The Lost Years, by Mary Higgins Clark

I listened to the audio version of this book.  So, my first part of the review will be with the audio production.  The woman who read the novel had a very pleasant soothing voice.  She did a great job of enunciation and I had no trouble following her reading.  Some of the different voices she used were not as appeasing as I might have liked, but they did not detract from the telling of the story.  Another item that helped with the audio version is that the chapters are short, so if you can only listen for a short while, such as 15 minutes, you won’t be hampered by waiting for a natural break.

The story itself is intriguing.  An ancient manuscript professor, one of archeology, is found shot to death in the study of his home.  His wife, who has Alzheimer’s is found in the closet holding the gun that was used to murder the professor.  She can only utter two sentences, “So much noise.  So much blood.”

His daughter Mariah is caught in a dilemma of having to determine whether her mother was capable of the murder or not.  Is she just a convenient scapegoat for the real killer.  Further, why would someone want to kill Mariah’s father.  Is it the fact that he was having an affair with a colleague, which his wife had found out about?  Or was it a colleague that sough something from the professor.

It appears that the professor had found a valuable letter in a bunch of antiquities.  He believes it is the only handwritten letter from Jesus Christ of Nazareth to ever be written.  It was written to Joseph of Arimathea to thank him for his kindness throughout Jesus’ life. This suppose letter had been stolen from the Vatican hundreds of years before and was never found, until now.  It would be priceless if it was real.

The story takes you through the turmoil of dealing with an Alzheimer’s patient, with police who want a quick solution to a murder and with love and deception that is happening all around.

In true Mary Higgins Clark style the story is written well, weaves through all kinds of sub plots and brings you back to the main storyline with a bunch of twists right at the end.

I loved the story and enjoyed the audible version.  I would highly recommend this to anyone headed out on a trip who wants to have eight hours of entertainment.  It is great.