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I Heard That Song Before
In a riveting psychological thriller, Mary Higgins Clark takes the reader deep into the mysteries of the human mind, where memories may be the most dangerous things of all.Kay Lansing, who has grown up in Englewood, New Jersey, is the daughter of the landscaper to the wealthy and powerful Carrington family. Their mansion—a historic seventeenth-century manor house transported stone by stone from Wales in 1848—has a hidden chapel. One day, accompanying her father to work, six-year-old Kay succumbs to curiosity and sneaks into the chapel. There, she overhears a quarrel between a man and a woman who is demanding money from him. When she says that this will be the last time, his caustic response "I heard that song before." That same evening, the Carringtons hold a formal dinner dance after which Peter Carrington, a student at Princeton, drives home Susan Althorp, the eighteen-year-old daughter of neighbors. While her parents hear her come in, she is not in her room the next morning and is never seen or heard from again. Throughout the years, a cloud of suspicion hangs over Peter Carrington. At age forty-two, head of the family business empire, he is still "a person of interest" in the eyes of the police, not only for Susan Althorp's disappearance but also for the subsequent drowning death of his own pregnant wife in their swimming pool. Kay Lansing, now living in New York and working as a librarian in Englewood, goes to see Peter Carrington to ask for permission to hold a cocktail party on his estate to benefit a literacy program, which he later grants. Kay comes to see Peter as maligned and misunderstood, and when he begins to court her after the cocktail party, she falls in love with him. Over the objections of her beloved grandmother, who raised her after her parents' early deaths, she marries him. To her dismay, she soon finds that he is a sleepwalker whose nocturnal wanderings draw him to the spot at the pool where his wife met her end. Kay develops gnawing doubts about her husband. She believes that the key to the truth about his guilt or innocence lies in the scene she witnessed as a child in the chapel and knows she must learn the identity of the man and woman who quarreled there that day. What Kay does not even remotely suspect is that uncovering what lies behind these memories may cost her her own life. I Heard That Song Before once again dramatically reconfirms Mary Higgins Clark's worldwide reputation as a master storyteller.
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 3, 2007
1011 people are currently reading
6926 people want to read
About the author
Mary Higgins Clark
616 books13.4k followersThe #1 New York Times bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark has written thirty-eight suspense novels, four collections of short stories, a historical novel, a memoir, and two children’s books. With bestselling author Alafair Burke she wrote the Under Suspicion series. With her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, she has coauthored five more suspense novels. Her sister-in-law is the also author Mary Jane Clark.
Clark’s books have sold more than 100 million copies in the United States alone. Her books are beloved around the world and made her an international bestseller many times over.
Clark’s books have sold more than 100 million copies in the United States alone. Her books are beloved around the world and made her an international bestseller many times over.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,315 reviews
April 20, 2022
I find that I rather enjoy this author's books which is nice because she has written so many!
In I Heard That Song Before we meet Kay and Peter, newly weds and only recently returned from their honeymoon when Peter is charged with murder. He then breaks his parole while sleep walking, is imprisoned while he waits for his court case and Kay is left alone and pregnant in their mansion.
The author introduces a huge number of characters and numerous red herrings. Clearly the most obvious one cannot be the guilty party but in the final event I was surprised by who it actually was. There is quite a tense conclusion and all of the ends are neatly tied up.
I liked it very much and will keep this author's name up my sleeve for whenever I need a good mystery which I am sure to enjoy.
In I Heard That Song Before we meet Kay and Peter, newly weds and only recently returned from their honeymoon when Peter is charged with murder. He then breaks his parole while sleep walking, is imprisoned while he waits for his court case and Kay is left alone and pregnant in their mansion.
The author introduces a huge number of characters and numerous red herrings. Clearly the most obvious one cannot be the guilty party but in the final event I was surprised by who it actually was. There is quite a tense conclusion and all of the ends are neatly tied up.
I liked it very much and will keep this author's name up my sleeve for whenever I need a good mystery which I am sure to enjoy.
January 27, 2024
I loved Mary Higgins Clark who passed away in 2020. (God rest her soul.) I was mesmerized by her earliest books: Where are the Children?, A Stranger is Watching, The Cradle will Fall, and A Cry in the Night. I enjoyed her writing style that capitalized on certain creeping horror elements of suspense.
During high school in the 80s and beyond, she was a go to read, almost as adored as Koontz, King, Christie, and Heinlein. She was a Queen of Suspense, and here in I Heard that Song IMHO she added to that legacy of 50-plus novels. For a time, she wrote some novels that were a little more on the romantic side where I think she lost herself a bit, so I was a little worried when I saw this one at the second-hand store. (Just in case you don't know -- I don't like romantic schmaltz.)
I need not have worried. She had grabbed my attention within the first fifty pages of the book, and although there are romantic elements in the book, they're largely background stuff. The questions that hang like a pall are did the MC's husband kill his first wife? Is she next? How many people helped to hide evidence to prevent conviction? Overall, a suspenseful, satisfying read that demonstrates a mastery over the genre.
During high school in the 80s and beyond, she was a go to read, almost as adored as Koontz, King, Christie, and Heinlein. She was a Queen of Suspense, and here in I Heard that Song IMHO she added to that legacy of 50-plus novels. For a time, she wrote some novels that were a little more on the romantic side where I think she lost herself a bit, so I was a little worried when I saw this one at the second-hand store. (Just in case you don't know -- I don't like romantic schmaltz.)
