Daddy's Gone A Hunting Mass Market Paperback – March 18, 2014

It always seems like she rushes the endings. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery without dripping with sex, graphic violence and homosexuality.

She is one of my favorite authors.

When Kate Connelly was three years old, her mother, her Uncle Connor, and some friends were killed in a boating accident. She still has memories of dancing with her parents on one special night, and brief flashes of inexplicable memories that occasionally haunt her.Bereft at the loss of his wife Susan, Douglas Connelly, Connor's twin, must go on as the head of the family business. Now, many years later, Kate is lying in a hospital bed, in a coma, after a strange explosion at the family's furniture factory: an explosion that killed a former employee, Gus Schmidt.In the investigation, the questions center on who set the fire, since the business was not doing well. What were Gus and Kate doing at the factory in the early hours of the morning? Did one or both of them set the fire so that the Connelly family could receive the insurance money?Meanwhile, other story threads involve missing girls; unexpected large sums of money used to buy a home for Gus Schmidt's daughter; and secret communications between Doug Connelly, patriarch of the family, and unknown persons.As the story unfolds, we also come to learn more about a homeless Vietnam veteran who abandoned his family forty years before. What was he doing in a wrecked van near the factory on the night of the explosion? Did he have something to do with the fire, or did he see something that could be helpful?The story was intriguing, but there were so many characters, and some of them had similar names and descriptions, leading me to often confuse them. However,  Daddy's Gone A Hunting  kept me rapidly turning pages, trying to make the connections and figure out the mysterious events involving the Connelly family and the missing girls. I was pleased that I didn't figure it all out right away, even though I did suspect where the trail was going. Another great mystery that earns 4.5 stars.

Mary Higgins Clark has become known as the "Queen of Suspense" in the years since her first novel, Where Are the Children (1975) and for good reason. Her suspense/mystery books are reminiscent of Agatha Christie with plot twists and turns, multiple red herrings, and a dramatic conclusion that the reader comes to understand only in the last pages of the book. Her novels for the last decade or so have focused on the uncanny sleuthing skills of Alvirah Meehan and her husband Willy and did not have the same edge as her earlier works. Daddy's Gone A Hunting, however, is more of a return to her earlier style and was a quick, easy and suspenseful read with just the right mix of suspense, loveable and hate-able characters, plot twists and humor. My only complaint, if in fact I have one, is that there are so many characters that it becomes difficult to remember who's who. Since I read the Kindle version, I must say the x-ray feature would have been of great benefit in this case, but unfortunately was not available for this book.The story begins with a deadly explosion in the furniture warehouse of the Connelly family of New York, known for their high quality reproductions of fine antique furniture. Injured in the explosion is daughter Kate Connelly and dead is Gus Schmidt, a long-time employee who was bitter over having been fired five years earlier. Kate had called Gus, asking him to meet her at the warehouse in the wee hours of the morning, and now Kate is in a coma and Gus is dead; suspicion naturally falls on these two who cannot tell what actually happened. This is also the story of lawyer Mark Sloan from Chicago, his mother, and his sister Tracey who disappeared 28 years prior when she went to New York to pursue her dream of an acting career. And it is the story of a man named Clyde, a hero, a decorated Vietnam Vet who came home emotionally damaged after the war and left his family for a life on the streets. Their lives all convene in this tale of greed and subterfuge with just a little romance folded into the mix.The book is fun, fairly non-violent for a mystery and appropriate for any age group from teens to seniors. While I have also enjoyed Ms. Clark's aforementioned series with Alvirah and Willy, this was a welcome switch back to her earlier style which led me to be a fan of her writing decades ago. Don't be put off by my 3-star rating ... those who follow my reviews know that I only give 4 or 5 star ratings to books I believe have significant social value, are destined to become classics, or are among the best books I've ever read.

Amazing book. She is my favorite author. My goal for 2023 is to read all 58 books that she has written and I'm so excited about them

Fantastic characters, a roller coaster read with a healthy amount of real suspense. Enjoyable subject and plotline. The title is a little perplexing as it really doesn't suit the story at all. I know she has a thing about using old standards as titles, but they usually fit, this one doesn't, neither does the accompanying cover art, but that happens a lot with novels. It's a great read, enjoy!

Excellent book keeps you entrapped from beginning to end. While you always kind of doggie out who the culprit is and second guess the author the interest on the story does not wane as there is always a question of what's the whole story behind it and yeah that kind of keeps you glued.

Habe schon viele Higgins Clark Bücher gelesen. Das ist eines der Besten. Keine Minute langweilig. Kann ich empfehlen.

I'm very happy of this book! Mary Higgins is a good at writing novels!! I advice it to everyone!!! Go and buy it!!!

No es el mejor libro de MHC. La historia no es muy original, tal vez porque repite e incide en exceso situaciones y personajes que ya han aparecido en otras novelas suyas, y el final se adivina demasiado pronto.

Daddy's gone a hunting", "Une chanson douce" en français, est un très bon Mary Higgins Clark, avec cette fois une palette de personnages un peu plus large que d'habitude. En particulier le portrait d'un ancien du Vietnam devenu alcoolique puis SDF qui nous émeut du fond de sa solitude. Les autres personnages sont plus typiques de la romancière : des trentenaires célibataires, le patron d'une entreprise de copies de meubles anciens et ses deux filles Kate et Hannah, la victime et l'héroïne de cette histoire dont le suspense fonctionne bien, comme d'habitude.Qui est, par ailleurs, le tueur des deux jeunes femmes disparues dont on nous présente les proches? Quel est le rapport de leur disparition avec l'intrigue principale ? Qui est responsable de l'incendie criminel qui a dévasté l'usine de confection de copies de meubles anciens et son musée contenant les originaux? Pourquoi Kate y avait-elle donné rendez-vous, juste au moment de l'incendie, à un ancien employé retraité de l'entreprise? Qui est donc responsable de la mort de ce sexagénaire et du coma dans lequel elle se retrouve plongée?Evidemment vous n'aurez la réponse qu'au tout dernier chapitre mais si vous êtes un peu malins, vous l'aurez plus ou moins devinée auparavant.Deux points faibles cependant : une coïncidence possible mais pas assez crédible et un épilogue bâclé en deux pages et demie qui nous laisse un peu sur notre faim. ceci dit, "Daddy's gone a hunting" vousd procurera un plaisir de la lecture constant dès la première page de ce roman.