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Rating: 
Summary: All Through the Night
Review: All Through the Night by Mary Higgins Clark, is one example of why she should not be called the Queen of Suspense. This book was one of the least suspenseful books I have ever read. The book is also a little far-fetched. It just happens that two minutes after Sondra, the mother, leaves her little child, Stellina, on the steps of a church a robber comes out and takes the child. Wow, talk about a coincidence. Then seven years later, after the child has been properly cared for by the robber's mother, Sondra tries to find her child. Luckily, this is just when his mother is getting very ill. Other characters are introduced way too soon, which leads to confusion. Stellina also goes to a child care place during the day which also happens to be closing soon, because of the owner dying and more "suspense" is worked up because there is something wrong with the owner's will. Fortunately, one of the other characters is able to figure the whole mess out and save the entire book in about two chapters. All Through the Night was a poor choice for a title because not only did it have little to no relevance to the book, other than it being Christmas time, it defiantly did not keep me reading though the night. The ending of the book is "one in a million", if that one character wouldn't have been introduced nothing would have been complete. Mary Higgins Clark, Queen of Unrealistic books.
Rating: 
Summary: All Through the Night
Review: All Through the Night, by Mary Higgins Clark, contains plenty of suspense to keep the reader turning the pages. Clark's use of dramatic irony keeps readers engrossed in the book. Through all the characters' minds, the reader wonders how each character will resolve their conflict. Next, the reader absorbs all the different stories told, connecting the different people with other characters. Finally, the use of the chalice to connect the characters and their story leaves the reader fascinated at the connections. All Through the Night is suspenseful and fast paced, making it an easy novel to finish.
The audience can see through all the characters' minds, giving them knowledge that the other characters lack. When Lenny takes the baby from the rectory, automatically the reader knows this will be a long lost relationship between the mother and this little baby. While Alvirah Meehan tries to solve the case on Bessie Durkin's will, the reader sees Sondra, the mother of the baby, enter the picture. Sondra struggles, facing the thought of her innocent daughter she left on the rectory steps seven years ago. The reader then views Stellina, the lost baby now seven, and how her life has formed. Clark keeps the audience reading as Alvirah indirectly solves both mysteries.
The mystery of the false will, the separation of Sondra and Stellina, Lenny and his hopes for Stellina, all sub-stories in the novel, are brought together as Alvirah solves them. Seven years after the chalice is stolen, and the baby is not found, Sondra goes back to New York wondering what happened to her baby. Lenny is planning to leave New York and head to Mexico, taking Stellina as a cover-up. Alvirah is trying to solve the false will, when she meets Sondra. Alvirah promises to help find her daughter, which leads to finding Lenny and the stolen chalice. So all of the characters form as one mystery Alvirah solves. Clark's randomness leading to one point keeps the reader even more interested with all the stories.
Lenny grabs the stroller as a cover-up for stealing the chalice, not knowing that there is a child in it. Clark's use of the chalice to join all the characters, allows the reader to see the connection. Home Base, which is run by Alvirah's friend Kate Durkin, is a daycare for children. Stellina is part of this daycare and is chosen to be the blessed mother for the Christmas Pageant. Stellina wants to bring the chalice as a gift to Jesus. Sondra is connected to the chalice because he grandfather always loved to sit near it in church. Alvirah is friends with the minister of the perish the chalice is from so immediately connects the relationship between Sondra, Stellina, and Lenny. The chalice ties the mystery of the stolen chalice and of Stellina up in one night's performance.
All Through the Night is one of many masterful tales of suspense by Clark. The dramatic irony makes the book more interesting and exhilarating. With so many stories to follow the reader does not get bored. Finally, the chalice helps the reader keep track of the connection between all the characters. This book will keep the readers on the edge of their seat and will truly keep the reading 'all through the night.'
Rating: 
Summary: Queen of Suspense????
Review: All Through the Night
Mary Higgins Clark
Rebekah Sexton Of the twelve Mary Higgins Clarks books I've had the privilege of reading, I've found All Through the Night to be among her best. Mary Higgins Clark ingeniously intertwines two plots through one little girl. Sondra's musical career and life hold a promising future for her as her dreams are slowly unfolding, until she becomes pregnant by mistake. She finds herself in a situation she doesn't know how to solve and determines that the only solution to her problem is to leave her newborn girl on the doorstep of a church in New York City. When Sondra returns seven years later in search of her daughter, she tragically finds that her daughter was never found and that the same night she left her, there was a burglary at the church. Left heartbroken, Sondra is left with questions that cannot be answered.
When Kate tragically discovers that her recently deceased sister, Bessie, left the will for her house to go to a couple she wasn't fond of, she becomes tragically aware of her sister's deceitfulness, something her friends were also unaware of. Positive that the will must be fraud, Alvirah, a close friend to Kate and Bessie, sets out to prove that the will is a fraud and that the Bakers are con artists. As Alvirah unfolds the mysteries of the events that happened the night that Sondra left her daughter at the church and of Bessie's will, the story unfolds plots and mysteries that leads one on a ride full of twists and surprises. Clark has once again outdone herself in All Through the Night.
Rating:
Summary: A Christmas Story as Good as Silent Night
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Alvirah and Willy make a great team, and since I am Catholic, I enjoy anything when somebody is trying to help the Catholic church. I was so angry when the theft was committed! No one should steal anything sacred from a church!
This book is best read at Christmas time. I know that next Christmas, I am very likely to read them again!
Rating:
Summary: A Christmas Story as Good as Silent Night
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Alvirah and Willy make a great team, and since I am Catholic, I enjoy anything when somebody is trying to help the Catholic church. I was so angry when the theft was committed! No one should steal anything sacred from a church!
This book is best read at Christmas time. I know that next Christmas, I am very likely to read them again!
Rating:
Summary: A great holiday mystery, uplifting but not saccharine
Review: If you have a couple of hours and want to devour a light, quick, and pleasant holiday book, ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT is the one for you. This is not the usual Mary Higgins Clark book. It's also not for die-hard mystery lovers. I loved the way this book was centered, for the most part around lively, lovable senior citizens, showing their activities, alertness, and concerns. Several subplots (robbery, abandonment, child care, con artists, sleuthing) come together to form a wonderful Christmas story (to be read and enjoyed any time of the year). This book left me with "feel-good" vibrations. If I had one complaint, it would be that the book was too short.
Rating: 
Summary: LIGHT, FAST, AND GOOD
Review: If you have a couple of hours and want to devour a light, quick, and pleasant holiday book, ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT is the one for you. This is not the usual Mary Higgins Clark book. It's also not for die-hard mystery lovers. I loved the way this book was centered, for the most part around lively, lovable senior citizens, showing their activities, alertness, and concerns. Several subplots (robbery, abandonment, child care, con artists, sleuthing) come together to form a wonderful Christmas story (to be read and enjoyed any time of the year). This book left me with "feel-good" vibrations. If I had one complaint, it would be that the book was too short.
Rating:
Summary: All Through The Night
Review: This book is very thought provoking. I found it to be an easy read. Of the author's other books, this does not rank very high.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Christmas Mystery
Review: This is a fantastic read. Short, but one of her best. Two sub-plots that do not hinder the other, tied together by a little girl named Star. The whole setting is easy to believe, so you can easily let yourself flow with the story. And it does flow; you will not wish to put it down. There are a couple things that are just too convient. But I guess you would need a much longer book to fit everything in. A good read for Christmas.
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