial to prove his innocence, Ellie becomes involved in following a complex trail of Rob's past crimes. There are a few untied strings at the end when people who help Ellie just vanish from the story, and sometimes all the people who step forward to help her so brazenly seems a bit unrealistic - plus, even many of the people who believe in Rob's innocence are still quite kind and helpful to Ellie. Regardless, there are plenty of challenges for Ellie as she determines to use all of her skill as well as her memories and love for her sister to prevent Rob from getting his way and getting away scot-free to torture someone else. But the biggest lesson she learns along the way is that though she is tough, determined, intelligent, and willing to do all she can to bring Rob to justice - sometimes you just have to accept some help, and sometimes nothing - not even loss through murder - can take away Daddy's Little Girl.

Rating:
Summary: Much better than her last two!
Review: Ellie Cavanaugh was seven years old when she found the body of Andrea, her fifteen year old sister, in the hideout. The hideout was in the garage behind old Mrs. Westerfield's house. It was little Ellie's testimony that put Andrea's boyfriend, Rob Westerfield, in prison for the murder. The stress and depression tore the family apart.

After twenty years Rob was coming up for parole. With his family's influence and money there was no doubt he would be released this time. The family also had an author writing Rob's life story to gain public sympathy.

Ellie had grown up and became an investigative reporter with the Atlanta News. She returned to her hometown to make sure Rob was not acquitted. Most believed Rob innocent of Andrea's death. As Ellie investigated and posted her findings on the web for the world to see, she became targeted for murder.

***** Mary Higgins Clark had not written this well in several years. I found it to be MUCH better than her last few novels! Clark seems to have found her muse once again! Highly recommended! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch.

Rating:
Summary: Back on Top
Review: Miss Clark has shown me again why she is my favorite author. From the first page of "Where are the Children?" to the last page of "Daddy's Little Girl", I've never been able to stop reading until I reach the end of book.
This book is the best of the last several she has written, and I am glad she has taken the risk to try something new. It has added a freshness to the storytelling.
If you've not read something by Mary Higgins Clark, read this one. If you've read her before, this is unlike the other books she's written.
Simply put, this book is a winner.

Rating:
Summary: Missing the 'thrills and chills'...
Review: I've always considered MHC my role model as an author, but I simply could not get excited about her latest effort. Although
her atypical first person format was well done, the plot sagged and compared to the heroines in her previous novels the female protagonist lacked spark and depth. With each chapter I remained hopeful that something would happen that would make me change my mind. There was virtually no suspense and the only thing that had me turning the pages was hope that a magical twist would eventually evolve to save the boring plot. To sum it up briefly, a seven year old child (Ellie) experiences the awful tragedy of learning that her teenaged sister (Andrea) was murdered in the sleepy Westchester County village where she resides with her parents. Andrea had previously confided in Ellie about her secret meetings with her boyfriend, Rob Westerfield, a spoiled product of family wealth. Rob is the main suspect, and is tried and convicted of murder. Andrea had always been the favorite and was known as "Daddy's Girl". Consequently, Ellie's father blames the poor child for not telling him about Andrea's secret hiding place before the murder, thinking that if he would have known he could have gone there to prevent it from happening (Yeah, right!). As Ellie grows older she becomes estranged from her father after her mother dies and he remarries. She moves to Atlanta where she becomes an investigative reporter. Twenty some years later, Rob is up for parole and Ellie is convinced that he is still a dangerous killer and should not be freed. She takes a leave of absence from her job and returns to her old hometown where she goes through great lengths to dig up all the dirt she can find out about Rob, to the point of being obsessive. She interviews and lunches with ghosts of the past hoping something will turn up that she missed before; she creates a website trying to gather public interest for her cause; and finally, she goes to Sing Sing and holds up a sign hoping a prisoner can shed some light on what Rob may have revealed while he was in prison. Although Rob Westerfield did in fact turn out to be a monster, I kept wishing all along that it was someone else who committed the murder just to make the story more interesting. However, for all of the sentimentalists out there (me included!) it does have a warm,fuzzy ending when she eventually reunites with her father and earns the title of "Daddy's Girl". This novel was not typical of MHC's usual intriguing 'whodunit' format but just the same I give her credit for her authentic dialogue and excellent depiction of characters and settings. For a more exciting read I highly recommend her other novels, specifically--You Belong to Me; Loves Music,Loves to Dance; Moonlight Becomes You; On the Street Where You Live; Let me Call you Sweetheart; Silent Night; Pretend You Don't See Her; and Remember Me -- all in the 4 to 5 star category.

Rating:
Summary: Fast moving & entertaining
Review: Every spring for more years than I care to recall I pick up the latest Mary Higgins Clark book. They are usually good, fast page turners which don't require much thought. The same can be said about the latest book, Daddy's Little Girl. In a change of pace for Clark, the book is written in the first person, and I enjoyed this point of view, it made me feel more a part of the story.

The storyline has echoes of the current Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel trial. Rich playboy from well to do family is accused of murdering younger neighborhood girl. However in MHC's version, the young man goes to jail. We enter the story 23 years later, when the younger siter of the murder victim tries to prevent the murderer from getting his parole.

Ellie Cavanugh is a 30 year old investigative reporter, who is still coming to terms with the murder of her older sister. When Rob Westerfield is granted parole for the murder, he announces his intention to clear his name and get a new trial. Ellie is equally determined to prove him guilty beyond any doubt. Ellie is a nice change of pace character. Not written in the typical 'female in distress' mode, she had brains and enough sense not to go into dark rooms in the middle of the night, while we silently say don't go, don't do it. She is not written as a complete idiot, who needs to be rescued by a man.

Mild spoiler ahead if you haven't read the book stop now.

My biggest problem with the book, is that there were no real surprises. Everything was well plotted but there were no major twists and turns, no big surprises. The 'red herring' clues never amounted to much, and so the ending, while very fast moving, didn't have much punch to it. The final chapter, one year later, wraps up all the loose ends in on nice package, and almost felt added on. I also would have enjoyed a more romantic storyline than the one we got with Ellie & Peter.

I still like my yearly vist with MHC, and will buy her book next spring, and probably as long as she writes them, I'll be reading them.

Rating:
Summary: Phoning it in
Review: Although her books are formulaic to say the least, I generally enjoy MHC's books quite a bit. The heroines are fun, the plots are enjoyable, and the villain is not always obvious, making for suspenseful reading. It was disappointing, therefore, to read her latest, as the heroine was deadly dull and the story was predictable and flat (in fact, it appeared to me that MHC must have been having some trouble thinking of an interesting story as, instead of her usual creativity, we are treated to a rip-off of the Martha Moxley murder here; how appropriate that the book was released almost to the day of the Skakel trial's opening). Hope this putrid approximation of a MHC novel isn't a harbinger of books to come....

Rating:
Summary: Great Comeback
Review: I love this book it had all the elements missing from last book. It is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: im disappointed
Review: As an avid fan of MHC, I have read all her books, but I am quite disappointed with her latest. When I pick up one of her books I am always positive that I will find suspense and surprise with each page I turn, and the end is always a complete surprise. Daddy's Little Girl created no suspense and was completely predictable. I enjoyed reading it simply because she is a fabulous author no matter what, but this is not one of her best.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Comeback
Review: I wasn't too thrill by Where you Live but Daddy's Girl more than made for it. It was a great thrill ride and the characters and the plot was superb. I just couldn't put it down. Ending was heart-stopping. Thanks Mary Higgins Clark for the great mystery.

Rating:
Summary: MHC Delivers Once Again!!!!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Mary Higgins Clark's latest effort. This story, told in the first person (for the first time, I believe), features Clark's typical female heroine out to avenge the murder of her sister some twenty three years earlier by making sure that her paroled killer does not succeed in gaining a new trial. Clark does a particularly good job of conveying the sense of loss and guilt that must haunt many families of victims of violent crimes and the dramatic impact that such crimes can have on such families. If you are a Mary Higgins Clark fan, you will not be disappointed. If you are not, this is a good place to start.