Where Are the Children Now?

February 13, 2023
MWA Grand Master Clark (1927–2020) and Edgar finalist Burke’s suspenseful sequel to 1975’s Where Are the Children?, Clark’s first psychological thriller, features Melissa, the daughter of the original book’s protagonist, Nancy Eldredge. Now a 43-year-old lawyer and the host of a successful true crime podcast, Melissa is at her mother’s home in Cape Cod preparing for her wedding to widower Charlie Miller, whom she met at group therapy, and is looking forward to becoming the stepmother of his not-quite-three-year-old daughter, Riley. The therapy, as well as being back at her mother’s, stirs up repressed memories of Melissa’s abduction and the abuse she suffered at age three, causing horrific nightmares. After the wedding, Riley disappears while in Melissa’s care. As circumstantial evidence against her starts stacking up, she becomes a suspect for the police. Newcomers may have to take notes to keep track of the large cast, including each of their complicated backstories. Though this can be read as a standalone, it will be more satisfying, and perhaps less confusing, for those who have read the original. Agents: Philip and Anne-Lise Spitzer, Spitzer Agency.