REVIEW: THE LOST YEARS, BY MARY HIGGINS CLARK

In The Lost Years, we are brought into the world of a professor that specializes in antiquities, and a find that could make history.

But before Professor Lyons can reveal more about the parchment, or have it authenticated, he is murdered. In his home, with only his wife present. Or so we believe, and since she is discovered in the closet, covered in blood and clutching a gun, suspicion heightens.

But Kathleen Lyons suffers from Alzheimer’s, and daughter Mariah, age 28, is certain that there is more to the story.

We are thrust into the midst of the investigation, for even after Kathleen is arrested and is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, there is much more to learn. Friends and associates are under scrutiny, and his lover Lillian is also suspected by those close to Kathleen.

What will happen as the story unfolds? Will we learn who is hiding things and who is covering up nefarious deeds? And how does a mysterious burglar that was stealing from a home next door during the shooting figure into the story? Could he reveal important information?

Numerous characters, mostly close friends and associates, are now suspects to Mariah, and as we struggle to figure out who has betrayed them all, I found myself focusing on first one, then the other. And surprisingly, the one I suspected the least turned out to be the one. And that happened only in the final chapters. So, for suspense and the author’s ability to keep me rapidly turning pages, I award this one 4 stars.