I need not have worried. She had grabbed my attention within the first fifty pages of the book, and although there are romantic elements in the book, they're largely background stuff. The questions that hang like a pall are did the MC's husband kill his first wife? Is she next? How many people helped to hide evidence to prevent conviction? Overall, a suspenseful, satisfying read that demonstrates a mastery over the genre.
September 19, 2016
This is my first read of Mary Higgins Clark was not sure how it would go as her writing style is a bit different to what I am used to but by 1/4 way through I was fine.
I found the plot very predictable & knew how it was going to end, the characterisation worked well, but I just thought this did not have enough oomph for me, I felt no tension throughout & the pace was the same the whole way through, that's not to say I didn't like it I did I thought it didn't go far enough into the Carrington's enough & Elaine got on my nerves big time as she would lie, cheat & steal to save her son all the way through I was wondering how far she would go & turns out she was hiding more secrets that Nellie. Would read more of this author 3.5 stars
I found the plot very predictable & knew how it was going to end, the characterisation worked well, but I just thought this did not have enough oomph for me, I felt no tension throughout & the pace was the same the whole way through, that's not to say I didn't like it I did I thought it didn't go far enough into the Carrington's enough & Elaine got on my nerves big time as she would lie, cheat & steal to save her son all the way through I was wondering how far she would go & turns out she was hiding more secrets that Nellie. Would read more of this author 3.5 stars
July 12, 2016
This book had all the right ingredients for a good thriller — love, money, murder, drugs, blackmail… Instead it was a hot mess. Very choppy, very hurried in parts, characters you can’t relate to because you don’t *know* anything about them. Kay and Peter’s entire meeting, courtship, wedding, and honeymoon is covered in 4 pages, which makes it very hard to buy their devotion to one another. I finished it to see what the ending twist would be, but it wasn’t very enjoyable.
February 28, 2013
This book was really bad. The characters are so flat that calling them two dimensional would be a compliment and tend to do and think things that haveno basis in reality.
The story is predictable and written in such a way that I found myself thinking, after every few pages, "Ah yes, the author is trying to trick me into thinking xyz, but it won't be." It was done in such an obvious way that I actually felt insulted. This story is written from the perspective of everyone who has even thought of showing their face in the novel. This makes the story feel disjointed and adds to the flatness of the characters. Is it necessary to see everything from the poin-of-view of the wife, the business associate, the prosecutor, the prosecutor's assistant, the housekeeper, the housekeeper's husband, the grandmother, the defense attorney, the victim's mother, the step-brother's secretary, the victim's father, a private detective and a policeman who only exists for a page and a half? I apologize profusely to any other narrating characters that I may have forgotten, but my goodness there are a lot of you. Yes, give me a story from two or three angles, from important characters who can really make me see things from another perspective. I definitely don't need a policeman, who I've never met before, showing up in the last 15 pages to describe driving to a door. Is his perspective on the matter of any importance? No.
This book feelslike the murder mystery equivalent of a Mills and Boone novel. Don't bother reading it unless you know for a fact that your brains are made of pureed butternut.
The story is predictable and written in such a way that I found myself thinking, after every few pages, "Ah yes, the author is trying to trick me into thinking xyz, but it won't be." It was done in such an obvious way that I actually felt insulted. This story is written from the perspective of everyone who has even thought of showing their face in the novel. This makes the story feel disjointed and adds to the flatness of the characters. Is it necessary to see everything from the poin-of-view of the wife, the business associate, the prosecutor, the prosecutor's assistant, the housekeeper, the housekeeper's husband, the grandmother, the defense attorney, the victim's mother, the step-brother's secretary, the victim's father, a private detective and a policeman who only exists for a page and a half? I apologize profusely to any other narrating characters that I may have forgotten, but my goodness there are a lot of you. Yes, give me a story from two or three angles, from important characters who can really make me see things from another perspective. I definitely don't need a policeman, who I've never met before, showing up in the last 15 pages to describe driving to a door. Is his perspective on the matter of any importance? No.
This book feelslike the murder mystery equivalent of a Mills and Boone novel. Don't bother reading it unless you know for a fact that your brains are made of pureed butternut.
October 5, 2017
MHC is a master at intricate plotting and clues. The characters are not sparkling nor is her language. But she is remarkable at laying out multiple possible murderers and resolving the story in a way that satisfies.
In this novel, a billionaire is accused of killing three people, including the father of his new, younger wife. Complicating the issue is that he's a sleepwalker and is ready to surrender to the fact that he may be an unknowing murderer. It's his wife who comes to his rescue. She defends him when everyone else gets cold feet and reaches for a guilty confession to get a lesser charge. Knowing the end of the story doesn't rob you of the joy of watching it unfold.
It took me 60 pages to warm up to the novel. It's at that point when I was about to put it down that MHC dove into her remarkable skill as a spinner of many possible tales. While other aspects of the book may be lacking... who do we really care about in this novel?.... I reveled in her brilliant skill of creating multi-threaded story lines. Definitely an easy yet intellectually interesting read.
