2008 Book 83: Daddy's Little Girl

Book #:	83
Book Title:	Daddy's Little Girl
Author:	Mary Higgins Clark
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Pub. Date:	2002
Pages:	291
Started:	September 22, 2008
Finished:	September 24, 2008
Time to Read:	3 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"Ellie Cavanaugh was only seven years old when her fifteen-year-old sister, Andrea, was murdered near their home in Oldham-on-the-Hudson, a rural village in New York's Westchester County. There were three suspects: Rob Westerfield, nineteen-year-old scion of a wealthy, prominent family, whom Andrea has been secretly dating; Paul Stroebel, a sixteen-year-old schoolmate, who had a crush on Andrea; and Will Nebels, a local handyman in his forties. It was Ellie who led her parents to a hide-out in which Andrea's body was found - a secret hideaway in which she met her friends. And it was Ellie who was blamed by her parents for her sister's death for not telling hem about this place the night Andrea was missing. It was also Ellie's testimony that led to the conviction of the man she was firmly convinced was the killer. Steadfastly denying his guilt, he spent the next twenty-two years in prison. When he comes up for parole, Ellie now an investigative reporter for an Atlanta newspaper, protests his release. Nonetheless, the convicted killer is set free and returns to Oldham. Determined to thwart his attempts to whitewash his reputation, Ellie also returns to Oldham, intent on creating a Website and writing a book that will conclusively prove his guilt. As she delves deeper into her research, however, she uncovers horrifying and hertofore unknown facts that shed new light on her sister's murder. With each discover, she comes closer to a confrontation with a desperate killer."
Stars:	****
Review:	Mary Higgins Clark always does a fabulous job in creating story lines that feel like they're ripped right out of the headlines of today. In this work, instant compassion is built for the character of Ellie, both for the trauma she suffered as a child after finding her murdered sister, and for the burdened adult she has become. As she pursues depicting her sister's convicted killer as a despicable individual even as his family attempts to manipulate the media to portray him as having been wrongly convicted, you can easily put yourself in her shoes. This story has it all - suspense, mystery, loss, recovery, and the determination of a woman who will not let her murdered sister's name be sullied by an opportunistic family. I think you'll love!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany