I've got you under my skin by Mary Higgins Clark

Five years ago Laurie Moran lost her husband when he was shot to death in front of their young son Timmy.  It was a brutal act of controlled violence, made all the more chilling by the killers promise that he was going to kill Laurie next and then Timmy.  In the years since the murder Laurie has tried to live as normal a life as possible, supported by her father her keeps a protective eye on both Laurie and Timmy.  All that careful guarding and protecting is about to be tested to the limits because the killer has Laurie is back on her trail and determined to kill her - and her latest television pilot could be the perfect time to strike.  

Laurie has pitched the idea for a reality television series that examines true crime cold cases - a gamble for Laurie, but also for her boss as her last two series have failed to fire.  The case that sells the pilot idea is the murder of Betsy Powell, who dies twenty years ago on the night of a grand gala celebrating the graduation of Betsy's daughter and her three friends.  The studio is willing to put up the money to pay the estranged step daughter and her friends - but her widower surprises Laurie by offering to top up the amount to make the cash incentive as attractive as possible.  Assembling everyone at the scene of the murder brings out some surprising revelations, and uncovers some rather disturbing secrets.  It seems as though the secrets buried for two decades are bubbling beneath the surface, but will they be exposed before the blue eyes killer keeps his word?

I have been reading new authors over the past few days, and one that I have never tried before is Mary Higgins Clark.  I have to confess that I picked up the first book in this series because the rest of the series is co-authored with Alafair Burke, someone I have read and enjoyed before, and I was not disappointed at all by this solo outing with Mary Higgins Clark. I tend to like books that are a little sparsely written, where the attention is on the characters and the action rather than bogging you down with too much unwanted drama and baggage, and I've got you under my skin fitted the bill perfectly.  It took a chapter or two to get used to moving from character to character, but that focus on one person at a time made me pay attention and made it just that little bit harder to figure out what was important and guess who the killer really was.

I've got you under my skin has a lot in common with crime television series, and old school detective novels and I found myself glued to the story until the very satisfying end.  This is the first book in a series, which might have made the story predictable but it really does keep you guessing about what is coming next.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and my mother also read it and thoroughly enjoyed - now we just have to figure out who gets to read book two in the series first!  

 If you like this book then try:

• City of fear by Alafair Burke
• Now you see her by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
• Behind closed doors by B.A. Paris
• Eeny meeny by M.J. Arlidge
• Darkly dreaming Dexter by Jeffry P. Lindsay
• One step too far by Tina Seskis
• The postcard killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund
• The surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
• Normal by Graeme Cameron
• The survivors club by Lisa Gardner
• Private Oz by James Patterson and Michael White
• Look behind you by Sibel Hodge
• Vodka doesn't freeze by Leah Giarratano
• Kill switch by Neal Baer & Jonathan Greene
• The edge of normal by Carla Norton
• The slaughter man by Tony Parsons
• City of the lost by Kelley Armstrong

Reviewed by Brilla