In this novel, a billionaire is accused of killing three people, including the father of his new, younger wife. Complicating the issue is that he's a sleepwalker and is ready to surrender to the fact that he may be an unknowing murderer. It's his wife who comes to his rescue. She defends him when everyone else gets cold feet and reaches for a guilty confession to get a lesser charge. Knowing the end of the story doesn't rob you of the joy of watching it unfold.
It took me 60 pages to warm up to the novel. It's at that point when I was about to put it down that MHC dove into her remarkable skill as a spinner of many possible tales. While other aspects of the book may be lacking... who do we really care about in this novel?.... I reveled in her brilliant skill of creating multi-threaded story lines. Definitely an easy yet intellectually interesting read.
February 9, 2017
I have a weak spot for Mary Higgins Clark’s books. Her suspense novels were the first ones I’ve ever read as an adolescent – and certainly not the last. I was immediately captured by riveting murder mysteries and dark secrets, unraveling themselves with every turning page. I don’t know why should a 12 year old girl be more interested in detective mysteries than teen books, but what can I say, it was a perfect match.
By then I knew I loved books, and I knew that one day I’d grow up to be a writer – but thanks to Mary Higgins Clark I had realized exactly what I wish to write about. When I published my first thriller novel in my early twenties, I couldn’t help thinking about that little girl in me, who had read and adored this great American writer, and could only dream about following her footsteps someday.
But enough about my lifelong dream. Mary Higgins Clark is a gifted writer and this current novel was exceptionally great: Kay Lansing, the girl next door, falls in love with a handsome young millionaire who happens to live in a secluded and extravagant mansion, tied to some mysterious death incidents. This lovely romance is interrupted when new evidence against her newlywed brings to his arrest. She renains alone in their big mansion, surrounded by quite a few people who could have framed her husband Peter of murder – and possibly want her dead, too.
What really compelled about this story me was the sophisticated way Clark had planted so many questions marks and contrasting clues as for the real killer’s identity. In every chapter your opinion might change due to a surprising new information. I was racking my brain but still couldn’t be 100% percent sure who the killer was. I kept on reading not only because I was genuinely intrigued, but because I just HAD TO figure out who had done it. It wasn’t until the very last chapters that Clark had tied all the loose ends, and then the solution seemed clearer than ever. And that’s exactly what I love about a good thriller.
By then I knew I loved books, and I knew that one day I’d grow up to be a writer – but thanks to Mary Higgins Clark I had realized exactly what I wish to write about. When I published my first thriller novel in my early twenties, I couldn’t help thinking about that little girl in me, who had read and adored this great American writer, and could only dream about following her footsteps someday.
But enough about my lifelong dream. Mary Higgins Clark is a gifted writer and this current novel was exceptionally great: Kay Lansing, the girl next door, falls in love with a handsome young millionaire who happens to live in a secluded and extravagant mansion, tied to some mysterious death incidents. This lovely romance is interrupted when new evidence against her newlywed brings to his arrest. She renains alone in their big mansion, surrounded by quite a few people who could have framed her husband Peter of murder – and possibly want her dead, too.
What really compelled about this story me was the sophisticated way Clark had planted so many questions marks and contrasting clues as for the real killer’s identity. In every chapter your opinion might change due to a surprising new information. I was racking my brain but still couldn’t be 100% percent sure who the killer was. I kept on reading not only because I was genuinely intrigued, but because I just HAD TO figure out who had done it. It wasn’t until the very last chapters that Clark had tied all the loose ends, and then the solution seemed clearer than ever. And that’s exactly what I love about a good thriller.
July 5, 2018
با تعجب باید بگم که رویوی فارسیی از این کتاب ندیدم!
داستان جنایی بود منم از داستان جنایی و حل معما و اینا زیاد خوشم نمیاد ولی باید بگم قلم روون نویسنده و شروع قوی کتاب کاری کرد که تا اخر خوندمش. داستان یه سری قتل های تو در تو هستن که در یک خانواده ی ثروتمند اتفاق می افته. وسطای کتاب حدس زده بودم کیه قاتل که البته اشتباه بود :))))
در کل برای یک بار خوندن کتاب بدی نبود.کتابی نیست که بره داخل کتابای مورد علاقم یا به کسی معرفیش کنم ولی احساس نمیکنم وقتمو تلف کردم
داستان جنایی بود منم از داستان جنایی و حل معما و اینا زیاد خوشم نمیاد ولی باید بگم قلم روون نویسنده و شروع قوی کتاب کاری کرد که تا اخر خوندمش. داستان یه سری قتل های تو در تو هستن که در یک خانواده ی ثروتمند اتفاق می افته. وسطای کتاب حدس زده بودم کیه قاتل که البته اشتباه بود :))))
در کل برای یک بار خوندن کتاب بدی نبود.کتابی نیست که بره داخل کتابای مورد علاقم یا به کسی معرفیش کنم ولی احساس نمیکنم وقتمو تلف کردم
August 6, 2019
This is one of my favorite Mary Higgins Clark's books.
February 22, 2017
لْاآ استطيع القول انني كنت متحمسةً للبدء بهذه الرواية.. في كل مرةٍ أعزم فيها على البدء بها أجدني أغير رأيي وأبدأ بغيرها.. ولكنّي ويا للمفاجأة أمسكت بالكتاب ولم استطع تركه حتى أنهيتها..
