The Cradle Will Fall: Amazon.ca: Mary Higgins Clark: Books

Frequently Bought Together

Product Description

A minor road accident landed county prosecutor Katie DeMaio in Westlake Hospital. That night, from her window, she thought she saw a man load a woman's body into the trunk of a car...or was it just a sleeping pill induced nightmare? At work the next day, Katie began investigating a suicide that looked more like murder. Initial evidence pointed elsewhere, but medical examiner Richard Carroll saw a trail leading to Dr. Edgar Highley. He suspected that the famous doctor's work "curing" infertile women was more than controversial -- that it was deceitful, depraved, and often deadly. But before Richard could tell Katie his fears, she left the office for the weekend and an appointment for routine surgery...in Dr. Highley's operating room.

About the Author

Mary Higgins Clark's books are world-wide bestsellers. In the U.S. alone, her books have sold over 85 million copies.

She is the author of twenty-seven previous suspense novels. Her first book, a biographical novel about George Washington, was re-issued with the title, Mount Vernon Love Story, in June 2002. Her memoir, Kitchen Privileges, was published by Simon & Schuster in November 2002. Her first children's book, Ghost Ship, illustrated by Wendell Minor, was published in April 2007 as a Paula Wiseman Book/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

She is co-author, with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, of four holiday suspense novels Deck the Halls (2000), He Sees You When You're Sleeping (2001), The Christmas Thief (2004) and Santa Cruise (2006).

Mary Higgins Clark was chosen by Mystery Writers of America as Grand Master of the 2000 Edgar Awards. An annual Mary Higgins Clark Award sponsored by Simon & Schuster, to be given to authors of suspense fiction writing in the Mary Higgins Clark tradition, was launched by Mystery Writers of America during Edgars week in April 2001. She was the 1987 president of Mystery Writers of America and, for many years, served on their Board of Directors. In May 1988, she was Chairman of the International Crime Congress.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
If her mind had not been on the case she had won, Katie might not have taken the curve so fast, but the intense satisfaction of the guilty verdict was still absorbing her. Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

49 Reviews

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (49 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cradle Will Fall, Jun 30 2006

By	E.G. Matthews "An Avid Reader" (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Cradle Will Fall (Library Binding)

Katie DeMaio, a thirty-one-year-old assistant New Jersey county prosecutor and the widow of Judge John DeMaio, who had tragically died a few years before of cancer, has just been in a car accident, and has landed herself in the nearby prestigious Westlake Hospital. Katie dazedly attempts to stop the nurse from giving her a sleeping pill, for she knows it will give her nightmares, but it is no use. And before she knows it, Katie is fast asleep in the eerie darkness and silence of the hospital. Then, in the middle of the night, Katie wakes up and looks to the window. In the light of the moon, she sees a dark figure loading something heavy in a sack into a truck. The figure loses control of the sack, and then Katie sees a woman's dead face sticking out of the sack.

Little did Katie know that the dark figure was Dr. Edgar Highley, Westlake's leading doctor of the Westlake Maternity Concept, who has recently found a "miracle cure" for seemingly infertile women. Dr. Highley had seen the open window that night, and after he has found out that the window was from Katie's room he realizes that he needs to silence the only witness to his crime, forever... The next morning, Katie receives a frantic call from her older sister, Molly Kennedy, who tearfully informs Katie that Molly's neighbor, Vangie Lewis, was found dead in her home last night, having committed suicide by swallowing a glass of cyanide. It is then that the once-vague truth hits Katie: that deathly pale face she had seen last night was Vangie Lewis's face.

Richard Carroll, a handsome medical examiner who is a friend of Molly's husband Bill and who often works with Katie at the prosecutor's office, has found himself falling deeply in love with Katie, though he secretly fears that Katie is still mourning the death of her beloved husband. Soon, Katie's office is put on Vangie Lewis's case, and as they all begin to delve deeper, Vangie's death seems less and less like a suicide, and more like a vicious homicide. Then, when two more people turn up dead, the investigation skyrockets, as Richard finds groundbreaking new evidence that make Dr. Highley a dangerous madman.

