A Stranger is Watching by Mary Higgins Clark

Basic Plot

Two years after the brutal slaying of his wife Nina, Steve's wait is almost over. Ronald Thompson will be put to death for the heinous crime. The only problem is, he did not do it. With the clock ticking on the much publisized execution, the real killer strikes again. This time, kidnapping Steve's son Neil, and his new lady love Sharon. It is a race against time, to save the people he loves most, stop a wrongful execution and apprehend a cold-blooded killer. Oh, there's a bomb in New York City to defuse too. 

What I liked about this story

It's a very fast paced book. With a plot that unfolds really well. There is alot of excitement and the reader has many things to look forward to (or worry about) with each turn of the page. It also raises the issue of the death penalty quite well, and touches the biggest nerve. What if the wrong man is executed? This book would make a really good action flick. (Oh, wait I just found out that it was made into a movie in 1982 but with a few changes).

What I disliked about the book

As far as psychopaths go, the one in this book was quite tame. Despite the crimes he commits, the acts are more as a garnish for the plot rather than the main course. The readers are not really invited into his mind or to delve into his motives at any deeper level.

A quote I liked from the book

".. I had come to the conclusion that if we were to preserve the most fundamental right of human beings .. freedom to come and go without fear, freedom to feel sanctuary in our homes, we had to stop the perpetrators of violence."

Rating: 4/5

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