وقعت في غرام بيتر منذ الوهلة الأولى كما فعلت كاي، حينما سقطت نظارته في المكتبة..
في العادة.. عند قرائتي لرواية فيها جريمة استطيع تخمين القاتل من قبل انتصافي في الرواية.. لكن ومع هذه الراية كان الحال مختلفًا..
كنت أختار شخصًا ما. ثم أغير رأي لشخصٍ آخر.. في النهاية انتهيت الى الشك في شخصين مختلفين.. لكنني مع انتهاء الرواية، وجدت أن القاتل لم يكن أيًا منهما.. حسنًا.. عزائي الوحيد أنه كان من خيارتي اللتي اخترها في البداية ثم صرفت النظر عنها..
ليست هذه أول قراءاتي لهذه الكاتبة العبقرية حيث قرأت احدى رواياتها المترجمة من قبل.. لكن هذه بلا شك من أفضل روايات الجريمة اللتي وقعت يداي عليها منذ فترة ليست بالقليلة..
لست متأكدة من توفر هذه الرواية بالترجمة العربية.. لكنني بحقٍ انصح بقراءتها لمن يجيد الانجليزية..؛
كان بالفعل وقتًا ممتعًا ذاك اللذي قضيته في قراءة هذه الرواية..
وقعت في غرام بيتر منذ الوهلة الأولى كما فعلت كاي، حينما سقطت نظارته في المكتبة..
في العادة.. عند قرائتي لرواية فيها جريمة استطيع تخمين القاتل من قبل انتصافي في الرواية.. لكن ومع هذه الراية كان الحال مختلفًا..
كنت أختار شخصًا ما. ثم أغير رأي لشخصٍ آخر.. في النهاية انتهيت الى الشك في شخصين مختلفين.. لكنني مع انتهاء الرواية، وجدت أن القاتل لم يكن أيًا منهما.. حسنًا.. عزائي الوحيد أنه كان من خيارتي اللتي اخترها في البداية ثم صرفت النظر عنها..
ليست هذه أول قراءاتي لهذه الكاتبة العبقرية حيث قرأت احدى رواياتها المترجمة من قبل.. لكن هذه بلا شك من أفضل روايات الجريمة اللتي وقعت يداي عليها منذ فترة ليست بالقليلة..
لست متأكدة من توفر هذه الرواية بالترجمة العربية.. لكنني بحقٍ انصح بقراءتها لمن يجيد الانجليزية..؛
كان بالفعل وقتًا ممتعًا ذاك اللذي قضيته في قراءة هذه الرواية..
April 28, 2015
Description: When Kay Lansing marries wealthy widower Peter Carrington, she is well aware of the rumours surrounding the mysterious death of Peter's first wife Grace, who was found floating in the family pool ten years ago, pregnant at the time. Kay also discovers that Peter is a chronic sleepwalker who suffers from periodic nightmares. When the police arrive at her doorstep with a warrant for Peter's arrest in connection with another murder - that of a woman Peter had escorted to a high school senior prom twenty-two years ago - Kay begins to fear that she has married a sleepwalking murderer, and she resolves to find out the truth behind the puzzling deaths. But are the two deaths linked? And why does a melody that Kay cannot identify keep playing in her head every time she approaches the family chapel?
Dog-walking rosado mp3 (don't look at the dog park!)
I wonder why such commonplace fayre has to spread and pad to over 300 pages - this happens a lot. Baseline 3*
3* Two Little Girls in Blue
3* I Heard That Song Before
2* I'll Walk Alone
Dog-walking rosado mp3 (don't look at the dog park!)I wonder why such commonplace fayre has to spread and pad to over 300 pages - this happens a lot. Baseline 3*3* Two Little Girls in Blue
3* I Heard That Song Before
2* I'll Walk Alone
November 25, 2021
This book is very engaging. Another yard sale find. I had a friend in middle school who loved Mary Higgins Clark books and let me borrow On the Street Where You Live. That was the last time I ever read a Clark book until I started this one. I found the mystery very well planned out with plenty of red herrings, each of whom would've made a satisfying whodunnit. The actual revelation makes sense even though the common thread is something that wasn't introduced until the end. Still, there are good clues along the way, and pieces come together bit by bit with smaller reveals throughout that keep up a good pace. I don't think Clark's writing is good, and it sometimes took away from my experience. There's a lot of awkwardness, and the tone is very strange, something between a modern thriller and a Victorian novel that just doesn't feel right. But the story itself was interesting enough to keep me wanting to know more. I liked all the main characters and cared what happened to them, which is sometimes more important than good writing. Overall, a story I'd recommend to my sisters, who also love murder mysteries, and would appreciate the twists along the way and the sleepwalking thread, which makes the concept even more interesting. Just a warning, though: the blurb that says this book is a psychological thriller is completely hyperbolic. The book is just a murder mystery. There is no psychological depth whatsoever, and it's not really thrilling. Still, it's a good summer read. Why not give it a try?
February 14, 2019
4/5 stars
Kay Lansing has a old connection with Carrington estate. When Kay was 6 years old, she overheard a man and a woman's harsh and angry whispers. She had her own reasons to stay hidden, while she listened, so didn't see them. But that precise moment stayed hauntingly in her memory.
