By
Mary Higgins Clark
Throughout the entire novel Clark uses a couple's twisted marriage to exemplify the concepts of secrets and trust. After marrying Erich Krueger, Jenny MacPartland finds that she doesn't really know who her husband is. His past is a mystery to her. Erich seems to be too good to be true, but he will not let Jenny in. Jenny tries to understand him. Erich hides a lot from Jenny and is very secretive. He also has very little trust in Jenny concerning her ex-husband, places she goes, etc. After awhile Jenny begins to uncover things from Erich's past, but not soon enough to realize that her wonderful life is nothing more than a nightmare. The plot of the novel is very effective. It encouraged me to read on and guess at the outcome. I feel that the concepts of the novel are good examples of what can happen when there are secrets and lies in a relationship.
The characters in A Cry In The Night represent people torn by deceitful lies. In the beginning of the novel Jenny and her children live a simple routine life. After meeting and marrying Erich, Jenny feels like she is the luckiest woman in the world, but things begin to slowly change. Erich begins to be more secretive and controlling. He starts to question everything Jenny does. Soon, Erich controls her every move, and her children�s lives depend on them. Erich has a somewhat antagonist approach in the novel while Jenny has a protagonist one.
A Cry In The Night is very well written. There are many great passages in the novel. "The wind whipped the cry from her lips and scattered it through the darkening wood" (Clark 8) is just one of the many great passages. It gripped my attention and is very visible and descriptive. I can just picture the scene. Another great passage, "She could no longer scream; there were no sounds left except the guttural moans she heard in her throat; her lips still formed the words help me, help me" (Clark 9), just is just so descriptive and detailed. Clark has a way with words!
I enjoyed reading the book. Mary Higgins Clark is one of my favorite authors. The plot of the novel is enticing and the conclusion is good. I would recommend this novel and author to anyone who likes mysteries or suspenseful stories. This novel taught me that sometimes the people you think you know are the complete opposite and to be careful.