But before Richard can warn Katie, she leaves for the weekend, telling no one that she has to return to the Westlake Hospital so Dr. Highley can perform her much-needed surgery and the blood transfusion for her extremely low blood count. But Katie is unaware that by stepping into the Westlake Hospital---one of the fanciest, homiest, and best hospitals around---a place where all the patients should feel safe, she is instead heading right into the face of danger; the belly of the beast, because Dr. Highley cannot let Katie tell anyone that he killed Vangie Lewis, and his murderous experiments with infertile female patients must not be exposed. Dr. Highley will stop at nothing to eliminate Katie. Can Richard save her?

Mary Higgins Clark has written yet another excellent suspense novels, so she is aptly titled "The Queen of Suspense." However, I would probably not list this among my favorite novels by Mary Higgins Clark. Though suspenseful in its own individual ways, I did not feel that passionately burning desire to finish the story immediately and never stop, unlike her other novels. I did not feel as motivated to finish this as some of her others did. Perhaps it was because you knew Dr. Highley was the killer from the initial start of the novel. Still, this is quite an interesting read, and the horrifying revelations about Dr. Highley's "experiments" seem much more medically modern and realistically futuristic for a story first written in 1980.

Highly recommended!

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, but not my favorite, April 13 2004

By	Jordy (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews

This book was the first book I read by Mary Higgins Clark, and I immediately wanted to read more. Her writing is so easy to read, and you are hooked by almost the first chapter. The characters are developed thorougly, and it's hard to put down. Though it is exciting, I will admit I was more intrigued by "Let Me Call You Sweetheart." You should check that one out before "The Cradle Will Fall" because I think the plot is a bit sneakier, and there's a major twist at the end. You know who the killer is the whole time in "cradle". Overall though, a great read.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of The Cradle Will Fall, Oct 17 2003

By	Mary ann (USA) - See all my reviews

Mary Higgins Clark published a chilling and inquiring novel, The Cradle Will Fall. Kathleen DeMaio, an assistant prosecutor, and Richard Carroll, a medical examiner are called to investigate a recent crime scene in which a pregnant woman seems to have committed suicide. They work together to put the pieces of the suicide together, as well as form a loving a sincere relationship. They analyze and question several suspects and crime scenes in the case. Through these investigations, Richard realizes that the last person to have come in contact with the deceased woman was Dr. Highly, the victim's doctor. Was the crime suicide, or planned murder? Now, Katie, not knowing Richard's conclusions about Dr. Highly, finds herself in the hospital for minor surgery. By coincidence, the surgeon is Dr. Highly. What will become of Katie?
Mary Higgins Clark is an excellent mystery writer. Her plot is complicated, yet well planned out and suddenly comes together at the end. The story begins a little slow but soon becomes fast-paced and intriguing. You will soon wonder if the detectives will ever crack the case and you will also start to solve the mystery yourself. Her character's personalities are unique and each one comes to life. She makes you feel as if you know each one personally. I enjoyed the personal relationships that develop throughout the novel as well as their feelings and emotions. Overall, the novel was full of suspense and terror. Mary Higgins Clark makes you feel as if you are in the operating room the whole time. There were many late nights in which I couldn't put this book down. I would suggest this book to all teenage or adult mystery lovers.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 49 customer reviews...

Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Review on The Cradle Will Fall, Mary Higgins Clark
Mary Higgins Clark published a chilling and inquiring novel, The Cradle Will Fall. Kathleen DeMaio, an assistant prosecutor, and Richard Carroll, a medical examiner are called to... Read more

Published on Oct 13 2003 by Mary ann

5.0 out of 5 stars Mary Higgins Clark - The Cradle Will Fall
This book, The Cradle Will Fall, was one of the books I have read by Mary Higgins Clark and was one of the best ones. I could not even put it down. Read more

Published on Mar 2 2003 by Anonymous