On that same day, a girl was murdered.
When Kay marries Peter, she also marries the Carrington estate, with its legacy of secrets.
Two young women have died mysteriously because of their connection with the Carringtons.
Kay's own husband is suspected of being the murderer, and Kay's recollection of that fatal day may hold the key to his innocence-- or his guilt.
Meanwhile, uncovering the truth behind what she overheard many years ago may cost her own life.
I really enjoyed this book because it was very well written and had such a engaging plot.
Mary Higgins Clark is really a "Queen of Suspense".
Kay Lansing has a old connection with Carrington estate. When Kay was 6 years old, she overheard a man and a woman's harsh and angry whispers. She had her own reasons to stay hidden, while she listened, so didn't see them. But that precise moment stayed hauntingly in her memory.
On that same day, a girl was murdered.
When Kay marries Peter, she also marries the Carrington estate, with its legacy of secrets.
Two young women have died mysteriously because of their connection with the Carringtons.
Kay's own husband is suspected of being the murderer, and Kay's recollection of that fatal day may hold the key to his innocence-- or his guilt.
Meanwhile, uncovering the truth behind what she overheard many years ago may cost her own life.
I really enjoyed this book because it was very well written and had such a engaging plot.
Mary Higgins Clark is really a "Queen of Suspense".
March 30, 2008
I haven't read Mary Higgins Clark in a long time. Years ago, I remember finding her books really terrifying and yet really clever. Perhaps I have become jaded or perhaps she is slipping, but this book was a bit ho-hum. The premise of a sleepwalker being charged with a crime was very interesting and the idea of the young girl marrying the older wealthy man who lives in a mansion was reminiscent of the old Gothic romance. I was hoping for a new twist on the type of book I read as a teenager. But it seemed a bit light on the the details as well as on the twists. In fact, it read more like a cozy than a thriller - not what I expected.
March 15, 2023
I thought that this book was good
February 2, 2016
Había olvidado lo adictivos que pueden llegar a ser los libros de Mary Higgins Clark. Casi me estoy viendo, con diez u once años, devorando sus libros e imaginándome que yo era una de la heoínas de sus historias en busca del asesino.
La autora entremezcla los puntos de vista de los distintos personajes de una manera genial, sin confusiones, debido a que están claramente diferenciados, cada uno en un breve capítulo independiente como es su sello.
No hay mucho que pueda decir de la historia, a parte de lo que ya se dice en la sinopsis, sin entrar en spoilers y no lo voy a hacer porque le quitaría toda la gracia y merece ser leída. No hay ningún personaje desaprovechado, ninguno al que pudieras descartar, y eso es otro punto a favor. Eso y su ritmo rápido, donde no está desaprovechada ninguna palabra, es lo que hace que me haya gustado tanto.
Es justo como tiene que ser un libro de misterio, rápido, intrigante, adictivo.
La autora entremezcla los puntos de vista de los distintos personajes de una manera genial, sin confusiones, debido a que están claramente diferenciados, cada uno en un breve capítulo independiente como es su sello.
No hay mucho que pueda decir de la historia, a parte de lo que ya se dice en la sinopsis, sin entrar en spoilers y no lo voy a hacer porque le quitaría toda la gracia y merece ser leída. No hay ningún personaje desaprovechado, ninguno al que pudieras descartar, y eso es otro punto a favor. Eso y su ritmo rápido, donde no está desaprovechada ninguna palabra, es lo que hace que me haya gustado tanto.
Es justo como tiene que ser un libro de misterio, rápido, intrigante, adictivo.
January 25, 2016
Kay Lansing's father once worked for the wealthy Carrington family until he was fired and then commits suicide. Before her father died a girl disappeared and was found dead. The son, Peter Carrington, was a person of interest. Now years later Kay approaches Peter Carrington about the use of the mansion for a fundraiser. A romance follows and they get married. Meanwhile a case is being built against Peter.
It was alright. I have enjoyed Mary Higgins Clark in the past but this one didn't grab me like some of her other books I've read. Still I wanted to know whodunit. I wasn't really surprised at the end though.
It was alright. I have enjoyed Mary Higgins Clark in the past but this one didn't grab me like some of her other books I've read. Still I wanted to know whodunit. I wasn't really surprised at the end though.
May 11, 2018
This book was a bit of a chore to read, unlike any of the other MHC's books I've read. I was between two characters from the beginning for the murderer, but was leaning more toward one of them and that one ended up being the culprit.
The romance part was too sudden, I felt as though several chapters were missing because I was confused at first by what had happened.
The ending wrapped everything up, but I didn't enjoy this story much at all. Not a book I'd recommend.
The romance part was too sudden, I felt as though several chapters were missing because I was confused at first by what had happened.
The ending wrapped everything up, but I didn't enjoy this story much at all. Not a book I'd recommend.
January 24, 2022
La historia está narrada en tercera persona por diferentes personajes y en primera por Kay, separado por capítulos bastante cortos.
La acción se desarrolla a raiz de un recuerdo de la infancia de Kay relacionado con la familia y hogar de su marido Peter Carrington. A través de ella y de un detective privado iremos desentreñando esos secretos y oscuros acontecimientos del pasado que hacen de Peter un asesino despiadado.
