A Stranger Is Watching

By: Mary Higgins Clark

Narrated by: January LaVoy

Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

Ronald Thompson knows he never killed Nina Peterson...yet in two days, the state of Connecticut will take his life, having found him guilty via due process of law. 

But Thompson's death will not stop the pain and anger of Nina's husband, Steve. Thompson's death will not still the fears of Nna's six-year-old son, Neil, witness to his mother's brutal slaying. Not even the love and friendship of Sharon Martin, a journalist who is slowly becoming a part of their world, will ever erase their bitter memories. Only time, perhaps, will heal their wounds. 

But in the shadows, a stranger waits, a cunning psychopath who has killed before, who has unfinished business at the Peterson home....

©2000 Mary Higgins Clark (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio

Worth revisiting - classic MHC with great narrator

(no spoilers) This is an early Mary Higgins Clark that I read decades ago. I purchased it because it's narrated by January LaVoy, one of my favorites. She always gets the voices just right, with each one distinct.

This is a classic MHC tale. They always include a likeable female main character, an evil bad guy whose thoughts we hear but whose identity is hidden, and a dangerous situation under time pressure, told with no graphic sex and only the mildest of bad language. It's not intended to be great literature, but suspenseful entertainment.

A Stranger is Watching is set in a time decades ago, before computers and cell phones: people used typewriters, CB radios, and landline phones; heart disease was treated with nitroglycerin tablets instead of stents and bypass; three nights in a nice hotel cost $120 and a taxi ride cost $2; forensic evidence was fingerprints, not DNA. Yes, this is dated and feels jarring at first, but suspend disbelief and let yourself time travel into the story.

Thanks, Ms. LaVoy, for taking me down memory lane. I enjoyed the trip.

Other MHC books are much better

There are two kinds of books I hate: sappy, tear-jerkers that try to manipulate the reader's emotions; and preachy, moralizing books that lecture readers about what to think. This book fell into the latter category. MHC was apparently against capital punishment in the late 70's and made sure practically every character explained how tragically, awful it is. It was like hearing the same thing over and over again, each time by a different character. So boring! Her later books are a lot more face-paced, suspenseful and, though very formulaic, fun reads. Also, in her later books, her plot is woven around developed characters. Not this one. The issue of capital punishment was the focus and characters were secondary. I lost interest in this one a little more than a third of the way through the book. So glad I didn't start reading MHC with this book. I never would have discovered her many, much more enjoyable books that I have read/listened to multiple times. January LaVoy's performance, as usual, was great. She is one of the few who can do a child's voice without making me cringe.

Delightful from beginning to end!

I wish I could give January LaVoy 6 stars! I will listen to almost any book she narrates. Her voice is so diverse.

The story was really good and one of MHC's books I had not read. I am glad she posted this on her social media on FB and I purchased it that evening. The characters were interesting and I really liked how they all meshed in one way or the other.
It was a nail biter for me up to the end reminding me of something picked from the daily news,

MHC and January LaVoy are the perfect combo!

Classic MHC 2000

Good $5 sale buy for getting narrator January Lavoy! Note this story is from 2000 when basic dial up phones were still in use. So of course the story will be commensurate to the times. Ms Clark had the great Ms LaVoy record this classic in 2019. Ms LaVoy is such a talented narrator with her male and kids voices soooo good and this story show cases these attributes . Since Ms LaVoy is a person of color, she has more than a full range of character voices to pull from. She can be as refined as she needs to be or become become as homespun as the character calls for. I have never been a great fan of Ms MHC, but Ms LaVoy’s reading of this author’s I Can't Take My Eyes Off You, stole my heart so I take my chance when MHC/LaVoy comes up for sale.
Were my comments of help?

EDGE OF YOUR SEAT, NAIL-BITING SUSPENSE!

Most Suspenseful, Rivoting Book I Have EVER Read! I HAD To Keep Reminding Myself To Breathe For The Last AT LEAST 11 Chapters!
This Was Mary's 2nd Last Book She EVER WROTE!!! SHE Was STILL AT THE TOP OF HER GAME WHEN SHE PASSED😣🤧😢
R.I.P. MARY, YOU WERE & ALWAYS WILL BE "THE QUEEN 👑 OF SUSPENSE!!!"

Great Thriller!!

Thrilling to the end. I love her books. Definitely worth a read. Thank you Mary Higgins Clark.

Great Ride!

Mary Higgins Clark never ceases to deliver a gripping ride full of suspense...couldn't put it down!

Thrilling

I love Mary Higgins Clark. This story kept me on edge and tearful at the end. Great storyline.

A Push for No Prisoner Executions

The theme was no execution for a convicted person. Conseqently, the citizens foot the bill for lifers.

Loved it!

This is a very intense story. I would recommend it to a friend. Story would make a great movie….