As Time Goes By

Mary Higgins Clark has done it again with another thrilling masterpiece, As Time Goes By.

From Amazon:

In this exciting thriller from Mary Higgins Clark, the #1 New York Times bestselling “Queen of Suspense,” a news reporter tries to find her birth mother just as she is assigned to cover the high-profile trial of a woman accused of murdering her wealthy husband.

Television journalist Delaney Wright is on the brink of stardom after she begins covering a sensational murder trial for the six p.m. news. She should be thrilled, yet her growing desire to locate her birth mother consumes her thoughts. When Delaney’s friends Alvirah Meehan and her husband Willy offer to look into the mystery surrounding her birth, they uncover a shocking secret they do not want to reveal.

On trial for murder is Betsy Grant, widow of a wealthy doctor who has been an Alzheimer’s victim for eight years. When her once-upon-a-time celebrity lawyer urges her to accept a plea bargain, Betsy refuses: she will go to trial to prove her innocence.

Betsy’s stepson, Alan Grant, bides his time nervously as the trial begins. His substantial inheritance hangs in the balance—his only means of making good on payments he owes his ex-wife, his children, and increasingly angry creditors.

As the trial unfolds, and the damning evidence against Betsy piles up, Delaney is convinced that Betsy is not guilty and frantically tries to prove her innocence. A true classic from Mary Higgins Clark, As Time Goes By is a thrilling read by a master of the genre.

I’m normally not a fan of the Alvirah books, she is an irritating character to me. So when I started reading this book, and I saw that it was another Alvirah book, my expectations were lowered. I am so glad that my expectations proved incorrect!

While Alvirah was part of this book, she was not the main focus, (yay!). And the role she did play made sense throughout the book.

I loved watching Delaney believe in Betsy from day one, even without knowing the truth of her circumstances. She could see the truth in Betsy rather than the media portrayal. And as a reporter, was able to give a fair depiction of what was going on, rather than sensationalizing the story.

I won’t lie, I did suspect Alan from the beginning, but I love the way that Mary Higgins Clark developed the story without directly telling us it was him. I’m a huge fan of plot twists and turns, and how in depth she can go with each character.

Each book is a stand alone book which I also love. While this is part of a “series” of Alvirah and Willie, you do not need to have read the previous books in order to understand this one. And that is one of my favorite things with this author.