La trama está bien desarrollada, al estilo de la autora total y rotundamente, un estilo muy parecido al de Agatha Christie y con el cual me siento muy cómoda y disfruto leer por la adicción que conlleva sus páginas y la facilidad que tiene al leerlo.
Todos los personajes y ambientación de esa mansión familiar fueron el punto clave de la historia para generar es atmósfera de misterio y suspense donde es sospechoso hasta el propio muerto.
Obviamente sospeché de todos los personajes hasta el final sin llegar a adivinar quien fue, esto y algún que otro plot twist consiguieron sorprenderme bastante y mantenerme en vilo durante toda la historia.
Recomiendo mucho su lectura para los amantes del género y a los que nos guste la pluma de Mary Higgins.
La acción se desarrolla a raiz de un recuerdo de la infancia de Kay relacionado con la familia y hogar de su marido Peter Carrington. A través de ella y de un detective privado iremos desentreñando esos secretos y oscuros acontecimientos del pasado que hacen de Peter un asesino despiadado.
La trama está bien desarrollada, al estilo de la autora total y rotundamente, un estilo muy parecido al de Agatha Christie y con el cual me siento muy cómoda y disfruto leer por la adicción que conlleva sus páginas y la facilidad que tiene al leerlo.
Todos los personajes y ambientación de esa mansión familiar fueron el punto clave de la historia para generar es atmósfera de misterio y suspense donde es sospechoso hasta el propio muerto.
Obviamente sospeché de todos los personajes hasta el final sin llegar a adivinar quien fue, esto y algún que otro plot twist consiguieron sorprenderme bastante y mantenerme en vilo durante toda la historia.
Recomiendo mucho su lectura para los amantes del género y a los que nos guste la pluma de Mary Higgins.
March 22, 2016
I need to start by saying I have been reading MH Clark's books since I was a teenager way back in the eighties, when computers were the size of small houses, Ronald Reagan was president, electric typewriters were fashionable, and photographs had to be developed to be seen (unless you had a slide projecter or viewfinder...uhh... S.O.S... what the hell is she talking about)? Anyway, libraries were still libraries and books were still books, then, and I read a lot of them in my alligator tee shirts drinking grape koolaid with a Canadian penny zippered inside the pocket on my sneakers. And all of her books I read were gripping, suspenseful, amazing!
Then I found this one a quarter century later, part of a Reader's Digest collection of four, while watching my clothes spin in the dryer at the laundromat down the street. They have books lined up on a ledge which runs along the washers, and it's give-a-book, take-a-book. So I took it and devoured it in a few days. Sadly the plot and characters and everything felt very rushed, almost like it was an outline for a much larger and longer work she didn't have time to write.
The setup was interesting, all the players moving in and around an old mansion which had been taken apart stone by stone and transported to New Jersey from Wales and re-assembled on 50 acres just a few miles from Manhattan. And the haunting memory of someone who disappeared there. Someone who died there. And someone else who disappeared. Intriguing! Old money, New York City. Ambassadors, landscape artists, drunks, addicts, art thieves, and shady personal attendants fill the pages.
Sadly the book did not live up to its potential.
Ironic it was a stone's throw from my spin cycle.
I know MH Clark has so much talent and I cannot end there, on a sour note, after having picked her up again. I decided I am gonna go back to her first bestseller she wrote in 1975 and read that one. I probably read it already, back when a trash compactor was your foot inside the bag, when Coleco and Atari were the gamer's games, but I want that old feeling back, when I was gripped by suspense and she had me, amazed.
Then I found this one a quarter century later, part of a Reader's Digest collection of four, while watching my clothes spin in the dryer at the laundromat down the street. They have books lined up on a ledge which runs along the washers, and it's give-a-book, take-a-book. So I took it and devoured it in a few days. Sadly the plot and characters and everything felt very rushed, almost like it was an outline for a much larger and longer work she didn't have time to write.
The setup was interesting, all the players moving in and around an old mansion which had been taken apart stone by stone and transported to New Jersey from Wales and re-assembled on 50 acres just a few miles from Manhattan. And the haunting memory of someone who disappeared there. Someone who died there. And someone else who disappeared. Intriguing! Old money, New York City. Ambassadors, landscape artists, drunks, addicts, art thieves, and shady personal attendants fill the pages.
Sadly the book did not live up to its potential.
Ironic it was a stone's throw from my spin cycle.
I know MH Clark has so much talent and I cannot end there, on a sour note, after having picked her up again. I decided I am gonna go back to her first bestseller she wrote in 1975 and read that one. I probably read it already, back when a trash compactor was your foot inside the bag, when Coleco and Atari were the gamer's games, but I want that old feeling back, when I was gripped by suspense and she had me, amazed.
August 29, 2009
After a whirlwind romance (glossed over in a few sentences), librarian Kay Lansing marries extremely rich, high-society Peter Carrington who has had many tragedies in his life: his mother died when he was young, a girlfriend disappears after a party at their house and is presumed murdered, and Peter's first wife who is drunk and pregnant is found drowned in their swimming pool. Kay's own father, who was a landscape gardeners for the rich Carringtons, committed suicide in her early life. All these elements are jumbled together when the young girl's body is found buried on the Carrington estate years later and Peter is indicted for murder--days after he returns from his honeymoon with Kay. The author drops hints and red herrings, letting you sift through the suspects, including Peter, to decide who the murderer is.
