You Don’t Own Me

This was a double-first for me. I have several books on my “€œWant To Read”€ list by both Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke. When I saw these two leading ladies of mystery had collaborated, I knew I wanted to snatch up a copy right away. You Don’t Own Me did not disappoint me. The book opens up to describe the family life of a well-known doctor, Dr. Martin Bell. Dr. Bell has two small children and a wife who is going through an awful battle with postpartum depression. One day, he pulls up to his home, and the nanny hears an awful noise outside. She finds Dr. Bell sitting in his car shot to death. Kendra, Dr. Bell’s wife, is heavily sedated upstairs, and the two children are in the house playing. The case is not solved, however, until Laurie Moran, a producer for a television series that specializes in unsolved mysteries, comes onto the scene. As Laurie and her crew dig deeper, she realizes people are not whom they say they are and that she may have a stalker who is following her. You Don’€™t Own Me has fantastic characters who are all a bit untrustworthy AND untrusting. I had a hard time guessing whodunnit because the characters were so closely intertwined and the authors kept a few of the characters’ names a secret until the reader absolutely needed to know more about that character. The plot was written very strategically and was well planned out. After reading this one, I will be moving several of Clark’€™s and Burke’€™s books up on my list. An outstanding read for those who like tricky characters and suspenseful storylines.