Not a bad plot but the characters seemed a bit one-dimensional and I found the dialogue stilted. It didn't satisfy my sense of good writing, the suspense was not gripping, and the characters didn't enthrall or entertain me much--not much humor, they were all so serious. And a number of times I felt exasperated when important questions weren't asked. For instance, a man reveals that Peter's first wife was having an affair, but the detective doesn't even ask who with? What detective would leave out that question?
Not a bad plot but the characters seemed a bit one-dimensional and I found the dialogue stilted. It didn't satisfy my sense of good writing, the suspense was not gripping, and the characters didn't enthrall or entertain me much--not much humor, they were all so serious. And a number of times I felt exasperated when important questions weren't asked. For instance, a man reveals that Peter's first wife was having an affair, but the detective doesn't even ask who with? What detective would leave out that question?
February 24, 2020
"Se puede amar a una persona sin amar todo lo relacionado con esa persona."
De los que he leído de la autora, “La misma canción” es uno de los libros que más me ha gustado. ¡Es adictivo! Siempre me pasa lo mismo: me engancho a ellos y no lo suelto hasta que lo acabo.
Desde el primer momento consiguió engancharme, con una lectura sencilla, mantiene la intriga en todo momento, mostrándose imparcial al narrar la historia y no tienes ni remota idea de cómo va a acabar. Tramas, subtramas, culpables en todas partes… y el asesino menos pensado!
Los personajes son consistentes y sus comportamientos son coherentes a lo largo de toda la novela. Sin embargo aunque la autora no de demasiados detalles sobre ellos, sabemos la información necesaria para entender su personalidad y los motivos para desconfiar de todos ellos.
Sin embargo, hay algo en el tema del sonambulismo de Peter Carrington que no terminó de convencerme...
No puedo decir que sea una novela imprescindible para los amantes de la novela negra, pero sí 100% recomendable.
“Presagiar un acontecimiento y luego ver que de hecho sucede es la diferencia entre una pesadilla y la realidad.”
De los que he leído de la autora, “La misma canción” es uno de los libros que más me ha gustado. ¡Es adictivo! Siempre me pasa lo mismo: me engancho a ellos y no lo suelto hasta que lo acabo.
Desde el primer momento consiguió engancharme, con una lectura sencilla, mantiene la intriga en todo momento, mostrándose imparcial al narrar la historia y no tienes ni remota idea de cómo va a acabar. Tramas, subtramas, culpables en todas partes… y el asesino menos pensado!
Los personajes son consistentes y sus comportamientos son coherentes a lo largo de toda la novela. Sin embargo aunque la autora no de demasiados detalles sobre ellos, sabemos la información necesaria para entender su personalidad y los motivos para desconfiar de todos ellos.
Sin embargo, hay algo en el tema del sonambulismo de Peter Carrington que no terminó de convencerme...
No puedo decir que sea una novela imprescindible para los amantes de la novela negra, pero sí 100% recomendable.
“Presagiar un acontecimiento y luego ver que de hecho sucede es la diferencia entre una pesadilla y la realidad.”
July 14, 2021
«این آهنگ را قبلاً هم شنیدهام» یک رمان جناییست.
توی این کتاب پازل روایتها و خاطرات شخصیتها کنار هم چیده میشن تا در نهایت قاتل پیدا بشه.
با اینکه لحظات زیادی دلم میخواست برم سراغ صفحات آخر کتاب و بفهمم قاتل کیه و این یعنی کلیت داستان تقریباً خوب چیده شدهبود و نویسنده متوجه بود داره چی کار میکنه، ولی شخصیتهای کتاب اصن درنیومدهن و خیلی سطحین خیلی اتفاقات و تغییر موضعها سریع و بدون دلیل و منطق افتاده���ن.
در واقع اینطور به نظر میرسه خود نویسنده هم مشتاق بوده هرچه سریعتر تمام قطعات پازل کنار هم قرار بگیرن و قاتل و انگیزهش مشخص بشه.
با تمام نواقصی که داره، خستهکننده نیست.
~اگه به داستانهای جنایی علاقمند باشین، احتمالاً چند ساعته خوندنش رو تموم کنین.
توی این کتاب پازل روایتها و خاطرات شخصیتها کنار هم چیده میشن تا در نهایت قاتل پیدا بشه.
با اینکه لحظات زیادی دلم میخواست برم سراغ صفحات آخر کتاب و بفهمم قاتل کیه و این یعنی کلیت داستان تقریباً خوب چیده شدهبود و نویسنده متوجه بود داره چی کار میکنه، ولی شخصیتهای کتاب اصن درنیومدهن و خیلی سطحین خیلی اتفاقات و تغییر موضعها سریع و بدون دلیل و منطق افتاده���ن.
در واقع اینطور به نظر میرسه خود نویسنده هم مشتاق بوده هرچه سریعتر تمام قطعات پازل کنار هم قرار بگیرن و قاتل و انگیزهش مشخص بشه.
با تمام نواقصی که داره، خستهکننده نیست.
~اگه به داستانهای جنایی علاقمند باشین، احتمالاً چند ساعته خوندنش رو تموم کنین.
November 30, 2018
الفكرة قديمة للغاية لدرجة أنها تشبه إلى حد
كبير فيلم المنزل رقم 13 بطولة عماد حمدى وفاتن حمامة
المنتج عام 1952 كما أن الرواية لا تخلو من الملل ومن
الممكن أن تفوت قراءة 100 صفحة على الأقل ولا تشعر أنك فقدت سير الأحداث
بالإضافة إلى أن هناك العديد من الأخطاء الغير منطقية فى أعمار الشخصيات الرئيسية
فى المجمل هذا العمل أقل أعمال مارى التى قرأتها حتى الآن
كبير فيلم المنزل رقم 13 بطولة عماد حمدى وفاتن حمامة
المنتج عام 1952 كما أن الرواية لا تخلو من الملل ومن
الممكن أن تفوت قراءة 100 صفحة على الأقل ولا تشعر أنك فقدت سير الأحداث
بالإضافة إلى أن هناك العديد من الأخطاء الغير منطقية فى أعمار الشخصيات الرئيسية
فى المجمل هذا العمل أقل أعمال مارى التى قرأتها حتى الآن
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2016
I still enjoy Ms. Clarks books. This really was a twisted one.
December 17, 2019
I haven't read MHC in sometime so it
was kind of fun to read this book which
is quite old (up in my attic).
was kind of fun to read this book which
is quite old (up in my attic).
May 15, 2018
I listened to the audio version, which was well done. This was a light mystery, not at all suspenseful, but a pleasant "listen." I've always enjoyed the works of Mary Higgins Clark and would recommend all of her books to anyone who enjoys a good, clean, well thought out mystery.
August 29, 2010
I Heard that Song Before is again another recommendable book written by Mary Higgins Clark. It is about the Carrington Family – one of the US’s richest families. There are three murder cases and all characters try to figure out who the murderer is. In the beginning everything seems to point to Peter Carrington who was in a relationship with two of the victims. But is this notorious sleepwalker really capable to murder three people. And if yes, did he do it conscious or during one of his sleepwalks?
All these questions will be answered in the end but not before the almost last chapter! Mary Higgins Clark has a talent to introduce lots of different characters in a relatively short time in the beginning. Even though this makes it a little difficult and confusing to get into the story, the reader quickly gets to know all these different characters. Like all her other books, this one is written in relatively short chapters switching to different perspectives of different people. Every chapter provides a small bit to the overall story. In the last chapters suspense curve reaches its peak and explains the whole story to the reader. I always think “I should have seen this coming”. Most of the time I am relatively sure that I figured out the murder only to be surprised in the end that it was someone completely different and someone I would have never expected it to be!
If you like fascinating and exciting thrillers, then I Heard that Song Before is your book! Especially the topic of sleep walking is presented in a really interesting way. I never thought of sleep walking to be something really dangerous except of for the sleepwalker. You can see that Mary Higgins Clark researched a lot about the topic which makes the novel even more interesting to read!
All these questions will be answered in the end but not before the almost last chapter! Mary Higgins Clark has a talent to introduce lots of different characters in a relatively short time in the beginning. Even though this makes it a little difficult and confusing to get into the story, the reader quickly gets to know all these different characters. Like all her other books, this one is written in relatively short chapters switching to different perspectives of different people. Every chapter provides a small bit to the overall story. In the last chapters suspense curve reaches its peak and explains the whole story to the reader. I always think “I should have seen this coming”. Most of the time I am relatively sure that I figured out the murder only to be surprised in the end that it was someone completely different and someone I would have never expected it to be!
If you like fascinating and exciting thrillers, then I Heard that Song Before is your book! Especially the topic of sleep walking is presented in a really interesting way. I never thought of sleep walking to be something really dangerous except of for the sleepwalker. You can see that Mary Higgins Clark researched a lot about the topic which makes the novel even more interesting to read!
July 7, 2009
This is my second Mary Higgins Clark book. I didn't love the first one, but decided I'd give her a second read since she has such a huge following.
She has a way of introducing the mystery and dragging the reader in, but then it kind of drags and flops at the end. "I Heard That Song Before" was no different. I almost gave up in the middle, but endured on just to find out "whodunnit." It was predictable and not very climactic.
So, Ms. Clark, I've read two of your books and was not all that impressed. I don't think I'll be reading any more. There are just too many other authors calling my name...
She has a way of introducing the mystery and dragging the reader in, but then it kind of drags and flops at the end. "I Heard That Song Before" was no different. I almost gave up in the middle, but endured on just to find out "whodunnit." It was predictable and not very climactic.
So, Ms. Clark, I've read two of your books and was not all that impressed. I don't think I'll be reading any more. There are just too many other authors calling my name...
October 1, 2009
Just what one expects from a Mary Higgins Clark formula: a few possible suspects from the outset, some twists and turns, and a fairly predictable ending. This is her formula. I always enjoy trying to predict the killer within the first twenty pages. Occasionally, I begin to doubt myself as I turn the pages, but I am usually right with my initial prediction. But this is what makes these books such fun to read!
Almost two days of my reading time on the beach were taken up with this one, and I don't regret that. I enjoyed the book, and would recommend it to any MHC or crime fiction fan.
Almost two days of my reading time on the beach were taken up with this one, and I don't regret that. I enjoyed the book, and would recommend it to any MHC or crime fiction fan.
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